For the nearly 105,000 followers of Amanda Frederickson’s eponymous Instagram account, her two Radish Kitchen restaurants have become must-visit destinations. “I get DM’s from tourists saying they’re stopping by Radish, and that has been an unexpected and fun surprise,” she says.
Amanda’s star has been rising in the food world since the mid-2000’s. She grew up in Florida before there was much of a food movement and gravitated toward cooking. “I first taught myself how to cook by watching The Food Network,” she recalls.
Amanda graduated from Boston University and moved to San Francisco to work in nonprofit fundraising. In 2007, she attended a Super Bowl party dressed in a New York Giants jersey. Luke Smiley, a Washington DC native and graduate of the University of Virginia, was there in his 49’ers shirt. “I saw her and thought, ‘She’s amazing. I have to go talk to her,’” he says. He crossed the room without planning what to say and made a lame joke about her Giants shirt. Little did he know, Amanda’s dad is former New York Giants running back Tucker Frederickson. Luke and Amanda married three years later.
During their time in the Bay Area, they explored the food scene and Amanda experimented with recipes. “California is fertile ground for learning about food and cooking,” she says. “There’s delicious food everywhere.”
While Luke earned an MBA at Stanford, Amanda attended the San Francisco Cooking School. “What really fostered my love for fresh, healthy cooking was my time in the test kitchen, doing catalog work and writing cookbooks for Williams-Sonoma,” she says.
In the meantime, Luke had a successful career in investment banking, hedge funds and private equity. His job with a startup brought the Smileys to Los Angeles, where Amanda’s foodie following continued to grow, then, five and-a-half years ago, they arrived in Nashville for his job at Asurion.
“We never considered opening a restaurant until we moved to Nashville,” says Luke. Their first daughter was born soon after, followed by another daughter eighteen months later. Finding fast-casual food that was fresh and healthy was a challenge. Amanda explains, “I love to cook and I love to eat, but like so many of us, we were strapped for time.” They saw an opportunity to create simple, quality food for people who might not have time to sit in a restaurant.
Their first Radish Kitchen opened in Nashville’s Sylvan Park in 2020, a banner year for the Smileys. “Our youngest child was born in January of that year,” explains Luke, “so we had two kids under two. Amanda authored a cookbook, ‘Simple Beautiful Food,’ that was released in March. We opened a restaurant, juggled everything with the pandemic, and I had a full-time job. 2020 was busy!”
A second restaurant opened in Franklin’s McEwen Northside development in 2022.
This past summer, Luke became the company’s full-time CEO, allowing Amanda to focus on recipe development and design. “We play off each other’s strengths which is super important,” she says.
The name Radish came to Amanda one evening while she rocked her oldest daughter to sleep. “I like how it sounds crunchy and fresh, and it works well for branding.” The “Stay Rad” mural on their Nashville location is a popular photo spot and the sweatshirts sell out as soon as they hit their online shop.
Everything served at Radish is made in-house from scratch with the exception of the pitas. Ingredients are sourced from local farms and each day the staff makes marinades and dressings, falafel, cookies, even the frozen yogurt base.
“When I was pregnant, I craved Greek frozen yogurt, which was popular in California, and I missed it,” says Amanda. “When we opened Radish I put it on the menu mostly so I could eat it.” The yogurt is made with vanilla beans and served with local honey or their own magic shell topping. “It has developed quite a cult following,” Amanda laughs.
Plans to open more Radish Kitchens are in the works. “It’s rewarding when customers say thank you for bringing us this kind of food,” says Luke. “We hear it every day.” Amanda concurs. “We’re excited to be part of the growth in Williamson County, and, the more Radishes we open, the more access people will have to hearty, delicious food!” RadishKitchen.com
Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash and Kale
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 bunch of kale, stem removed and leaves, roughly chopped
4 Tbs. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 mince shallot
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
Salt and pepper
4 Tbs. flour
3 cups stock (chicken or vegetables)
1/2 butternut squash, diced about 1/2” thick
1 cup shredded cooked chicken (from a rotisserie chicken )
1 round pie dough (either homemade or store bought)
1 egg, mixed with 2 tbs. water
Preheat oven to 400°F
In a medium cast iron skillet warm olive oil over medium heat. Add the kale and saute for about a minute or until the leaves are wilted. Carefully remove from pan.
In the same pan melt the butter. Add the garlic, sage, and big pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the flour and whisk for about a minute until the flour and butter are incorporated and the mixture has turned a light golden brown.
Whisk in the stock and cook over medium until stock is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the butternut squash, chicken, and sauteed kale back into the pan. Mix well and add another pinch of salt Let the mixture cool slightly.
Roll out the pie dough into a 12” diameter circle and about 1/2” thick. Cut medium squares out of the pie dough, about 4” long and 2” wide. Repeat with all the pie dough. Place pie dough squares on top of the pot pie filling, overlapping to create a crust.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake the pot pie for about 30 minutes or until the pie dough is golden brown.
Let the pot pie cool slightly then serve.
Makes about 4 to 6 servings.
“I love to cook and I love to eat, but like so many of us, we were strapped for time.” -- Amanda Frederickson
