CHEF IS RECOGNIZED WITH MURAL FOR GIVING BACK

Chef D’Andre Carter opened Soul & Smoke in 2013 in Evanston. Since COVID-19 struck, he has not laid off any employees. Photo courtesy of D’Andre Carter
Chef D’Andre Carter opened Soul & Smoke in 2013 in Evanston. Since COVID-19 struck, he has not laid off any employees. Photo courtesy of D’Andre Carter

Chef is recognized with mural for giving back

BY TIA CAROL JONES

D’Andre Carter is the executive chef of Soul & Smoke Restaurant, located at 1601 Payne, in Evanston. In mid-March, a client reached out to Carter and wanted to donate funds to feed families in need. Since then, Carter and the restaurant staff have delivered more than 20,000 meals.

For his efforts, Carter, along with renowned chef and founder of World Central Kitchen Jose Andres, was depicted in a mural painted by Rahmaan Statik. In May, Carter and Andres were able to see the mural, which is located at Montessori of Englewood, 6936 S. Hermitage Ave.

“It was a really cool thank you from the community for all the things that we were doing for the community,” said Carter, who partnered with World Central Kitchen and the Trotter Project for its COVID-19 Relief Fund. The goal of the relief fund included delivering meals to individuals and families in underserved communities. People donate money and restaurants deliver meals. It’s been a way to keep people fed during times of uncertainty.

Carter, a South Side native, has been a professional chef for 20 years, but he said his love for cooking dates back to a time when he’d watch his grandmother cook. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who grew up in a single-family home, so she used to do a lot of Sunday dinners, barbecues and stuff like that,” he said.

Carter said he met Andres when he delivered 500 meals to the school in Englewood.

“It was a really cool experience. He’s a really good guy. He was really happy about the work we were doing in Chicago,” he said. “He called me one of the best chefs in Chicago, which that was great coming from a chef of his status.”

Carter said his heart for giving has always been there. He said as the oldest of his siblings, he took care of his younger brother and sister. He said giving back just comes natural to him.

Soul & Smoke has been open since 2013 and started out as a catering business, serving corporate clients. After that, the company expanded its reach, by catering weddings in addition to other events.

Carter, who said he hasn’t laid off any of his employees at his restaurant since the pandemic began, has also partnered with the Evanston Community Foundation, iGrow Chicago and Connections for the Homeless.

“We’ve been feeding underserved communities where people feel like nobody cares about them,” he said. “And, hopefully our meals from Soul & Smoke make them feel good on the inside. We are serving comforting meals that I really enjoy,” Carter added, who describes the food they serve as comfort food. In addition to enjoying the food, he added, “I just want people to feel good in these hard times,” he said.

For more information on the Trotter Project COVID-19 Relief Fund, visit www.thetrotterproject.org/covid19. For more information about Soul & Smoke, visit soulandsmoke.com.

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