Erick Williams
 | This article's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (November 2020) |
| Erick Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | US |
| 💼 Occupation | Chef |
| Known for | mk Virtue |
Erick Williams is a Chicago-based chef. He is best known as having been the executive chef at MK restaurant in Chicago, before opening Virtue, a southern-cuisine restaurant. He and restaurant has received accolades, including recognition as a finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, listing as a Michelin Guide Chicago Bib Gourmands, and Esquire's 2019 list of the Best New Restaurants in America.
Williams also has real estate holding in Chicago and engages in philanthropic activities for Chicago youth and, more recently, those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early life[edit]
Williams grew up in Lawndale, Chicago until he was nine.[2] His family moved to Austin nearby and, as a teen, he began to sell drugs, had incidents with the police, and was arrested.[2] His parents were very concerned about their son, however, after this "five-year period," he began making changes[2] As a teen he applied for a job at Burker King, but was not hired—which he recalls dampened his interest in the restaurant industry.[3] and ultimately started taking classes at Wright Junior College.[2]
Career[edit]
Williams had plans of going into real estate. However, a friend of his left restaurant and, having promised the owners he would replace himself, invited Williams to apply for the job.[3] The job was his first in the restaurant industry.[3] In 1996, Williams was walking passed the Hudson Club Restaurant & Bar and saw a man sweeping out front. He suddenly felt compelled to ask if they were hiring, an urge he resisted until he finally walked back and inquired about work.[2] After meeting Paul Larson, the owner, he got an interview, and was hired.[2] He worked for two years as a line cook at the salad and appetizer stations.[2][4] He then briefly worked at the Hyatt Regency, before restaurant owner Michael Kornick, invited Williams to join the team at MK,[4] a French and Italian inspired restaurant in Chicago's River North neighborhood.[5] Kornick sensed that Williams was "not a good cook," but was simply working in restaurants. However, he told Williams that he could teach him to apply the eye-hand coordination that he demonstrated in basketball to cooking.[3] That was 1998.[2] Williams eventually became the executive chef.[5]
During his tenure at MK, he began to aspire to have his own restaurant.[3] His decision was influence by two things: a conversation with his dad about a musician's progression of "playing notes" to improvisation, and video he watched on Kerry James Marshall's journey from painting white figures to creating his own artwork based in his African-American experience.[3] This led to him opening the restaurant Virtue in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, where he is the owner, operator, and head chef.[5] Upon opening Virtue, Williams drew inspiration from the surrounding Black and Latinx community,[6] and had a goal of modelling its role in the community after the restaurant Dooky Chase—a landmark restaurant that served local cuisine, while becoming known as a hub of the civil-rights movement, a dining option for blacks during segregation, and place that showcased black art.[7] Approximately 80-percent of Virtue's investors are black.[7] The restaurant has received accolades from food critics and organizations. Williams was 2020 finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes.[8][4] In 2020, the restaurant was also added to the Michelin Guide Chicago Bib Gourmands.[9] Esquire included the restaurant on its 2019 list of the Best New Restaurants in America.[10]
While at mk, Williams provided the food for the rapper Common’s staff when he would perform in Chicago.[11] As a result, Common's foundation selected Virtue to provide the food for a virtual date with Common as part of a promotion with Bumble, the dating app.[11]
Philanthropy[edit]
Williams works with homeless and local children in his community.[2] He began working with Embarc, a neighborhood high school program that helps low-income students have success in high school and college.[2]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Virtue temporarily closed and began a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of "refocusing [its] efforts solely upon providing meals to our city’s first responders."[11] The funds collected exceeded the target of $54,000.[11][6] In April, Williams and his team at Virture delivered meals to health care providers at University of Chicago Medical Center and Stroger.[11] In July 2020, he took part in a $750 virtual dinner as part of Expo Chicago’s Dine& program, the proceeds of which benefitted Enrich Chicago, an organization that uses art to combat racism.[12]
