Haley F. Riley of Salt + Smoke is Ford Hotel Supply's Chef of the Month

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Chef of the Month is sponsored by Ford Hotel Supply.

Position: Chef/Pitmaster/Owner

Married? Yes, my wife Jillian and I were just married on 9/17/22. We had a lovely wedding with our close friends and family and our friends at Balkan Treat Box catered it!

Kids? We have one kid, Isabel. She’s a spicy little one that loves cooking with dad, helping to unload the dishwasher and eating pizza.

Where are you originally from? I was born in San Francisco, but moved back to STL when I was only a few years old.

Where did you go to school? Webster Groves High School.

How did you get to where you are? I was fortunate to be able to learn from many wonderful chefs and restaurant owners. I found success from inserting myself into restaurant settings that were operated by people that I believed in and digging deep to do the very best job that I could for them. Tom Schmidt was one of those people and over time we developed a deep respect for one another’s work ethics and beliefs. We eventually invested all our energy and focus into developing Salt + Smoke.

New things going on in your restaurant: We've been really excited about our nationwide shipping program that we developed recently. We're getting into the season where that really pops off. It’s been a really nice way for some of our BBQ Besties to share our BBQ they love so much with friends and family that live in different states. They can order online through saltandsmokebbq.com and ship their favorites to their besties for the holidays.

Favorite menu item:
I love all of the different items on the menu, but I’m most excited about the BBQ pork rib tips that we recently added. They're really wonderful and not seen as frequently in some of the larger BBQ joints.

Three cool facts:
• Tom Schmidt has ridden an ostrich. Tom also has a wealth of knowledgable Eagle facts. He’s a bird guy.
• Peregrine Falcons are the fastest birds on earth clocking in at over 200+ mph in dives.
• Shoebill storks can live for up to 35 years.

What is your favorite piece of equipment or kitchen item? My favorite pieces of kitchen equipment are our smokers. They're such a fun tool to explore and have such a unique capability of altering the flavor profile of the different ingredients. My favorite recent Ford purchases are the two new steam kettles we ordered for our commissary kitchen. It’s made production a breeze!

Salt + Smoke, multiple locations, saltandsmokebbq.com