“I always played soccer and thought that would be what I would do. However, due to an injury, I had to begin thinking about something else. Then this letter came from Johnson & Wales University. That was it. I had always been interested in cooking.” And that’s how André Smith became a chef. It is probably one of the best decisions he has ever made, as he loves what he is doing and does it well.

Growing up in the Port Haywood area of Mathews, André said he learned anything he knew about cooking, “from my grandmother. My dad, William J. Smith Sr., cooked a little but never claimed he could cook. However, his smothered pork chops were great. My mother, Michele E. Waller, was not known for her cooking. She worked and managed a couple 7-Eleven stores and today owns two, one in Hartfield and one in Cooks Corner. Since both my parents worked, I would fix breakfast for my brother and me. The first things I ever cooked were boiled eggs, but soon ...