Celebrity Chef Lindsay Autry: Palm Beach to Jekyll Island

Chef Lindsay Autry isn’t necessarily what you think of when you think “celebrity chef.” Her steady, serene demeanor, topped with a delightful Southern drawl, begins to make sense as you learn of her North Carolina roots. This three-time James Beard Award nominee for “Best Chef: South” and Bravo TV’s Top Chef finalist has earned the moniker “celebrity chef,” but she’s more like the fascinating, gracious neighbor you want to invite for dinner every week. Meet this month’s FACE of the South, Chef Lindsay Autry!

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Tell me a little about your childhood as it relates to food.

I grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both sides of my family had peach orchards and farms, and that’s where I spent most of my time, especially my summers. We had a roadside stand, and I opened a little ice cream shop because we had so many leftover soft peaches.

Our farm was my grandfather’s retirement hobby, but it grew into 60 acres and 3,000 trees, so it was a big operation. We worked around the clock, and food was integral to my life. As we say in the South, we “put up” things, so we canned, preserved, froze, and then ate off them.

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When did your love of cooking begin to simmer?

My grandmother’s family immigrated from Greece when she was a child, so I grew up with this weird mix of Greek and Southern food. I didn’t know that was weird until I was about nine, and someone came to our boisterous weekly Sunday lunch. We had Spanicopita and fatback and biscuits and dolmas on the table, and they were like, “What is this?”

All the women in my family were tremendous cooks. I enrolled at Johnson & Wales when they had a campus in Charleston. After two years, you had to transfer to get your bachelor’s degree. So, 19-year-old me chose Miami instead of Rhode Island. While in school, I worked in various restaurants and eventually started working with Michelle Bernstein, a celebrity chef out of Miami. We worked on and off together for 13 years. I’ve lived in Mexico, up and down the East Coast, and in Palm Beach, where I’ve been based for 15 years.

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Tell me about your journey with The Regional and the decision to close the restaurant.

For most of my career, I was a hotel chef in the luxury sector and traveled around opening big hotels. But I wanted to open my own restaurant. As a Southerner, I’m always a little more vocal that [Palm Beach] is not the South. It’s my little corner of the South, but the South, in my opinion, kind of stops in Jacksonville.

There was no representation of any Southern food here, and I felt that was an opportunity. I’d never cooked Southern food professionally. I was more classically French-trained. So, I opened The Regional in 2016, and we were nominated for three James Beard awards and several Wine Spectator awards.

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We closed about six months ago, and even though it’s strange to say, it was a prolonged effect of Covid. Palm Beach loses 60% of its population in the summer, so you have to run two very different business models. I struggled through as long as I could. Closing was heartbreaking. I joke that I’ve had my heart broken more by restaurants than by men. I’m proud of what I created, and we went out on top.

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What’s on the horizon with your work at Westin Jekyll Island?

The Westin is undergoing a complete rebranding, and it’s been fabulous working with the team. Jekyll is such a quaint, historic little town — or, I guess you’d call it an island — and I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s a unique place, with its natural beauty, the Georgia State Park, and fascinating history and people.

To remain a nature preserve, it has to remain 65% uninhabited, so there are only a handful of restaurants and hotels. The Westin wanted to update the resort and all of its concepts and lean into a more sophisticated Southern coastal feel. I worked with their team on the branding, graphics, and design. I love to shop, so we picked out all these stunning pieces — utensils, plates, and serveware — for the restaurant.

I wrote the menus for the launch of their breakfast, lunch, dinner, room service, and pool menus. The executive chef is immensely talented. They’re all excited to see something new — even all the new furnishings they’re adding right now.

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What’s a common misconception people have about being a professional chef?

That all chefs are raging Gordon Ramsey lunatics. There are some — I’ve worked for some — and it is a high-stress environment. But it’s not a productive approach to leadership. People will meet me and say they’re surprised I’m not crazy. There’s a big misconception that we’re all just wild people.

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If you could cook and enjoy dinner with anyone, who would it be?

My late grandmother Betty was an incredible cook who never wrote a recipe. I remember calling her in college, asking, “Can you please walk me through how you do your biscuits?” And she’d say, “Yeah, it’s just flour and buttermilk and butter.” She was so sweet and such a fantastic cook that an opportunity to cook and eat with her again would be a bucket list thing for me.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and from whom?

My grandfather was a public speaker and educator. He always said, “Stand in your own shoes.” When I was younger, I felt that saying meant “stand up for myself.” But as I got older, I started to interpret it more as “be your authentic self.” That has guided me in my success as a chef a lot.

Where can we find you on your days off?

We have a four-year-old, so we’re busy keeping him entertained with gymnastics, soccer, and a lot of time at the library. Growing up, my family also had an auction company, so I love to hunt and thrift. I think that’s embedded in us as Southern women. We’re always on the hunt.

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What’s something that people are often surprised to learn about you?

I’m fluent in Spanish but still have a thick Southern accent. I worked as a chef in Mexico for four years, so I speak with a Mexican accent, and it’s entertaining to people.

Aside from faith, family, and friends, name three things you can’t live without.

Espresso. A silly fiction murder novel to keep me from thinking about cooking. Pilates.

Lightning round!

Favorite “hidden gem” in the Southeast: Dorothy’s Cocktail & Oyster Bar on St. Simons Island, GA

Favorite place to go on vacation: Okracoke Island, North Carolina

What’s on your bedside table: My stack of books, my four-year-old’s stack of books

Go-to birthday present (to give): If I’m traveling, I love to find a local artist and buy a gift for someone from them. Especially pottery.

Thanks for chatting, Chef Lindsay!

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Southern women are doing inspiring work. Meet more of them over at our FACES archives!