How 21-year-old chef RJ Smith went from cooking dorm dinner parties to a Rittenhouse restaurant residency

Less than two years ago, RJ Smith was cooking elaborate tasting menus for four people in his Drexel University dorm room. Now, the 21-year-old chef is about to step onto a far bigger stage: a 120-seat restaurant overlooking Rittenhouse Square.

Smith’s Ocho Supper Club will begin a six-month residency at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Feb. 1, taking over the Scarpetta space ahead of construction on the Ruxton, a steakhouse from Atlas Restaurant Group due to open in 2027. Ocho’s run is expected to continue through July 26 — a month after Smith graduates from Drexel’s culinary program.

Ocho blends Afro-Caribbean flavors and fine-dining techniques. Since its premiere in April 2024, it has become one of Philadelphia’s most-subscribed underground dining experiences, solidly booking venues including Forin Cafe, Fitler Club, Yanaga Kappo Izakaya, and Bolo.

Lanky and soft-spoken, Smith tours the dining room during each seating, explaining the menu, pouring sauces, and telling his story.

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At the Rittenhouse, Ocho will offer a $130 eight-course tasting menu upstairs and a walk-in bar downstairs with à la carte options. James Beard Award-winning drinks author Danny Childs is developing a cocktail program centered on fermentation-driven and tradition-based Caribbean drinks. (The hotel’s Lacroix Restaurant is unaffected by the residency.)

The residency marks another “pinch me” moment for Smith, a Bay Area native who has cooked in Michelin-starred kitchens including Californios in San Francisco, Core by Clare Smyth in London, and Philadelphia’s own Provenance, as well as Jean-Georges at the Four Seasons and Royal Izakaya. Last fall, NBC’s Today show profiled Smith in a segment and brought on one of his idols, chef Daniel Boulud, who offered him a day in the kitchen of his New York City flagship, Daniel.

Smith launched Ocho as a sophomore, offering a six-course tasting menu for $35. “For the longest time, we were losing money every service,” he said. “But I saw it as a long-term investment.”

(He’s not the first Philadelphia chef to get their start via elaborate dorm-room dinners: Chef Amanda Shulman regularly hosted five-course dinners in her West Philly apartment while studying at the University of Pennsylvania; the meals eventually paved the way for the now-Michelin-starred Her Place Supper Club.)

As word spread, Smith moved Ocho off campus, upgrading to a $65 experience served at a six-seat table he had bought for $200 on Facebook Marketplace. By last summer, Ocho had segued into pop-ups, backed by a small core group of friends and restaurant professionals, including an assistant chef, Sokona Diallo, and pastry chef Marly Gates.

“We’ve been consistently trying to operate as close to a true restaurant as we can without having a brick-and-mortar space,” Smith said.

Ocho caught the attention of Gregg Skowronski, managing director of the Rittenhouse Hotel, who attended one of Smith’s dinners — after being shut out by sell-outs three times.

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“When I finally went, I was blown away by his charisma, his talent, and the food,” Skowronski said. “But what really impressed me was watching him run the kitchen — seeing what he was able to produce with such limited equipment honestly blew my mind.”

After that dinner, Skowronski called Smith to float the idea of bringing Ocho to the hotel to fill the gap between Scarpetta and the Ruxton.

“What he’s doing is truly unique in the city,” Skowronski said. “I felt it could elevate our culinary program and open the Rittenhouse up to a more modern Philadelphian audience.”

Smith said he was stunned by the call. “The fact that he believed in me and my team enough to invite us into that space and say, ‘Do what you do and make it work,’ meant a lot,” he said.

His team includes Alex Ifill, a Four Seasons alumna who handles the front of house. (She said she slid into Smith’s DMs several months ago to offer to oversee service.) The hotel is also supporting Smith with staffing, Skowronski said.

The opening menu starts with an amuse-bouche or two, then segues from kanpachi to mole negro, Atlantic cod, and jerked duck, and finishes with a black cocoa tart and petits fours. Smith describes the experience as a journey through flavor, richness, and spice, shaped by his team’s African and Caribbean backgrounds and relationships with regional farmers and fishermen.

Smith credits the Oakland home of his maternal grandmother, Rusty Keilch, as the place where he first connected to cooking and hospitality.

“Whenever we went there, everything revolved around food,” Smith said. “That’s where I really understood the importance of a home base — of sitting down to a home-cooked meal and feeling the care that comes through it.”

But a trip to Jamaica at age 16 inspired both Ocho’s name and its approach. That’s where he got in touch with his father’s Afro-Caribbean heritage as well as the diverse food scene of Ocho Rios.

Smith chose Drexel so he could learn the business side of hospitality.

“I was 17, working at a two-Michelin-star restaurant, and everyone told me I was crazy for wanting to go to culinary school,” he said. “But I always felt there was something more than just being behind the line.”

Ocho remains entirely self-funded, with every dollar reinvested into the operation. “We’re not printing money,” Smith said. “But we’re floating, and that’s gotten us here.”

After the residency, Smith plans to open a permanent Philadelphia restaurant within 12 to 18 months; he is scouting locations near Rittenhouse Square. For now, besides the residency, his focus is on finishing school.

“I graduate in June,” he said. “My family is coming to Philly for the first time, and I’m excited for them to finally experience what we do.”