Meet Chef Nia Spencer: The Fusion Fine-Dining Queen

Chef Nia Spencer is a 2019 Charlie Trotter Pursuit of Excellence scholarship recipient from The Trotter Project. She currently is a banquet sous chef at the St. Regis, Deer Valley, Utah.

Chef Nia Spencer is a fine-dining fusion queen, and a bit of a unique fusion herself: She loves pushing herself to be the best in the culinary industry, and wants to do it with as much love and kindness as possible. Chef Nia is a TTP scholarship recipient we always love hearing updates about, and who is always reaching out to see how she can help the next generation of culinary students. Learn more about Chef Nia’s incredible journey from making homemade pasta in Italy, to Michelin-starred kitchens, to working with NBA players and more below!

Watch Chef Nia Spencer's story here.

Nia, it is so nice to get to meet you virtually. You're doing such amazing things cross-country. I wish we were together in person. It’s been five years since you received your scholarship from The Trotter Project. Tell us about your background, who you are, how you got started, and really what interested you in the culinary arts.  

Likewise! It started as a hobby for me and my parents pushed me to be a part of this culinary competition as a senior in high school to figure out if this is something I want to do with my life. So I competed in a program called C-CAP, where they allow you to compete for a full-ride scholarship to college. I won first place and I got the chance to move to New Rochelle, New York to study culinary arts and hospitality management for three years. And then after that, I studied abroad in Italy for four months, where I learned how to master Italian cuisine, which gave me my love for international fusion dishes.

After that, COVID happened, I moved back to Chicago, and I got my first job at a Michelin-starred restaurant called Next in Chicago, where I was given a chance to learn from the best of the best. I was around amazing chefs. They pushed me to a new height in my career. After that, I became a private chef for an NBA player.

And then after that, I just kept moving around, elevating my career. And now I'm at the St. Regis in Deer Valley, Utah.  It's been an amazing experience. 

When you were a kid, did you just love food and cooking? What really inspired your parents to push you into that culinary competition?

I will say I didn't grow up around cooking at all, so I watched a lot of Food Network shows. I was so interested in that. And I'm like, “If they can do it, I can do it too.” So my parents said, “If this is something you really want to do, go all in, make it happen. You're a superstar.”

And I am grateful that they pushed me to be the chef I am today because it is still that quality, that skill set that I have. The rest is history from that. 

So when you went to New York for school, you studied abroad in Italy. Where were you in Italy? What were some of your favorite dishes you were learning when you were abroad? 

While I was abroad, we traveled to different cities every week. My favorite part was learning how to make gelato. Like the art of gelato, it's so much better than ice cream. Also different ways of making pasta, making pasta from scratch, fresh ingredients from the local farmers around us, like that blew my mind. That was my favorite part about it. 

You obviously bring that care back, that consideration, because you don't end up at a place like Next just being anyone who wants to put food on the plate. How did you get in connection with that team? What was your role there and what was that experience like being in such a fine dining kitchen? 

The Trotter Project taught me about strong connections. And I took a bet on myself to believe that I can land a job there. So basically, it turned into a stage. I asked if I could come in for a stage to prove myself. Because I knew I had the confidence to do what I needed to do to be in that place. I deserve to be there. And I want to be the part of the best.

I met the executive chef. I talked to him. He was like, yeah, come back for a stage. Let me see what you're working with. I came back so excited. I did everything perfectly and he hired me on the spot and I was so excited. My parents told everybody about it. Aside from that, I have a hearing disability, so I'm wearing a hearing aid. 

It was hard working in the kitchen like that. But I was told I couldn't do this, I couldn't do that, but I didn't let that stop me. So, I created a connection with my superior to help communicate better in the kitchen. Like, how can we collaborate together to work in a stressful kitchen? Because it's a very stressful kitchen. It's a high standard kitchen. So, I knew what to expect, but we made it happen. 

So being hard of hearing in a really loud environment like that, what were some of the skills and the different tips that you were working with other people so that you could communicate properly and show like you've got the talent, you just need a different way to understand?

My eyes are stronger than my ears, so I'm a visual learner. Once you teach me how to do it, I am going to perfect it. I owe it to myself to practice every day. It has to be consistent. So that's how I learned the skill over time, by practicing over and over and over again to be better. To be the best. 

I was reading lips. We were doing a lot of sign language. I would teach them how to do sign language. You know, cause in a loud kitchen you really can't hear anybody. So we would do a couple sign languages to help each other out. Plus, it was really fun. They really enjoyed it and I enjoyed it too.  Yeah. You're gonna have to teach me a little. It's a language I've always wanted to learn. 

What was also one of your favorite memories from your time at Next? 

For me, the quality, the ingredients that we get every day, that was my favorite. I was one of the junior chefs. I was a person that had to take care of everything that my sous chef needs and my executive chef needs. If they need something, I got to get on it. I got to prep it. I got to make sure all the prep is done, missing pieces complete, everything is precise, consistent, even cuts.

Also connecting with different vendors that I never had heard about, you know the fact that they're proud to keep delivering great products because great products bring people back.

