5th Anniversary Flashback RED Episode 128: A Conversation with Chef Art Smith
It's our 5th Anniversary this month. As part of the celebration, we will post flashback episodes all month long to celebrate and say thank you. If it were not for you, our Runcation Nation community, we would not have had this show for the last five years, had some of the most amazing experiences, and created lasting friendships in this community.
Next up is an interview with the one and only Chef Art Smith!
RUN
This week we complete the RunDisney Virtual Race Series with the Haunted Mansion 5K! Yes, we talk about the weather, but we are also without the medals, so we can’t wait until they arrive! It was a different summer race series because we couldn’t travel up to Walt Disney World to do it, but for Aimee, working from home, it was a chance to get outside and get some fresh air ahead of the afternoon summer showers. For Dana, it was motivation to get his running done on a long work weekend.
This week, we are connected to Walt Disney World and running unique races virtually because we had the honor and pleasure of talking with Chef Art Smith! He has two fantastic restaurants at Disney Springs, but he has also run marathons and took us on his storied running journey as we talked with him. Although he hasn’t run a race at Walt Disney World, he was in the Magic Kingdom College Program, now known as the Walt Disney World College Program, in 1981. We recorded this interview in the third week of April 2020, when we would have been running the Rival Run Weekend at Walt Disney World. Chef Art helped us bring a little bit of Disney home!
EAT
Chef Art Smith has appeared on the Food Network on shows like Chopped and is famed for being Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef. He has also authored books like Back to the Table and Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families and Back to the Family. Chef Art Smith is a two-time James Beard Foundation award winner with restaurants in Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington, D.C., and many more. He’s been on television shows like Top Chef Masters and The Today Show. Talking with him about his excellent restaurants and amazing southern comfort food made our mouths water!
DRINK
Chef Art Smith has some great beverages at his restaurants. He has Moonshine at Homecomin’ in Disney Springs, and we want to get to his Atlanta restaurant, Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, for some fantastic bourbon-based cocktails, too, when it reopens. It was great to get a little bit of the story and inspiration behind some of the signature cocktails at his restaurants.
He is also generous in giving back to the community. He started Common Threads, an organization that teaches families the joy of healthy cooking. This summer, they even have a virtual summer camp for kids with activities they can do at home.
Chef Art Smith was so generous with his time. We can’t thank him enough for spending time with us and inspiring us with great stories from his running and life as an award-winning chef.
THAT’S A WRAP!
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Share a great virtual race or a place where we should all run, eat, and drink together when this challenging time is over! Our email is info@runeatdrink.net. Or you can call 941- 677-2733. Please leave us a 1-minute message and let us make you Runcation Nation famous!
Thank you for listening! We are looking forward to another great year of the podcast because of all your support! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!
And as always, if you choose to indulge, please drink responsibly by having a designated driver or taking a rideshare service. Stay safe, Runcation Nation!