Editor’s note: If you enjoy oysters as much as Chef Zack does, consider attending Baltimore Fishbowl’s second annual Oyster Shellebration this Thursday, Oct. 16, from 6-9 p.m. at True Chesapeake Oyster Co.
It surely sounds corny — and I have said this before in a few of these features — but I really don’t remember the time when I actually met Zack Mills, but it was definitely at Wit & Wisdom, a place I still miss to this day.
I think it was 2014 and The Four Seasons Hotel had opened in Harbor East a few years earlier and around that time, I was introduced to the hotel’s PR person, the wonderful, wonderful Audrey Slade, by a close friend. Audrey and I clicked and shortly after our meeting, she began to include me on invites to media events and other special events and dinners. There I was rolling up to the Four Seasons valets in my Volkswagen — eventually, I had a couple of favorite valets who took great care of me and my little car — heading to the most amazing evenings a person could imagine enjoying. So, soon I met Zack and he was just so cool, so easy. Like, low-key incredibly talented and a total food nerd, dedicated and focused on his craft.
Over the years at Wit & Wisdom, which was part of Michael Mina’s restaurant group, I attended many, many events, including tasting menu styled dinners and that’s definitely where my love of that style of eating comes from. (Thanks, Zack!) You know where you just feel so comfortable and at ease in someone else’s hands and you’re like “whatever you want to prepare, I will eat.” I feel like tasting menus ( and omakase, etc) over the last several years have become more like status symbols and I’m sorry about that because I don’t think that’s the way they were originally intended or should be viewed — but I will go on that another time . . .
With Zack’s cooking, there’s a clear focus on sourcing local ingredients (like produce from Moon Valley Farm, beef from Roseda Farm and oysters from the True Chesapeake’s very own oyster farm in Southern Maryland, etc…) and all of the little details of beautiful sauces and elements that all just work together and also elevate the dish to a very high level of quality. Cooking is his life and he’s one of those people that was just born to do it.
A few years after Wit & Wisdom had closed – boy, I still miss it – I was talking with my friend Patrick who was opening True Chesapeake and I was very excited to hear that Zack had signed on to be his chef and business partner there. Perfect fit I thought. A Maryland-born-and-raised chef cooking his kind of food in this setting, a historic 18th century mill building repurposed into this gorgeous restaurant, blending the past with the present so effortlessly. I have to add that even though it is often in the category of “fine dining,” I find that True Chesapeake is the kind of restaurant where lots of different kinds of people can feel comfortable and at home. Zack’s not a very fancy guy so it makes sense that he would open a place that would appeal to a wide range of guests.
I’ve always admired Zack as a chef and as a leader, but he’s just a really kind person. In a world where he really could, he has never said a bad word about anyone to me — and I mean, never. Baltimore is so lucky to have him as one of its top chefs and I’m lucky to call him a friend.
I love this quote from Zack in a Baltimore Magazine article from 2018 when Wit & Wisdom was closing: “I see restaurants as living beings,” he says. “And the lifeblood, bones, and the heart of the restaurants are the people in them. Those people will definitely be in my heart for the rest of my life.”
Now, here are Zack’s 13 answers.
Cake or pie? And, what kind?
Pie, specifically my Mom’s pumpkin pie
Your most prized possession?
1992 Gibson Les Paul
What’s your favorite thing to order out at restaurants?
I honestly just look for anything out of the ordinary or something I haven’t eaten in a while.
What’s your favorite thing to cook at home?
Seasonal soups and pastas of any kind
What is your morning beverage and how do you take it?
Black Coffee
What’s your personal motto?
Everything will be fine.
What is your favorite holiday and why?
Thanksgiving, spending the day cooking and eating with a whole bunch of family.
Best advice you were ever given? And from whom?
When I was opening True Chesapeake I got a piece of advice from two of my mentors; “Drive it like you stole it”- David Varley and “No Mercy”- Adam Sobel
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
The fact that the restaurant is still open and doing great despite opening just four months before the pandemic.
The last text you sent?
Our dish machine has been broken since Saturday, so many texts trying to get it fixed.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Day off naps
What do you love most about food?
Everything! Food is delicious and brings people together.
Your favorite place in Baltimore?
Honestly, I think it is True Chesapeake!
Read more from Amy Langrehr on her Substack, Cream Cheese + Olives.
