AUGUST 2025 16 with Executive Chef Lawrence ‘LT’ Smith, Owner of Chilte 765 Grand Ave., Phoenix • chiltephx.com In the Kitchen A former football player with a deep passion for sports, Chef Lawrence “LT” Smith made a bold shift from the field to the kitchen, fueled by a curiosity to explore every aspect of food. That journey led him to culinary school, and ultimately, to Chilte: a bold, soulful restaurant rooted in street food, storytelling, and cultural inspiration. Where did you grow up? I’m from Cleveland, Ohio. As a kid I played a lot of sports, so I grew up traveling and chasing football. I was in Omaha, then Denver, then Pasadena. When it was time to move on from football, I moved to Phoenix to live with some of my old University of Akron roommates. I set my feet down and I’ve been here ever since – that was around eight years ago. The majority of my family is still in Ohio but I did get my sister to come out here and it worked out because she has a house, got married and is pregnant, so that’s really cool. I’m really happy for her. Give us some insight into your upbringing. Are your parents in the industry? Not anymore, but my parents met while working in restaurants. My dad was a line cook and my mom was in a front of house position back in the day but they moved into professional careers after that, so no one was a “professional” far as restaurants go. We lived 30 minutes or so outside of Cleveland so it was a smaller town, and I was really into sports – football, baseball, basketball, track, soccer… it was simpler times. It was really chill. What cemented your journey into culinary? I was done playing sports, and I was kind of on a ‘who am I now’ kick. I was working in a corporate office job and couldn’t even make it a month [ laughs ]. It was not for me. I applied for the Great Food Truck Race just to see what we could do, and my team and I made it to the finals of the casting process. I told myself, ‘If we get on the show, we’ll do the show, and if we don’t, I’m going to culinary school.’ We didn’t make it, so culinary school it was. Once I got to ACI (Arizona Culinary Institute) in Scottsdale, it was on. Sports translated so well into the kitchen. I became a natural and unbeknownst to myself, I was a natural with flavors and balancing and understanding those concepts so I was able to jump right in. As soon as I got out of basics, I started cooking around the Valley. In my first kitchen, I applied for pastry and they put me at the salad station – but that was all right because I learned a lot really fast, and culinary school gave me the chops to grow. Was pastry your original plan? That’s what I wanted to go into – it was my favorite class in school. I couldn’t get my foot in the door at any restaurants with that angle so when I started at elements [at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort] I thought, ‘Okay, we’ll see what I can learn here, where this will lead me.’ It was cool. I like the monotony of pastry. It’s very detail-oriented and slower paced, but there’s still so many fun ways to build flavors and even with what we do at Chilte, it’s not really anything traditional, so I like to bring a savory palate to my pastries. I like the challenge of it and I still like being in different spots in the kitchen, that way you can learn, and you can get better at each part. How did Chilte come about? We started as a 10x10 pop-up during the pandemic, just my wife and I, out of our house. We had a grill and a cashier box and that was it. It was such a slow start [ laughs ]. We were also out at farmers markets getting the word out. Once we got traction, we’d go to bars and farmers markets and we even got a few catering jobs. We’d do the farmers market in the morning, drop off, clean the kitchen, drop off catering, clean, go to a bar and cook all night and get up and do it all over again. What was on the menu at the pop-up? It was our OG birria tacos. I started with those before they were trendy. I was doing my own little riff on that. So it was the birria and the pibil [a slow roasted cooking method] tacos. Eventually we added tortas [sandwiches] to the menu. That was it: elevated street food. What is your first memory of food? I always go back to – and this is what probably drives my chef’s spirit – picking cherries with my mom. We had a cherry tree, so we’d pick them and make like, a pie or a jam. I’m always chasing that feeling I had picking cherries with my mom. Easter eggs – the smell of vinegar? That always brings me back, too. My parents recently sent me a bunch of pictures of me as a kid, in the kitchen, ‘cooking’ with bowls and pots and pans… subconsciously I knew! My first job was washing dishes, and then they graduated me to working with chicken until they realized I was only 14 and wasn’t supposed to be touching the food [ laughs ]. Where have your food adventures taken you? At elements, I grew out of the cold side pretty quick and they didn’t have room on the hot side, so they sent me to work with Chef [Alex] Stratta at Match. That was cool because I learned breakfast and prep and some cool techniques and flavors. After that, I helped open Ghost Ranch with Chefs Rene Andrade and Roberto Centeno. That was my first sous chef position. That one had a lot of learning curves, I learned how to manage people and talk to people and financials and a lot of multitasking. It also gave me the opportunity to grow into an executive pastry