Fort Smith attorney Kevin Hickey really can have his cake and eat it, too. He practices law by day, and on certain evenings he transforms into a personal chef whose fine-dining meals garner praise and rave reviews on social media. Law is his passion; cooking is his joy.
He calls his side hustle The Lawyer’s Table, a new concept for the area. Instead of diners coming to him, he arrives at a client’s home, where he prepares multi-course meals. Mark Burnett, a certified sommelier, often works with him, pairing perfect wines throughout the meal.
At a recent Marco Polo dinner, Kevin’s menu included traditional Jiaozi (Chinese dumplings), wok-seared shrimp in honey walnut sauce, lasagna Bolognese, and Roman lamb with Friuli cabbage, and au gratin potatoes baked in a prosciutto crust.
Another favorite is the filet mignon on a bed of lemon-parmesan risotto with roasted cauliflower and toasted olive oil breadcrumbs. And, of course, there are decadent desserts, often prepared by Kevin the day before.
His first foray into the culinary world happened while he was a student at Van Buren High School. Mr. Chotard, his French teacher, required every student to prepare a French dish. Kevin whipped up a recipe using chicken, cheese, cream, and sautéed mushrooms. It was divine.
Of course, it was just one experience. Kevin, a Tennis All-American his senior year, had too much going on to spend time in the kitchen, and he’d never once considered becoming a professional chef. Once he’d graduated, he played tennis for the University of Tulsa. Two years in, he needed a break.
Kevin is sitting in his law office in downtown Fort Smith. It’s early afternoon, the dappled light of the day creating a perfect atmosphere for thoughtful conversation. He says, “I’d always been drawn to California, so I went off to USC in Los Angeles and finished college there. Being twenty-one and having your own car was pretty cool. You could go up to Big Bear about three hours away, ski in the morning, and come down and surf in the afternoon.”
But the crowds did him in. “Sometimes you’d feel like you were just a number. In 1991, I came to Fayetteville to go to law school.”
The pull of California might have been in his bones. Kevin, adopted at two days old, had not searched for his birth parents before his time at USC. But when he was back at home in Arkansas for the winter break, he decided to try.
Miraculously, Kevin figured it out. When he returned to California, he learned his biological father was living in the northern part of the state. When they met, Kevin marveled at their resemblance. His birth father, by then married (not to Kevin’s biological mother), had two sons. One of his greatest pastimes was cooking. And one of Kevin’s half-brothers? He grew up to become a professional chef.
As time passed, Kevin cooked occasionally, but not seriously. Then, about ten years ago, he got a divorce. For the first time in his life, he dived into the world of gourmet cooking. As a bachelor, he scoured cookbooks and watched chefs like the late Anthony Bourdain, Francis Mallman, and Jonathan Waxman. He learned something from each of them.
Kevin, now happily remarried, brought his cooking skills to the new union. “My wife Nicole knows Saturdays are going to be food experiment days. I’ll either cook on an open fire on our back patio or in the kitchen. On Saturdays, I’m always happy.
“We love entertaining and having our friends over, and we’d have a great time. After a few years, I realized how much I enjoyed creating something.”
Nicole, close friends, and other family members told Kevin he should do something with all that talent. Kevin laughs. “But I wasn’t giving up my day job.”
In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we lived. Kevin was working from home during the shutdown, as were multitudes of others. Restaurants were shuttered as part of the plan to limit human interaction.
After his legal work was done for the day, Kevin started putting together family meal packages. “I texted some of my friends and said I was offering the meals at such-and-such a price on the following Saturday.” Kevin smiles. “I didn’t know what would happen, but, oh man, they ordered.” And they kept ordering. “One of my friends told me that this was as good as anything in the River Valley. It was a huge compliment.”
When groups were able to gather again, Kevin invited some of his friends over. He listened to spa music as he worked. With cooking, as with every trial he’d ever prepared for, he made plans, took notes, thought through strategies, making sure every eventuality was covered. A perfectionist at heart, Kevin wanted everything from the pacing of the meal to the temperature of the dishes to be sublime.
There are significant differences between cooking and lawyering, though. With food, Kevin never had to wait while a jury deliberated on the quality of his work. Never had to wonder if he’d hit his mark. When he served his meals, the joy on his guests’ faces was evident. And also, the stakes weren’t nearly as high.
From those dinners, The Lawyer’s Table evolved. Kevin launched his new concept on January 1, 2023, and soon word spread. Turns out, the attorney was an exceptionally good chef, masquerading in a somber suit and tie.
Kevin likes to keep the number of diners from eight to twelve, but last Valentine’s Day, he and Mark served food and wine to forty-eight people. The venue was the Bonneville House since the historic building had plenty of space. They are planning another Valentine’s dinner in 2025, with details to be released on Facebook.
Those who love to cook see their efforts as love letters made manifest. It’s no different for Kevin. At one of his last dinners, as the food was passed around and memories were made, Kevin took in the moment. No one touched their cell phone. Instead, they asked questions of each other: perfect vacations, embarrassing moments, tender nicknames, what it was like back then.
In the photos from that night, Kevin is smiling wider than the guest of honor. You would have thought the party was for him.
He shares a story with his clients, recounting a memorable episode from Anthony Bourdain’s show, set in Greece. The sun was setting, the colors of the sky wild. Anthony asked a question to those gathered there: What does it mean to be Greek?
“They were cooking fish out on the beach,” Kevin recalls, his voice softening. “There were about ten people, sitting together in the sand. Then, one of the women on the other end says, ‘Don’t tell me what you had for dinner. Tell me who you had dinner with.'” Tell me who you had dinner with. She might as well have said, Tell me who you love.
When we choose who comes to our table, we show the world who we are, who our people are, who we’d step into harm’s way for. And for Kevin, his work is about creating an experience that honors them, one as beautiful and unique as those gathered around the table.
For more on The Lawyer’s Table, visit their Facebook page.
