Our West Virginian of the Year, Chef Paul Smith, is all about making a very real difference for his home state and its people.

photographed by Carla Witt Ford
On the evening of June 10, 2024, during a star-studded gala in Chicago, Illinois, Paul Smith made history by becoming the first chef in West Virginia to ever win the prestigious James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southeast.”
“I wasn’t there just for my restaurant or even my city,” he says. “I looked at it as having the whole state behind me, because that’s what we do here in West Virginia. We celebrate our own.”
For that reason and so many others you’re about to read, WV Living honors him as our 2024 West Virginian of the Year. Months after that monumental achievement, we sat down with “Chef Paul” at his restaurant 1010 Bridge one afternoon before dinner service—and we also spoke with some of those who know him best—to see what this achievement has meant to him and what the future may hold.
Staying Home
Of all the questions Chef Paul was asked after winning his James Beard Award, there’s a particular one that really stuck with him. “I had so many people ask if I would be leaving West Virginia to move on to something bigger and better now,” he said. While that might be a jarring question for some, he was actually expecting it. “If you’re not from West Virginia, it seems like an appropriate question to ask. If you reach the pinnacle of success here, why not leave and try to do the same thing in a much larger market? I mean, let’s face it, folks do it all the time. I was one of them, so I get it.”
As a young chef in the restaurant business years ago, Smith said, he knew it was important for him to work in the best places he possibly could so he could gain the experience and knowledge he needed to be successful back home. And from the minute he won that big shiny medal, he started getting all kinds of calls from larger cities and larger restaurants trying to woo him out of state.
“I’ve already lived in New York and Napa and Asheville,”he said. “I made a conscious decision to come back here for this reason—not to win awards or go after the next big thing, but to make a true difference in the culinary scene. Here, not someplace else.”

But since he knew we would ask this big question, he was ready to set the record straight. “Hell no, I’m not leaving West Virginia,” he blurted out with a laugh before the question was even finished.
He looks at it this way: “West Virginia deserves more things to cheer about, because it’s a great place to live. The people are genuine. The hospitality is second to none. I think it’s been a secret for long enough, and this is something we have to cheer for now. I’m happy to be a little part of that secret-telling.” And once that word gets out, he said, maybe others who aren’t from here will realize why “Are you leaving West Virginia?” is not a good question to ask someone who’s come back to West Virginia.
I try to be a steward for hospitality in West Virginia by asking not ‘What’s in it for me?’ but ‘What’s in it for us?
“I think West Virginians who move away have this homing beacon, and they’re just longing to come back. But for whatever industry they’re in, maybe there aren’t a lot of opportunities or enough security for them to do that. So I just made my own security. I helped create a vibrant restaurant and food scene so I could support myself and my family without having to move away.”
That family includes his wife, Carrie Ward Smith, who recently moved back to West Virginia after work took her all over the country as well. “I’m thrilled to be back and don’t miss one single thing about that life I had before,” she says. Now she gets to help build something special with her husband, and they get to do that here.
“He is so grateful for this win, and to be recognized,” she continues. “Not a day goes by that we don’t appreciate that, because it has shown that all of the sacrifice has been worth it. He’s always had this aspiration, this desire, to really help others, and I think this win has re-energized him to do that. He’s all about the rising tide, and that’s something that will never change.”


Sharing Knowledge
Chef Paul is, to his core, a vocal cheerleader, a confidant, and often a behind-the-scenes supporter of other chefs and restaurants. Here’s a perfect case in point from a co-owner of Bogey’s at Capitol Market, Andrew Ford: “When we were rushing around to get our new restaurant ready for its grand opening, we realized our gas stove regulator suddenly went out, and I was freaking out,” Ford says. “So I called Chef Paul, and he said he’d have someone down here in 15 minutes to take care of it. And he did. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”
As much as Smith wants to succeed, he’s not comfortable with success coming at the expense of others. “I don’t want to be in competitions. I don’t want to beat Bobby Flay. I mean, of course, I would kick his a∗∗,” he said, chuckling, “but that’s not what I want. I really want to educate folks about West Virginia food by telling my story through my food.” It’s a difference, he believes, people notice. “We’re paying attention to the details, we’re greeting guests at the door, we’re thoughtful about what we’re putting on your plate—we’re really paying attention to our craft.”
So if Smith isn’t moving away to so-called greener pastures, it does beg the question: What’s next? At his flagship restaurant, 1010 Bridge in Charleston, that means being careful not to stretch himself so thin that his hotspot loses its charm, appeal, and quality.

