When Bill Cardwell closed Cardwell’s at the Plaza in December 2018, he declared himself “semi-retired.” We suspected this was not the last St. Louis would see of the award-winning chef. After a few months off, the veteran chef announced today that he’s “back in business” and embarking on a new phase of his career.
Cardwell’s plans are three-fold and will see him taking on clients for private and corporate events and consulting. His catering services will include everything from formal events to cocktail parties and casual dinners. Similarly, Cardwell will provide consultation on a broad range of issues and challenges restaurants encounter, including kitchen design, refreshing menus and concepts, and staff retention.
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Chef Cardwell will also be available for hire for cooking and mixology classes, which will be open to the public as well as industry professionals. “You want to get a few couples together for a wine-tasting dinner? I can do that,” he said in a release. “You want a cooking class for your family? I can do that. You need some help taking your restaurant to the next level? I can do that, too.”
Cardwell’s new website breaks everything down cleanly and concisely, with details of the various services he’s offering and a contact form to reach out.
In a statement, Cardwell said that since closing Cardwell’s at the Plaza, he’s received a lot of approaches about opening a new restaurant. However, the chef said that the flexibility his new venture promises is something he treasures. “While I really loved running a restaurant, I don’t want anything on the scale of what I’ve done in the past,” he said. “I’m excited about the flexibility of teaching, catering and consulting at this stage in my life. I’ll consider any good idea. I’m just going to be very selective about what’s next.”
Cardwell added that his enjoyment of the kitchen remains undiminished, and he’s looking forward to sharing that with clients and collaborators. “I really love to entertain, cook, teach and mentor people who love food, entertaining and cooking,” he said.