You go to being a private chef after that. Yeah. What was that transition like? Now you're working with celebrity athletes. What kind of food were you cooking here? What were the experiences like?

The experience was insane. This client found me on Instagram. I was consistently uploading content, things that I love to make while I was at Next. And the client reached out to me on Instagram and asked me to be his private chef.  And I'm like, “Say the word, I'm going there.”

So we made it happen. It was a beautiful experience. I get to connect with the client. I get to make them feel happy with my food. I got to create relationships with different people that I never thought I was going to create. On top of that, I got to share what I'm passionate about, which is international global food. And my client loved it. 

What kind of dishes were you regularly making? Were you focused on flavor or were you focused more on that nutritional aspect because they were training, because they were in competition? 

I wanted to figure out how to elevate both. How can he get both on a plate? So, by doing that, I elevated the presentation. I elevated the flavor. Simple, basic flavors, but elevated at the same time. So that's what I was doing for my client and he loved it.

So when did you go out to Utah from Chicago? What made you say it's time to go back into a larger kitchen, to a larger brand within hospitality again, so lauded?

This opportunity came across from a very good friend of mine, and I’ve been out here about two months. He referred me for the job and they called me. They were like, “We would love for you to come out to Utah and be a part of our brand, be a part of our story. We love what you do, and we just want you to be a part of it.”  

And I came out to Utah. It has helped me elevate my culinary career in a sense of luxury, fine dining, luxury services, how to satisfy the client, how to maintain luxury relationships with people in general. They are big on hospitality.  

How would you define the cuisine at the St. Regis versus Next, versus what you were making as a private chef? What kind of flavors are seen in their dining establishments more?

At St. Regis, we focus on modern, classic dishes, French, with a lot of American, elevated dishes. We want to surprise the client every time, sparkle with excitement, new presentation, an unforgettable culinary experience. 

Is there something you prefer to make, like a type of dish you prefer to make over others?  

For me, I like to infuse different cultures into my dishes. So for example, I like to infuse Thai with Mexican, Indian with Japanese. You know, just constantly changing it. Italian with soul food, I just constantly want to push the boundary and test people and see if there's something they can be open to and they will be excited about.  

Let's take it back to five years ago. Tell me how you first heard about The Trotter Project. What drew you to the organization versus any other scholarships out there?

I first got introduced to The Trotter Project through C-CAP. They were a partner for internships for culinary students and they were reaching out to students trying to get paid for job opportunities to start in the kitchen for the first time. And I took initiative and said, “I want to be a part of that.”

And that's how it came about. And I started started getting close to Derrek, who is the director of the program. I'm always coming to him, asking him, “How can I be good? How can I be better?” And he’s just been pushing me in the right direction ever since then.

How do you think it changed your trajectory, starting to work with The Trotter Project? 

Without The Trotter Project, I believe it would be more difficult in a sense because you need every connection, strong connections with people that could put you in a position that you want to be in. I can't even imagine life without them, they're literally the backbone of my culinary career today.  

I'm so glad and we're so happy to have you in our corner! If you're talking to yourself, five, six years ago, or that high schooler who was first entering a culinary competition, what advice would you give someone who's interested in getting into the culinary arts and hospitality? 

I would say, first, pay attention to detail. That's very important. Second, have a positive attitude.  All the time. No matter how hard things are, you have to still push through. You have to believe in yourself. Third, build strong connections with people. Even though you're nervous about it, you never know what's going to happen on the other side, you make that connection with people. People are willing to do things for you—simply ask, they will make it happen.  So, those are the three pieces of advice I would give to somebody who's looking to be in the culinary industry. Never giving up. 

What would you love to see from The Trotter Project as an organization going forward? Is there anything you'd want to see us do differently or just an exciting project you think we should take on? 

I wouldn't change anything about the program. One thing I would say is maybe we can add entrepreneurial support, like teaching students how to start up a business or navigate a culinary business, which includes financials, time management, mentorship. I feel like that will be more beneficial for a lot of the younger generation that's coming up, because I believe some of them want to start their own business, but they want somebody to hold their hand through the whole process. If The Trotter Project can make that happen, I would love to be a part of that opportunity. 

So with that, what do you see for your future? Are there any exciting plans or dreams that you want to share with us?  

I dream of having a mentorship program where I empower others to have confidence and have authority in the culinary industry and be the best of the best. I want to push them, motivate them, kind of what The Trotter Project is doing right now. Also I want to start up a a global fusion food blog where I can share my advice, I can share my input, I can share how I think of coming up with new recipes, stuff like that. And lastly, I would love to be a teacher. I kind of want to give back because C-CAP and The Trotter Project helped me be the person that I am today. I wouldn't be here without them. I feel like I owe it to myself to give back to the younger generation. Those are my goals.  

On behalf of my Trotter Project family, I love you guys to the T. You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me. And I am grateful that you gave me the opportunity to be the chef I am today. Because that gave me confidence, not only confidence, it gave me skill. Life-long skills that I could carry along my career. Thank you for that. 

Thanks so much for sharing your story with us, Chef Nia! To support our scholarships and other programming, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date and check out our donation page here!