A tribute dinner marks Chef Brad Spence’s return to the restaurant world — this time as an artist

Brad Spence will be the guest of honor Wednesday at a pop-up dinner at Osteria, his former colleague Jeff Michaud’s Italian restaurant on North Broad Street.

But Spence himself, a two-time James Beard Award nominee for best chef Mid-Atlantic, will not be in the kitchen.

The evening, featuring a four-course dinner ($85 per person), will be a celebration of Spence’s cooking career and will include dishes that he developed at Amis, his former restaurant in Washington Square West, such as rigatoni with Jersey tomato amatriciana and tagliata di tonno with fennel and citrus.

It also will showcase Spence’s newfound art career.

Spence has been out of the restaurant business since a stroke in February 2020, several weeks before his 43rd birthday.

The Spence-Michaud bond was forged about 15 years ago as they came up as chefs in Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin’s restaurant organization. (Trivia: Spence is credited with inventing the rotolo, a pizza roll-up that is still a menu staple at Pizzeria Vetri.)

Spence ran Amis (which opened in 2010), while Michaud later took over Osteria (which opened in 2007). After Amis and Osteria were sold to Urban Outfitters in early 2016, Spence stayed on. He developed other Amis locations around the country until he left in summer 2019, around the time of the closing at 13th and Waverly Streets.

At the time of Spence’s stroke, seven months later, he was planning his own restaurant and consulting on projects such as the return of Olga’s Diner.

He also was painting — bright, bold abstracts and “animals I’ve cooked” — a hobby that started years before at Amis when he began sketching Moka espresso pots on the chalkboard.

Spence recalled that he was cooking at home in Haddonfield in February 2020 when a terrible headache set in — “like something popped in my head.”

“I’m like, that’s not good,” he said. “I sat down and said I’m calling the cops right now.”

The stroke initially affected the left side of his body. What followed were months of inpatient therapy. At Magee Rehabilitation, his therapists had him paint to help with his hand-eye coordination, balance, and dexterity.

Spence credits the nurses and therapists for his recovery. Now, his therapy is “making sure that I’m being active every day, getting outside and not sitting in my house melting away. I go to the pool, I go to the gym.”

He also teaches yoga.

Asked if he misses cooking, he replied: “No. Not at all. I’ll equate it to sports. I left everything out on the field. I have nothing to look back on and be like, ‘Oh, man. I wish I did this or I did that. Everything I wanted to do, I did. I have nothing to complain about and everything to be happy about.”