Introducing Adam Smith, New Boathouse Restaurant Chef
With the warm weather approaching, we are excited to announce that The Boathouse Restaurant will be opening on May 12 …and it’s going to be better than ever. Not only do we have a fantastic line-up of live music planned for our summer concert series, but we also have a new, highly-accomplished chef at the helm of The Boathouse Restaurant.
Adam Smith not only has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but he’s got some wonderful things in store for our patrons this summer (and beyond.) We sat down with Adam to get the scoop on his culinary background, his exciting plans for The Boathouse Restaurant; its menu, and much more.
Adam – how did you get interested in cooking?
Growing up I always played around in mom’s kitchen. I found it to be a lot of fun to come up with different dishes. But I never directly pursued a culinary career. I went to UGA and got a business degree and then got a “real” job doing accounting at Deloitte & Touche. But that didn’t last very long. Soon I found myself in Savannah working at the famous River Street Sweets. I then moved to Key West and opened a candy store there. I also worked at other restaurants in the area. At each, I kept working my way up into managerial positions. I very much enjoyed working at the famous Blue Heaven restaurant for many years. After the hurricanes hit Key West in 2005 though, I came back to Georgia. I dabbled in real estate for a short while but then I helped successfully open and run Bone Island Grill on Lake Sinclair. After that, I opened Smith’s Coastal Grill in Eatonton. And now I’m excited to handle The Boathouse Restaurant.
When did you know you wanted to be a professional chef?
It just ended up happening over time. I was always told that I had an excellent palate. Like I mentioned, I would find myself running the kitchen at every restaurant I worked at. I love the speed and the challenge of it all and especially creating great food that people love.
What’s the most rewarding part of your work and why?
It’s the interaction that food brings. I like to say that I’m ‘hiding in plain sight’ when I’m cooking. I love being in the kitchen preparing and creating good food for good people.
What are your plans for making The Boathouse Restaurant better than ever?
There will be a new, improved menu. You’ll find some things that are familiar, but there will be some exciting new dishes as well. Vegetarians will not be left out. The whole menu will definitely have a coastal Georgia, South Florida vibe to it. If all goes according to plan, I want to reconfigure the kitchen, bring on some new staff, add a bar outside, add more days and hours that we’ll be open, and maybe even stay open after summer ends. Most of all, I want The Boathouse to cater to family fun. We’re going to revamp the kid’s menu and focus the restaurant on families with kids. Oh, and I also want to offer grab-and-go lunches for boaters who want to spend the day on the lake.
Can you tell us about two or three dishes your planning on offering?
We’ll definitely be doing fish tacos, as well as other new taco offerings), fresh-made hummus, and spicy green beans. We’ll have lots of specials throughout the season too. You’ll see more salt-water influences on the menu, and we’ll be offering delicious standbys that everyone loves, like a great burger and smoked barbeque too.
Who do you most admire in the food world and why?
My favorite chef is Anthony Bourdain. I enjoy his books and his “avant-garde” approach to food. He and I have very similar backgrounds too. I also really admire Danny Hatch, the founding executive chef at Blue Heaven in Key West, Florida. He saw that I had a good palate, so he was pretty hard on me (in a good way). I ended up learning a lot from him.
What’s your favorite kitchen equipment or gadget?
My essential, must-have is a gas stove. But my favorite is a smoker. It’s a fun hobby that I like to play around with. You can smoke meat, vegetables, fish, nuts — you can smoke all sorts of foods.
If you could have one last meal, what would it be?
It would be an amazing surf-and-turf meal. I’d have my mom’s London broil with yellowtail snapper, grilled Florida lobster tail, rock shrimp, and mom’s Thanksgiving mashed potato casserole. There would be fresh limes on the side to squeeze juice on the whole dish. And for dessert, I’d have sour cream pound cake with vanilla-bean ice cream and Hershey’s chocolate syrup drizzled on top.
Be sure to stop by and visit Adam Smith and the rest of his team at The Boathouse Restaurant this summer. Follow us on Facebook and keep an eye out for our free summer concert events that we have there. Or stop by for a great meal. You’ll be sure to find some tasty things to eat and drink from The Boathouse Restaurant menu. See you soon!
*** The Boathouse Restaurant is HIRING! ***
Looking for a great job with great people? We’re hiring both full and part time servers and line cooks. You can start immediately! Contact us at (706) 920-3003 for details.