Dame Bridget Carter
From Seattle to San Francisco, from San Francisco to Italy, and back again multiple times, Dame Bridget Charters’ distinctive culinary career has spanned continents and inspired professional cooks, foodservice colleagues, and everyday food fans eager to learn fundamentals for favorite dishes. As Head Chef at Hot Stove Society, a dynamic cooking school under the Tom Douglas Restaurants umbrella, she is renowned in Seattle’s food circles for her expertise and professional skills.
In the beginning, it was baklava, brownies, and liverwurst. Bridget says her cooking passions as a teenager started while watching a neighbor prepare feasts for lavish dinner parties. She also cooked her way through Julia Child & Company, a gift from her perceptive mum. She continued cooking while attending Gonzaga University, which led to her decision to attend California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco following graduation (instead of law school). “At CCA, I felt like a kid in a candy store,” says Bridget. “Every minute! The experience was mind blowing, even when being yelled at.” Her career was decided.
Her San Francisco cooking school training connected her with Carlo Middione, the mastermind behind Vivande Porta Via, and a newfound love of Italian food and cooking. While there she also met culinary greats such as Elizabeth David, Carol Field, and Angelo Pellegrini.
Completing her CCA program, she pursued hotel garde manger positions in 1987 at the Ritz Grand Hotel and Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. Underwhelmed by the East Coast, she returned to San Francisco. “The food buzz was happening in San Francisco, and I loved the food industry connections,” she recalls. She returned to work for Carlo at Vivande, worked as a teaching assistant at CCA, and then secured her first stint in Italy working for Lorenza De’ Medici in Tuscany. Following her “enlightened year of 1989,” she moved back to San Francisco to work for Gianni Fassio of Palio d’Asti and the famous Blue Fox restaurant.
Bridget’s days in San Francisco in the 1990s provided multiple Italian connections, including cooking for Lorenza on her KQED (PBS) television show, and meeting the owner of Vinalta Winery, Licio Gomiero, and his cousin Diego. In 1993, Diego invited her to spend a month in the Veneto cooking at his well-known restaurant. In 1995, she left San Francisco again to cook with Diego in Italy for a year. (Dame Cathy Conner joined her that summer.)
Following her Italian engagement, Bridget decided to return home to Seattle. Here, she worked for Carmine, Ciro, and eventually started teaching in the culinary program at the Seattle Art Institute.
This led to a 17-year stint, which ended in 2014. During this period, she also had side jobs at KCTS (PBS) and Seattle Cooks, which led to work with the legendary Mauny Kaseburg at the Aspen Wine & Food Festival, along with lead jobs with the New York City and South Beach Wine and Food Festivals.
“My goal always was to stay in the industry and have fun, but also have a life,” she says. To that end, she has also raced sailboats extensively, played competitive squash, volunteered for the America’s Cup, raised a family, and earned her master’s degree. And… Game. Set. Match. You’ll also find her on the tennis court five days a week! #LesDamesdEscoffier #LesDamesSeattle
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