Rising to the top of Knox Sunsphere’s new chef offers fresh outlook Eric Bailes
Staff Writer According to Amy Carpenter, making food that’s appealing to the eyes is one of her favorite things about working in the Sunsphere. “I like making sexy food,” she said. But while working at the Sunsphere certainly is a unique job, Amy’s job is significantly more delicious than most. She is the new executive chef at Primo Ristorante Italiano, located on the fifth floor of the Sunsphere, where she gets to cook great food and see the beautiful city of Knoxville every night. She is at a position she has worked her entire life to achieve and she could not be happier. In late September, Carpenter replaced Bruce Bogartz, the former
executive chef, and quickly changed the restaurant and how it worked in order to better suit the customers. A Wichita, Kansas native, Carpenter has been in the cooking industry since the age of 15, but she did not get to work in the kitchen until she was 18, as most places did not want a girl with no experience working in the kitchen. She had to fight her way into the kitchen and prove herself. This consisted of bussing and serving tables, doing dishes and various other jobs. The hard work paid off when she got a job at Carlos O’Kelley’s, a Midwest Mexican chain, working in the kitchen and eventually becoming a night supervisor. When she established herself in the kitchen, she moved to Knoxville and worked at various establishments around the city, until moving back to Wichita to go to culinary school. She
then decided to leave school and cook full time at restaurants throughout Wichita. After spending some time in Wichita once again, she decide to come back to the great city of Knoxville. Once back in Knoxville, she was able to work at several restaurants, including Bistro by the Tracks, which gave her new insight into her work. After she left the Bistro, Carpenter heard that Bogartz was looking for help at the Primo. She worked under his tutelage for several months and learned a variety of new skills, including the challenge of working in a location like the Sunsphere. As it is relatively small and a destination eatery, it is hard to get return business, even with an award-winning chef like Bogartz in charge. See CARPENTER on Page 5
Alex Phillips • The Daily Beacon
Volume 132 Issue 58
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Monday, November 14, 2016