Introduction
Michael Dixon Smith CM is an American-born Canadian chef and best-selling cookbook writer now residing in Prince Edward Island, Canada. He has hosted The Inn Chef, Chef at Home, and judged on Chopped: Canada on the Canadian Food Network. Smith is Prince Edward Island's Food Ambassador, a nutritional activist, and an advocate for sustainable home cooking and farm-to-table cuisine.
Career
At age seventeen, Smith started cooking in kitchens while attending art school. Within five years he was the Head Chef at a large, upscale bistro. He then enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated second in his class. After graduation, Smith worked in Michelin three-star restaurants in Europe, as well as kitchens in South Africa, Caribbean, and New York City.
Smith relocated to Prince Edward Island with the desire to cook sustainably by building a garden and developing partnerships with local farmers and fishermen. Smith was started at The Inn at Bay Fortune in 1991. His first television show, The Inn Chef (1998), was filmed on location at the Inn and across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Smith lead the team that cooked for athletes in Whistler, British Columbia during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
With his wife and business partner Chastity, Smith purchased The Inn at Bay Fortune in 2015. FireWorks, the on site restaurant, practices sustainable cuisine by growing its own vegetables in the surrounding gardens and sourcing local seafood.
In 2019, Smith was appointed to the Order of Canada as a member "for his contributions as a chef, entrepreneur and champion of local foods, as well as for his efforts to develop regional tourism." In the same year, the Smiths opened a sister property, The Inn at Fortune Bridge.
Personal life
In 2009, Smith created a five-year scholarship for students in the Family and Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Prince Edward Island. On August 17, 2013, Smith married Chastity Smith, a singer-songwriter, on Prince Edward Island, where they live with their three children Gabe, Ariella, and Camille. Smith is a collector of vintage maps.