Celebrity Chef Art Smith today announced the opening of 'Homecoming - Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine' at Disney Springs in summer 2016.
The Florida native will be offering farm-to-table food, with ingredients sourced from the local area.
“Once we heard the story of his passion for Florida and his vision for the restaurant, we knew that it was a perfect match” said George Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Art back to the state and share his spirit of Homecoming with our guests from around the world."
With a design inspired by turn-of-the century Florida architecture of the late 1800s, Homecoming will feature traditional Southern favorites with sophisticated, chef-inspired creations. The 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat restaurant “is where Florida heritage meets New Southern cuisine,” explains Smith.
“The menu is a big part of my ongoing homage to Florida’s bygone era,” explains Smith. “We will proudly and prominently support the Fresh from Florida campaign and the vast majority of our seafood, produce, poultry and beef will be from local farms, ranches or fisheries.”
The Homecoming menu will feature Southern favorites like homemade pimento cheese, Church Lady deviled eggs, low country shrimp and grits, kale salad with Sweet Grass Dairy cheese and spiced pecans and a grilled Blackstrap pork chop with sawmill gravy.
“Each dish has a little Florida twist and make guests feel like they’re on the back porch with me for every meal,” says Smith.
Desserts will be a specialty, with cakes, pies and delectable sweets made daily and shipped from a bakery in Hamilton County, including the restaurant’s signature Mockingbird Cake. “Southern women, using delicious ingredients and love, are the world’s best bakers,” explains Art.
Inside, the restaurant has a glass-walled show kitchen and the Southern Shine bar, featuring whimsical cocktails, punches and coolers.
It was previously indicated that Chef Art would be opening 'Chef Arts Florida Fish Camp', but today's announcement seems to suggest a change of plan. The restaurant will be located in The Springs, between the Town Center and The Landing.
Art Smith has previously worked as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, served as a judge on the TV show BBQ Pitmasters as well as authoring three award winning cookbooks.
Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, Art and Soul in D.C. , Southern Art and bourbon Bar in Atlanta and LYFE Kitchen Palo Alto are amongst Smith's restaurant operations.
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