After a 2 year hiatus, Chef Kat Humphus is back in the kitchen of a San Diego restaurant, now working weekend shifts at North Park's Tribute Pizza.
Chef Katherine Humphus became a San Diego culinary star when she was appointed to the Executive Chef position at the Cohn Restaurant Group's Ocean Beach BO-beau at age 22. Those famous BO-beau Brussel sprouts - yea that's Chef Kat's recipe. On the last day of 2014, then 26-year-old Kat left her position as pretty-much the corporate chef of the Cohn Group to become her own boss. She launched her own cooking website, Kat's Kitchen Collective, the very next day, which she later evolved into a meal kit delivery company named Savory Made Simple. After over a year of operation and more than 10,000 meals donated to Feeding America San Diego, Chef Kat closed Savory Made Simple earlier this year.
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| Some of Tribute's brunch items |
In addition to being a graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the valedictorian of her high school class, Kat is a longtime drummer, a passionate traveler, a licensed skydiver, a former-vegan, a native San Diegan, and an all-in-all cool person with an intimidating resume. During her early culinary career, Chef Kat worked in the kitchens of some of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in the country, including Wylie Dufresne's now-defunct WD~50 in Manhattan and Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Napa Valley. She has been a finalist on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay and won an episode of Guy Fieri's Guy's Grocery Games.
"When I left the restaurant industry 2 years ago, the first question people would ask me was 'when are you coming back?'", explained Chef Kat. "I didn't have an answer other than 'when it feels right.' Earlier this year, I experienced the magic of Tribute Pizza for the first time. And then a second time. And then a lot of times. It felt really special to me in there, and I couldn't pinpoint why at the time. Fast forward to now, I know it because...well...'it felt right'."
"When I left the restaurant industry 2 years ago, the first question people would ask me was 'when are you coming back?'", explained Chef Kat. "I didn't have an answer other than 'when it feels right.' Earlier this year, I experienced the magic of Tribute Pizza for the first time. And then a second time. And then a lot of times. It felt really special to me in there, and I couldn't pinpoint why at the time. Fast forward to now, I know it because...well...'it felt right'."
Starting this weekend, Chef Kat is cooking at Tribute Pizza in North Park on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch. Founded by longtime pizza chef Matthew Lyons, Tribute Pizza began as a roving Neapolitan-style, wood-fired oven in 2013 before opening a brick-and-mortar location within the North Park Post Office Lofts in Spring 2016. Tribute's menu is in the capable hands of Executive Chef Brian La Bonte and is centered around recreations of signature pizzas from the country's top pizzerias, including Roberta's in Brooklyn, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, and even a pie devoted to the CostCo Food Court.
Brunch at Tribute is currently served from 11am-2pm on Saturdays & Sundays with a weekly-modified menu that includes bottomless mimosas and dishes like a breakfast pizza and an everything bagel breakfast calzone. Chef Kat's influence over menu option should be seen almost immediately, and starting the weekend of October 14, Tribute is expected to expand weekend brunch hours to 9am-3pm.
Brunch at Tribute is currently served from 11am-2pm on Saturdays & Sundays with a weekly-modified menu that includes bottomless mimosas and dishes like a breakfast pizza and an everything bagel breakfast calzone. Chef Kat's influence over menu option should be seen almost immediately, and starting the weekend of October 14, Tribute is expected to expand weekend brunch hours to 9am-3pm.
Tribute Pizza is located at 3077 North Park Way. For more information, visit tributepizza.com.