“Because of this big award, people are now expecting more out of us than even before, so there’s no rest,” he said. “We can’t take a break.” He also knows himself well enough to realize he won’t be content with simply resting on his laurels. For his next move, he wants to find like-minded people to partner with to create his own restaurant group—perhaps called Chef Paul Hospitality—that would include current restaurants 1010 Bridge and The Pitch Sports Bar & Grill, along with new ones under that same umbrella. They could all be different, have their own personality, but still have that Chef Paul “stamp of excellence” in common. “I want to help the local food community create a culture of not settling. I think West Virginia does that a lot—we settle, because we’ve been pushed down so much. But here,” he said, pausing to look around 1010 Bridge as his staff prepped for another busy dinner service, “we have created something here that doesn’t settle.”
Now, Smith wants to help other restaurants get there, too. “At the end of the day, that’s what is most important to me—representing my home state to the best of my abilities. I try to be a steward for hospitality in West Virginia by asking not ‘What’s in it for me?’ but ‘What’s in it for us?’ I truly believe that, when you don’t ask for something for yourself, that’s when it comes to you. And if I could have 10 to 20 restaurants employing 1,000 people that all help instill that West Virginia pride to everyone who walks in the door, well, yeah, that would be the dream.”
Making Space
So does that mean there are more restaurants coming from Chef Paul? Yes. “I want to honor my Italian grandfather who taught me how to cook, so there’s probably going to be an Italian restaurant in my future. As chefs, we should honor those who taught us, and that’s where I learned to cook, you know? And I also love tacos, so don’t be surprised if you hear something about that in the near future.” It wasn’t too long after our conversation with Smith that news broke about Paulie’s, an upcoming Italian restaurant he plans to open in 2025 across the street from 1010 Bridge.

In each of those endeavors, be they fine-dining spots or more casual hangouts, Smith promises to uphold the same high standards that landed him on the culinary world’s biggest stage. “I just love it here. I love what we’re building and doing. I guarantee I’m not the best cook in six states,” he said, referring to the Southeast region of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, of which he was named James Beard’s top chef. “But I will outwork every other chef in those six states.”
That hustle, he said, is not just a good work ethic. It’s critical to his survival. Because of Smith’s now well-documented struggle with addiction, he said he needs to “keep swimming.” He needs the work to keep him going, to keep his mind focused on moving ahead, one step at a time. It’s a culture he insists on in his restaurants as well, running “sober kitchens” that expect people to show up able to give their very best. But just as his compassion shows when, for example, he sometimes helps to pay for culinary training for young chefs who need it, that care also extends to those struggling outside of the kitchen.
When it’s time to address a substance-abuse issue with an employee, he does not simply show that person the door. He sends them to rehab. He pays for their treatment. He even offers to cover their rent—and keep their job waiting—while they focus on getting help. That act of generosity is something you simply don’t see much in the restaurant industry. But to him and those around him, it’s made all the difference.

“That man has really changed my outlook on how things can be done,” says John Evans, who has worked as Smith’s chef de cuisine—his second in command—since 1010 Bridge opened back in June 2020. “Many restaurant and kitchen environments are not sustainable because the staff comes in drunk or hungover, if they even bother to show up. But this one is.”
Evans says that revelation was especially eye-opening to him. “I buried my brother from a drug overdose just a month before I started working with Chef Paul. So I welcomed that change. I needed that change.”
The impact his work has on people like Evans is not lost on Chef Paul. “We’re not just training good cooks—we’re making an actual difference in people’s lives,” he said. “All of the other stuff, the awards and the praise, it’s all secondary. Improving people’s lives is what really matters.”
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM WV LIVING’S WINTER 2024 ISSUE
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