Executive Chef, Michael Carter
Michael Carter better known as “Mike”— or his nickname, “The Flavor Regulator” — is the Executive Chef at the mission-driven restaurant, Down North Pizza in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Growing up on his Grandmother’s cooking and bustling family dinners (where global cuisines frequented the table) Carter knew early on that he could find inherent joy and creativity in cooking.
A fast and savvy learner, in 2013 Carter pursued a degree in Culinary Management from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Life circumstances left him without a degree but he took with him strong foundational knowledge, a well-honed set of skills, and intense dedication to mastering the professional craft of a chef, which readily served him for a career in the food and restaurant industry. Carter then assumed various roles from line cook to sous chef at notable Philadelphia hotspots such as Porta, Booker’s and V Street.
Having spent a total of 12.5 years incarcerated (at various intervals) Carter is not only someone that benefits from Down North’s Pizza mission of reducing recidivism, but is also a role model for everyone in the community. On top of serving up Philly’s best square pies and running the day-to-day operations at the restaurant, some of his latest achievements include: the successful 2020 Free Lunch Program (a Down North Pizza summer initiative to help feed local children), selling 10,000 pies between March and July 2021 where each pie dough was handmade by Carter, and spearheading a ‘A Match Made in Philly’ a chef’s choice menu collaboration series alongside notable chefs Marc Vetri, Randy Rucker and Chad Williams.
Forever inspired by his familial roots, it’s no wonder that a central part of Carter’s ethos and fuel is serving people and creating safe spaces for all. For him, the creative process starts with developing a recipe from scratch and continues every day when others get to enjoy the reward from the very first bite.