Carrie Smith

Coming Up

Before teaching, Carrie Smith built a career in operations-heavy roles where pace, coordination, and accountability were part of the job. Her education at Parkersburg Catholic High School, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, and Marshall University sits behind a work history shaped first by retail leadership and then by broader management. The leadership track runs through Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow Chemists, Inc., Sunglass Hut, and Kanawha Valley Tourism, with each role adding a different register of oversight. She served as District Manager at Bath & Body Works (2008–2010), then as General Manager at Bath & Body Works (2010–2011), before moving to manager of shops and operations at C.O. Bigelow Chemists, Inc. (2011–2012) and Market Talent Manager at Bath & Body Works in Chicago (2011–2012). She returned as District Manager at Bath & Body Works in Baltimore (2012–2014), spent a decade as Regional Manager at Sunglass Hut (2014–2024), and then became Executive Director at Kanawha Valley Tourism (2024–2025). The thread through all of it is operational control: teams, systems, and pace. Today, Carrie Smith works across instruction and ownership. She is owner and cfo of 1010 Bridge Restaurant & Catering (since 2024), owner and cfo of Paulie’s Fine Italian (since 2025), and chef-instructor of Institute of Culinary Education. The combination places her at the point where food service, business structure, and teaching meet.

Where They Are Now

At the Institute of Culinary Education, Carrie Smith teaches in Los Angeles with a focus on baking fundamentals and the exact variables that shape a dependable result. The lesson is technical, but the aim is practical: make the process legible, repeatable, and grounded enough for students to carry it into their own kitchens. When she says, “Temperature plays into a big factor in our cookies,” she is naming the kind of detail that separates guesswork from method. Flavor pairing, in her teaching, is handled with the same restraint. “I love pairing cherries with chocolate,” she says, and the pairing itself does the work: fruit against depth, brightness against richness, each element sharpened by the other. The point is not flourish; it is balance. That same approach shapes the classroom tone. Her emphasis on shared, family-centered cooking keeps the work from becoming sterile, while the focus on fundamentals gives students structure they can trust. Technique is the base, but the setting remains communal.

Signature

Carrie's signature dishes include Perfect Buttercream Recipe.

In Their Words “Hello everyone, I'm Chef Smith here at the Los Angeles campus and we're going to talk about the science behind cookies today.” “Temperature plays into a big factor in our cookies.”