Barbara Smith: spokesmodel seeks niche as role model

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 22, 1996 by Milford Prewitt

The "occupation" space on the Form 1040 needs to be enlarged for Barbara Smith.

Restaurateur, model, author, commercial actress, theatrical producer and cook, Smith has had more careers than any one human being ought to be allowed.

But it's her love of the restaurant business where her seemingly boundless energy, talent and drive burn best as the co-owner of B. Smith's, of Manhattan and Washington.

Co-owned with Ark Restaurants, B. Smith's was the cover-girl beauty and Oil Of Olay spokesmodel's dream come true when it opened nine years ago.

Her passion for foodservice was recognized last month when she was elected to The Culinary Institute of America's board of trustees and later won the Honorable Tribute Award from the Roundtable for Women for Foodservice. With the recent release of her book, "B. Smith's: Entertaining and Cooking for Friends," now in its second printing Smith is becoming a "Martha Stewart of soul. "A second book is already in the works.

About a year from now, she might add yet another title to her steadily expanding resume, talk show host. She is negotiating and developing a television show geared around home entertaining and gracious living.

Despite all the accolades and The CIA title. Smith wants one more role. She wants to become a role model and mentor to young people in order to encourage them to pursue careers in foodservice.

Title: Co-owner of B. Smith's, Washington and New York.

Hometown: Everson, Pa.

Age: 46.

Career Highlights: Launched B. Smith's, an American bistro with French, Italian and soul influences in 1986 in a tough part of the Theater District; opened a more Southern-themed version of B. Smith's in 1994 in Union Station in Washington; elected to the board of trustees of The CIA, 1995; winner of the Honorable Tribute Award by the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice.

Menu Sampler: Breast of chicken filled with wild mushrooms and herbs served in a pool of braised fresh vegetables; escalopes of duck breast with duck sausage in a Cabernet pan sauce with greens and crackling; spiced scampi grilled over charcoal and served on a mango glace with fried plantains; roast tomato soup with pistou and chevre croutons.

What's the message you want young people to know about the restaurant business?

There are just so many jobs that are related to the culinary world that the opportunities are endless. I think young people still believe that you have to be in the kitchen, but that's just the beginning. Even if you don't want to work in the kitchen or even the front-of-the-house, all of the creative positions like food styling, food photography and food writing can be quite fulfilling. Food will always be a business, and it's a business with many, many avenues. I want them to know that.

How do you plan to get that message out?

Well, of course, being elected to the board of trustees at The CIA is going to give me great access. But I'd like to get involved with high-school culinary programs, even have field trips through the restaurant. I think exposure is the key. Young people need to see and feel the world of business. I'm really eager to see how we can help with scholarships that can get these young people off the street.

Is that where the motivation for writing your book comes from?

The book was a result of a few things. Having gotten in the business and being a hard worker, I learned so much that people began to ask me about how to entertain for special occasions, like weddings and anniversaries. So I put what I learned into a book. It's a coffee table entertainment guide with recipes.

Where did the desire to become a restaurateur come from?

It was around 1975 when I decided to go into the restaurant industry. I knew the modeling would not last forever. So I begin thinking about what I would do next, and opening a restaurant seemed to be a natural for me because, in a real sense, it was an extension of what I had been doing all of my life. My mother and grandmother were great cooks who taught me a lot, and I had been doing some catering for people in New York. So I wanted to go to the next step, to promote my catering business. But the idea of a restaurant really captivated me, and I loved the fact that restaurants are entertainment.

How did you hook up with Ark Restaurants?

Back in the mid-70s during the modeling, I use to meet friends at the Museum Cafe [Ark's first restaurant, located on Manhattan's Upper West Side]. It was there I met Mike Weinstein [president of Ark]. I am very goal oriented and began to network with people and ultimately got the chance to describe my ambitions to Mike.

How was B. Smith's born?

Mike encouraged me to envision a restaurant that we could open together. So, using his company's expertise and its knowledge of the market, we began looking around Manhattan. But I did not consider downtown. I am really not a downtown kind of person.

But the space you found, at that time anyway, was not necessarily the best either; it was a pretty tough neigborhood.

I know, if I had my druthers, we'd be on the East Side. But look at all of the positive developments that happened to this area since we've moved here [46th Street and Eighth Avenue in the Theater District]. We were the first. No one would have touched that space before Ark came along.