April 24, 2017

Meet Vladimir Smirnov of Chef Smirnov Catering in Bellaire

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vladimir Smirnov.

Chef Vladimir Smirnov, a Certified Executive Chef with over 30 years of experience, can provide all of your needs. His dependability, reliability, and attention to detail make entertaining easy for you.

Chef Smirnov has shown a passion for cooking from his early days as a youth in Moscow. In 1984, after finishing cooking school, he began his professional cooking career serving the Government of Moscow in a Kremlin kitchen.

He and his wife, Jewish refugees from the Soviet state, moved to Houston, Texas in 1994. Even before gaining proficiency in English, his cooking skills landed him a cooking position with Rice Epicurean Market. His team catered countless events, both large and small, public and private over the next 11 years. During that time, his professionalism and catering expertise increased greatly.

In 2005, Chef Smirnov decided to launch his own catering service. Since that time, he has continually provided exceptional service to his clients. He has received numerous referrals and testimonials from his satisfied customers. From the simple to the most elegant event, you can trust him to meet your demands for excellence in service, presentation, and quality. Service to his clients. He has received numerous referrals and testimonials from his satisfied customers. From the simple to the most elegant event, you can trust him to meet your demands for excellence in service, presentation, and quality.

Has it been a smooth road?
When we first arrived, it was interesting because we came with my mother, my sister, my wife, my cousin and we had nothing. We’re very limited. We came with $1,000 for my wife and myself. No language, no job, no future opportunities and no friends. It was very hard. We could not communicate [with] people, and we had to survive somehow. So, what we did is we took any job that was possible. We cleaned apartments, we cleaned houses. I understand it’s probably everywhere and anybody would have a difficult time when they come to a new country. I still sometimes cannot believe it — they make that move from one country or another with no backup, because I didn’t have any of that backup. No. 1 was language. I’m wasn’t just by myself; I came with a family who needed help and support.

No one had a job, no one had experience with the language, no one. It was a tough situation. The Jewish community supported us with that — gave us some money to pay the rent and a little money to buy food. But we were responsible for getting in, standing up and starting to do something. My wife and I, we started taking any job — whatever was possible. We were cleaning apartments. We cleaned very strange houses. I got a job in a restaurant. One of our Russian community ladies helped me out. She called them and they hired me, but I was “cleaner boy.” So they paid me $2 an hour. But, again, no language. It was very hard to communicate, but people were so friendly and understanding, and they helped me from point A through point Z. It was sometimes very hard because I had to come up with new words on my own. They were looking at me and not understanding me because I was mixing all the English and Russian. But every day I had a little book where I wrote the new words. I was trying to learn how to say “potato,” how to say “carrots,” how to say “pot,” how to say “ladle.”

There were a lot of fun stories. One of the stories was when I walked in the cooler and saw beer cans hanging in there. I didn’t realize that they used it for marinating chicken or brisket. I thought it was for drinking.

I asked the chef what was it for. He said, “To drink!” He was making fun. So I opened one and started drinking. They told me I’m done for today, so they sent me home.

But customers who came to Rice Epicurean were very patient and friendly and they helped me learn English. I’m speaking English right now; this is what I picked up working at Rice talking to my customers and learning day by day how to speak.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
What sets us apart are the modern displays that we use as part of the food presentation. We always say that “people eat with their eyes first.” People come to us because even though they loved the displays at the event they just attended, they know that their party will be equally unique. We are always bringing new ideas and products for set ups. Our quality of food matches our presentation.

Although we cater all types of events, we have a large Jewish clientele and are affiliated with many of the local synagogues. Upon request, we provide kosher catering. This can be challenging for many chefs who are not familiar with the strict rules and regulations that are involved with kosher events.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We are located in the heart of Bellaire – a city that has been rejuvenated by the influx of prominent families, businesses, and new construction. Our clientele ranges from millennials to baby boomers and beyond! We are poised for growth in our industry as foodies claim Houston to be one of the hotspots in our nation.

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