Kevin Sousa (chef)

Kevin Sousa
Born (1974-11-21) November 21, 1974
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
Culinary career
Cooking style New American
Website superiormotors15104.com

Kevin Sousa is the chef and owner of Superior Motors, an American restaurant which opened in July 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was previously the chef/owner of Salt of the Earth, Union Pig & Chicken and Station Street Food.

Career

Sousa was born November 21, 1974 in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Sousa worked at the Duquesne Club as senior saucier and roundsperson under chef Keith Coughenaur and then worked for: bigburrito restaurant group at Kaya and Soba, Bigelow Grille and Alchemy[1] the Red Room cafe and consulting chef for Nine on Nine restaurant before undertaking his own venture, Salt of the Earth.[2] Sousa also has a consulting company, naclpgh, which specializes in concept redevelopment and implementation, notable projects include Yo Rita Taqueria. In early 2012, Sousa and team opened Union Pig and Chicken as well as Station Street Hot Dogs in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Sousa was voted a Rising Star chef in 2004 by the Pittsburgh Magazine. Salt was semi-finalist for the "Best New Restaurant" category for the James Beard award in 2011. In December 2010, Sousa's Salt of the Earth was favorably reviewed by the national publication "The Week"[3] along with restaurants in Los Angeles and Dallas. Sousa was named 2011 Chef of the Year by Pittsburgh Magazine. Salt of the Earth was recognized in Food and Wine magazine as having one of the "Ten Best Restaurant Dishes of 2011," and by The New York Times as being an integral part of Pittsburgh's farm-to-table movement. Sousa was named a semifinalist for Food & Wine magazine's "The People's Best New Chef" 2012. Sousa is a currently a semi-finalist for "Best Chef: Midatlantic", James Beard 2012.

In December 2013, Sousa launched a Kickstarter campaign to gather funding for an upcoming restaurant named Superior Motors in Braddock, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With a backing of 2,026 backers, Sousa raised $310,225 for his New American style restaurant concept.

In July 2017, Superior Motors opened to the public. Within its first year, it was named one of the Top 10 best restaurants in the country by Food and Wine Magazine[4], and the best new restaurant of 2018 by Pittsburgh Magazine[5].

Controversy

Over three years after the success of Sousa's Kickstarter campaign for Superior Motors, the restaurant was still not completed. Sousa claimed that unforeseen issues with the floor, combined with him being unable to secure needed funding beyond the $310,225 garnered via the Kickstarter campaign and the many hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from various other sources (over $700,000 in total) was delaying progress and an opening. Sousa blamed negative press for causing financing roadblocks after he was the subject of an investigative report[6] through a local news station, KDKA-TV, in relation to Superior Motors still not being open.

References

  1. ↑ "Chef Kevin Sousa's kitchen is filled with tools, ingredients suitable for a science experiment". www.post-gazette.com.
  2. ↑ "Kevin Sousa's long-awaited 'Salt of the Earth' exceeds high expectations". www.post-gazette.com.
  3. ↑ "What the experts recommend: Special-occasion dining". theweek.com. 2 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Food & Wine Restaurants of the Year 2018". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  5. ↑ "Best New Restaurant of 2018: Superior Motors". Retrieved 2018-07-01.
  6. ↑ "KDKA Investigates: Chef Answers Tough Questions On Stalled Launch Of Braddock Restaurant". cbslocal.com. 21 December 2016.
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