Chef Curtis Smithen may have changed his global positioning at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, but no matter where he goes around the globe, he never loses sight of his Nevisian spirit.  It is this signature spirit that has put Nevis on the map as a destination known for its warm and friendly people that take pride in the genuine hospitality of the island.

Chef Smithen’s story began at home on his native soil in Nevis. Though he has been exposed to a range of international cuisine and remarkable talent, he never lost touch with the food of his youth. In fact, during Smithen’s five-year turn as Executive Chef at the former Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma in the Bahamas, his signature dish was steamed grouper with peppers, tomatoes and baked macaroni and cheese. “That’s Nevisian cuisine right there,” he says. “Sunday is the traditional family day in the Caribbean, and nothing goes with the comforts of home like mac-and-cheese.”

Like many culinary superstars, Chef Curtis enjoyed a modest start in the early nineties when he worked his way up the kitchen ranks at a small inn in Nevis. His observation skills as a dishwasher took him straight to the line as a cook before joining the pre-opening team of the original Four Seasons Resort Nevis. More than two decades later, his career adventures have included stints at Four Seasons hotels in Nevis (where he returned for the Resort’s 2010 re-opening), in the Bahamas, Toronto, Chicago and Boston. From Nevis, his next stop is Four Seasons in Tanzania, Africa, located in one of the world’s finest safari regions amid the natural reserves of the country’s renowned UNESCO landmark: Serengeti National Park.