Personal life[edit]
Williams is married to his wife, Tiffany, who is the principal at Catalyst Maria Elementary School in Chicago Lawn.[2] Williams returned to Lawndale in 2007 and purchased a home and nine rental properties.[2]
Williams has garnered some notoriety for his dislike of macaroni and cheese.[5][13][14] He has said that he does not like that the pasta is typically overcooked and soft. He's also said that, because the dish is so simple, it requires high quality ingredients. However, upon opening his Southern-cuisine restaurant, Virtue, his chef de cuisine, Damarr Brown, insisted that the dish had to be included on the menu. Acknowledging the significance of the dish, he said in an epicurious interview:
Even if you have what some would say are superior ingredients. If you have better cheese. If you have better pasta. If the pasta is cooked perfectly. If the cheese sauce is as velvety as any cheese sauce is supposed to be, without any graininess and a high level of richness. You would still have a hard time competing, because you can’t match the nostalgic place. They know there’s something different about it. And with nostalgia, you really just want to sit with your memories alongside the food. It’s a very comforting space. It’s a space where you go when you’re going through hard times in life. It’s a space you go to when you’re celebrating.[5]
Awards[edit]
- 2019 Eater Award, Chicago—Restaurant of the Year[15]
Podcasts[edit]
- "A Talk About "The Talk" with Chef Erick Williams & his father Ricardo Isom". Andrew Talks to Chefs (Podcast). 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
See also[edit]
- Sylvia Woods, restauranteur specializing in soul food
- Rick Bayless, Chicago-based, ethnocentric restauranteur, specializing in Mexican food
- Graham Elliot, Chicago-based restauranteur
References[edit]
- ↑ Hautzinger, Daniel (22 August 2019). "How Chef Erick Williams Shows Kindness Is a Virtue at His Restaurant". WTTW Chicago. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 BENDERSKY, ARI (March 21, 2016). "INSPIRING BY EXAMPLE". Crain's Chicago Business. 39 (12): 27. Retrieved November 9, 2020 – via Ebscohost.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Gebert, Michael (April 30, 2020). "FOODITOR'S INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE 2020: AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCES". Fooditor. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Hennessy, Maggie (August 12, 2020). "Tear Down the Restaurant Industry? Virtue's Erick Williams Would Rather Lead By Building From Within". Resy. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Tamarkin, David (November 2, 2020). "How Erick Williams Created the Perfect Thanksgiving Mac and Cheese". Epicurious. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vox Creative (20 August 2020). "How This Chicago Chef Kept His Restaurant Running During the COVID-19 Crisis". Eater. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gordinier, Jeff (September 2020). "More Than a Place to Eat". Esquire. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ "The 2020 James Beard Award Nominees | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ "MICHELIN Guide Chicago 2020 Bib Gourmands". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ Gordinier, Jeff; Sintumuang, Kevin (13 November 2019). "Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America, 2019". Esquire: 57–68. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Selvam, Ashok (April 23, 2020). "Bumble and Rapper Common Partner With Hyde Park's Virtue to Help Health Care Workers". Eater Chicago. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ↑ Vettel, Phil (Jul 14, 2020). "Chef Erick Williams heads virtual dinner-arts series Thursday to benefit anti-racism efforts". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ↑ Sula, Mike (May 14, 2020). "Virtue Restaurant's Erick Williams confronts a dusty dive-bar standby". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ↑ Martin, Michel (November 2, 2020). "Ways To Elevate Comfort Food Favorite Mac & Cheese". NPR. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ↑ Gerzina, Daniel (December 10, 2019). "Chicago's 2019 Eater Award Winners". Eater Chicago. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
Further reading[edit]
- Kindelsperger, Nick (June 7, 2019). "Soul food? Southern? What to call traditional Black cooking (and where to find the South Side's best)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- Eligon, John; Moskin, Julia (16 July 2019). "16 Black Chefs Changing Food in America (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
External links[edit]
- William's profile at Virtue's official website
Category:Living people
Category:Businesspeople from Chicago
Category:Wilbur Wright College alumni
Category:American chefs
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