chef position and build my resume. I trained at Phoenix Public Market and then went to Tempe to develop a bread and pastry program. I did some admin, some bartending and then boom. Pandemic. They closed one, they sold one, and I was out of work. And then Chilte? Yes! I started Chilte, which officially opened in 2020. We did the tent for almost two years; we did a food truck and then this opportunity popped up. We were burnt out, getting ready to call it quits and the Egyptian Motor Hotel people called us up for a tasting to see what restaurant they were going to put in the space. We paused the food truck and came onto the project only to be met with a two-year delay on construction – added to the three years they had already been working on it. They finally opened in February two years ago. It was tough times. I had just started hiring staff, so it was hard trying to figure out how to keep everyone on. I was like, ‘Okay, we’re ready to go –

17 AUGUST 2025 NOPE – okay, we’re ready to go, NOPE.’ It was a tough couple of years. When we moved in, it was a blank canvas with only a kitchen. I designed the interior and was in here caulking and building a bar and learning plumbing and electrical, but we made ourselves fit in the space. Decked out the walls with local art and kept it comfortable, mid-century and funky. Chilte is short for chiltepin, which is a chili. They’re small but mighty. Tell us about Chilte’s awards and accolades. I have to admit, I’m still so new to the industry that sometimes I don’t know what the awards are [ laughs ]. I’ve never had my sights set on winning awards so when I heard I received Food and Wine ’s Best New Chef, I’m like ‘Dope, but now I need to research what this is.’ Then I find out I follow almost all the chefs that have been on the list. Esquire did a big write-up. Bon Appetit did a write-up. This year I was a semi- finalist for a James Beard award for the first time and that was super exciting. I’m proud to get those recognitions for me and the team. Hopefully I can get a win at some point but until then, I’ll keep my head down and keep grinding. What’s the inspiration behind the dishes? There are so many fun, creative drivers to this menu, but it always goes back to us trying to tell a story on a plate and trigger the feeling of, ‘Oh, this reminds me of…’ Especially for me, not being Mexican and cooking Mexican food with a street flair and Midwest flair that comes together… I have to learn how to balance those flavors. My wife is from Sinaloa and I had some Mexican chefs that started teaching me the flavors and the culture – I drew from the people I was around while also bringing the nostalgia of home and Midwest soul food into the mix. Is there a process for coming up with new menu items? Travel plays a part in it – I start with tradition, as there’s a Mexican ‘part’ to each dish, and then I build or riff on that. I would never call it fusion because I’m not trying to smash two things together that don’t make sense. I always try to find the common or cultural thread that connects them, whether that’s Afro-Latin or if there’s a Japanese influence. I’m tugging on that thread. Whatever strikes, I lean into it and see what I can come up with. It’s summer, so I want cold dishes, tropical stuff, I lean into that and I’m excited about it. What’s the most popular thing on the menu? It depends. I think right now it’s the hoja santa quesadilla. It’s approachable yet unique, and it’s great for pictures. It’s been in a lot of write-ups, so when people come in they’re like, ‘Hey, do y’all have that quesadilla thing?’ The birria taco on a squid ink tortilla is the OG from the tent days, and I knew once I brought the birria back I was never going to get away from it, so I took that and gave it a fun twist with the miso consommé. For me, it’s the burger. I am always eating a burger. What is one piece of advice you’d give a chef who’s just starting out? Be a sponge. Keep pushing and learning as much as you can. Don’t think you know it all. I’ve been in the industry for seven years and I still don’t know anything. Sometimes I feel like I didn’t do enough learning and studying under other guys, because I went out on my own so fast. Keep paying your dues, keep learning and don’t try to get ahead of yourself. Also, have some grace with yourself and your mentor – that’s a big one. Find someone to work with and learn from. Who is your dream dinner guest? I don’t want to cook for anyone; that’s too much pressure [ laughs ]. It’s kind of corny, but I wish I could cook for our grandmas who passed literally within a month of us opening the restaurant. They supported us financially and with love and family for years. I never got to cook for my grandma as Chilte and as a chef, so it’d be cool to do that. What’s next for Chef Smith? I don’t like to plan too far ahead, but I’m open to whatever opportunities may present themselves. I have a million concepts in my brain but I want to get this team locked in and get Chilte to whatever level it needs to be at. We’re going to keep on grinding. I’m proud to get those recognitions for me and the team. Hopefully I can get a win at some point, but until then, I’ll keep my head down and keep grinding. 35 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CHARLES SIDI REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL Charles@TheBrokery.com | 480.330.6506 CharlesSidi.com l o v e a r c a d i a l i v i n g ™