By Donna Cornelius
The Baker is coming to Birmingham, and he’s bringing some Mississippi flavor with him.
The Magnolia State’s Nick Wallace is one of the culinary stars who will be in town this month to participate in the second ever FOOD+Culture Festival. But despite his nickname, his specialties aren’t cookies, cakes and pies.
A Mississippi native who still calls the state home, Wallace was a fan favorite and top five finalist on season 19 of Bravo TV’s popular cooking show “Top Chef.” Most episodes start with short challenges called Quickfires, with the contestants vying for cash prizes and sometimes immunity from elimination from the competition. Wallace won so much “bread” – money, not actual loaves – that his fellow competitor, Buddha Lo, dubbed him “The Baker.”
Bringing high-profile chefs such as Wallace to the Magic City is one of the most fun features of the FOOD+Culture Festival, set for Sept. 19-22. The lineup includes Alabama luminaries as well as nationally known celebs – and some chefs who fit both descriptions, including Kelsey Barnard Clark from Dothan, who was the “Top Chef” season 16 champ, and James Beard Award winners Frank Stitt and Adam Evans of Birmingham.
Wallace’s eventual career in food has its roots in a small town called Edwards, Mississippi, about 30 miles west of Jackson. He said his grandmothers, Lennel Donald and Queen Morris, heavily influenced him. “Miss Lennel” always had a hot breakfast on the table by 5 a.m. each day.
“She preserved as much food as possible,” Wallace said. “She didn’t throw anything away. She even saved the onion skins to make onion jam.”
Wallace learned his own way around the kitchen at an early age.
“I always fed my sister after school,” he said. “When I was 13 or 14 years old, I was making tortillas from scratch. By the time I was 18 or 19, I knew that cooking was something I wanted to do.”
Wallace’s first job was at Fernando’s, a Mississippi Mexican restaurant.
“I cut up fajita mix until I was pretty sick of bell pepper,” he said.
He continued to hone his craft at restaurants such as Schimmel’s under award-winning chef Derek Emerson and by attending culinary school. As a corporate chef for Marriott, he got an education about other aspects of the restaurant business, such as estimating food costs and handling meetings.
“During that time, I went on my first airplane flight, and it was to Anchorage, Alaska,” Wallace said.
These days, there’s seldom time for the busy chef to slow down. Through Nick Wallace Culinary, he operates The Nissan Cafe inside the Two Mississippi Museums, which are the interconnected Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. He serves his take on soul food and emphasizes local ingredients. He also offers catering and, during the COVID pandemic, he started offering in-home private cooking experiences. Under construction now in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, is the Hen & Egg Restaurant by Nick Wallace. The name is a tribute to his grandmother.
“She’s the hen, and I’m the egg,” he said.
A project that’s dear to his heart is his Creativity Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that works with Jackson Public Schools to help provide tasty, healthy foods to students.
“We want to show kids how to be creative, how to take what you have and make it great,” Wallace said. “We want to change their lives when they go home.”
He’s often the one inspired as well as the one inspiring youngsters.
“There’s always a shining light in the group who wants to be a chef someday,” he said.
A Mississippi Chef in Colicchio’s Court
During Wallace’s “Top Chef” season, set in Houston, he was proud to showcase his love for Mississippi food, often earning praise from the show’s judges. He said the toughest critic wasn’t head judge Tom Colicchio but then-host Padma Lakshmi because, he thought, she had a hard time appreciating cuisine that wasn’t a part of New York and California culture.
“We in the South deserve a seat at the table,” Wallace said. “We have good qualities like anybody else.”
In addition to making a name for himself with the “Top Chef” audience, Wallace made good friends during his run on the show. He and eventual winner Buddha Lo “had a really good relationship.”
“He had a totally different mindset; he started working in Michelin Star kitchens as a teenager,” Wallace said. “What I love about him is that he never judged – he accepted you for who you are.”
He’s also stayed close to fellow contestants Damarr Brown, one of Food & Wine magazine’s 2022 best new chefs, and Ashley Shanti. an innovative North Carolina chef.
“Top Chef” also gave Wallace a platform for his own seasoning brand, Nick’s 26. He’ll be bringing some of the 26-spice blend to the FOOD+Culture Festival.
In addition to appearing on “Top Chef,” he’s been on Food Network. He was the “Chopped” champion in the “Alton’s Challenge Part Two” episode, appeared on “Comfort Nation” and “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and said he especially enjoyed competing on Food Network Canada’s “Fire Masters.”
His many accolades include earning the 2023 Mississippi Small Business Person of the Year title from the Small Business Administration.
While the chef is known for his unique take on Southern food, the dish he most likes to cook at home is a tried-and-true creation.
“I don’t get too bougie at home,” he said. “My all-time fave? I like to cook spaghetti bolognese.”
For more about Nick Wallace, visit nickwallaceculinary.com.
More Big Names in Birmingham
In addition to Nick Wallace, other “Top Chef” alumni will be at this year’s FOOD+Culture Festival. They include:
• Carla Hall, who was a fifth season finalist and was on the show’s eighth season all-star edition. She was a co-host of ABC’s “The Chew” for seven years and is frequently seen on Food Network, appearing on shows such as the “Holiday Baking Championships” and “Worst Cooks in America.” Members of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International are especially proud to welcome Hall, who is being honored this year with the organization’s Grande Dame award. It’s given to LDEI members for extraordinary contributions within the fields of food, beverage and hospitality.
• Kelsey Barnard Clark of Dothan, who came away from season 16 with the “Top Chef” title. She’s now the proprietor and chef of KBC in her hometown.
• Michelle Wallace, who was a popular contestant on the most recent “Top Chef” season. She’s the chef, owner and pitmaster of B’Tween Sandwich Co. in Houston.
Just a few of the Birmingham-based chefs at the event will be:
• Frank Stitt, who needs no introduction to locals; his Highlands Bar & Grill in 2018 was named best restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation. Chez Fonfon and Bottega, which he owns with wife Pardis Stitt, remain shining stars of Birmingham’s restaurant scene.
• Adam Evans, who was the Beard Foundation’s Best Chef South in 2022, of Automatic Seafood and Current Charcoal Grill. Luke Joseph, Evans’ partner at Current, also is appearing at the festival, as is Jacobi Williams, Automatic’s chef de cuisine.
• Geri-Martha and Ryan O’Hara, whose Big Spoon Creamery is one of the coolest spots in town for ice cream lovers.
• Rob McDaniel of Helen, a contemporary Southern grill in downtown Birmingham.
• Ryan Westover of Pizza Grace, named one of the best new restaurants in the South by Southern Living.
It’s not surprising that this Alabama festival has invited a number of barbecue gurus to town. Some of the hottest names are:
• Andrew, Chris and Jacob Lilly of Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q, whose white sauce has become an iconic element of the barbecue world.
• Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ. In 2018, he became only the second pitmaster to win a James Beard chef award.
• Woodrow Washington III of Archibald and Woodrow’s BBQ in Northport.
• Lavaris Tinker of Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Birmingham.
• Van Sykes of Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q in Bessemer.
• Brandon Cain of Saw’s BBQ.
• David Bancroft, whose Bow & Arrow restaurant in Auburn specializes in Texas-style barbecue. Bancroft’s Acre, also in Auburn, is an award-winning eatery, too.
For a complete rundown of chefs appearing at this year’s festival, visit bhamfoodplus.com. You also will find information about all the festival’s scheduled events and can buy tickets on the website.
