Building a Culinary Community
Chef and entrepreneur Scott Skey ’88 creates community and belonging through food.
BY JANA F. BROWN
Scott Skey ’88 describes himself as a guy who leaps before he looks, and that’s just how he found his way to a life and career in the food industry. Today, as owner of BITE, a “craft and collaboration” service based in New York City, he views his role as a chef and caterer as more than just providing good food, but also creating meaningful experiences that bring people together.
BITE, now in its 20th year, employs the tagline of “food, people, craft” to steer clients away from the idea that Skey and his 15 full-time employees (and 300 part-timers) are “catering to” others, but instead working with them to plan the perfect event. Food is the starting point, reflecting Skey’s identity as a chef and the idea that food is something people experience together. The “people” element refers to the hospitality and service of Skey’s vocation, how the people involved in preparing and serving the food can impact the moment through warmth, care and attention to detail. “Craft,” he says, represents the transformative process of cooking and presentation, as well as the overall artistry and care that goes into creating the full dining experience for his clients.
“The three elements all work together to create something special and meaningful,” Skey explains. “The food provides the foundation, the people bring the hospitality and service, and the craft brings it all together into a cohesive, elevated experience.”
A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Skey arrived at St. Paul’s School as a Fifth Former, and although boarding school was not something he initially envisioned for himself, he describes his time in Millville as “everything I could have possibly dreamed my formative years would be.” Musical by nature, Skey was a member of the band and the orchestra at SPS. He has fond memories of the ritual of morning chapel, where he also enjoyed performing, and feels the same way about Seated Meal, noting that the gatherings provided an element of community that he missed once he returned to Princeton to attend college.
“The reasons we had Seated Meal at St. Paul’s are the same reasons we do a lot of the things we do [at BITE],” Skey says. “It’s to bring people together, to have them consider it something special. That still resonates with me today.”
It was at Princeton that Skey became fascinated with cooking and food after spending a summer filling in for a caterer who was out on sick leave. After graduation, he wrote letters to chefs in New York and San Francisco, seeking apprenticeships. Chef Wayne Nish of March Restaurant in New York offered Skey a position, so he moved to Manhattan and worked for free to get his start. From there, Skey bounced around various small restaurants in the West Village, including 9 Jones, before landing a post as executive chef at Midtown’s Caviar Russe, where he stayed for more than half a decade.
Not long after leaving Caviar Russe, Skey took a job doing private dinners with a pastry chef friend, a decision that eventually led to the launch of his own business. The idea behind BITE, which puts on about 300 events each year — from cocktail parties to weddings and everything in between — was to create special experiences for clients through personalized, bite-sized menus that take into consideration both the personalities of the people and the distinct venues.
“If we’re in the Hudson Valley, I don’t want to be serving halibut,” Skey explains. “It’s going to be trout, crayfish and quail, things that actually live in the Hudson Valley, even if they aren’t necessarily sourced from there. New York City’s a little different because it’s a collision of cultures.”
The responsibility Skey feels to his clients echoes the atmosphere he’s worked to create within his business. BITE sponsors employee cabarets, hosts book clubs, intramural volleyball and softball teams, and fosters a sense of community that deepens the bonds among staff members. Skey prioritizes this belonging, along with supporting the young workers who come to New York to pursue artistic dreams.
The discovery of a fulfilling, collaborative, client-focused approach aligns well with Skey’s values, and comes with rewarding aspects of the business he didn’t initially anticipate — namely, the ability to mentor young people entering or passing through the food industry. He has been “surprised by joy” when considering the many ways in which he’s been able to promote community.
“It starts with respect,” Skey says. “That’s the bare minimum … but when you lead with respect and grace, generally what comes back is something similar that will lead to a warm and wonderful and somehow transcendent hospitality experience.”