It was a chance encounter in the restroom of a trendy New York City Bar. A struggling art student mentioned her love of cooking and lack of money. The other woman was a caterer in need of workers. The two exchanged names and Chef Karen Carrier never returned to graduate school. Instead she has enjoyed a varied career in food and has never regretted her decision to swap palette for palate.

Like all good southerners, she eventually returned home to Memphis in 1987 to start a family and plant the seeds for a restaurant empire.

Carrier launched Another Roadside Attraction Catering, the stunning revival of downtown Memphis with Automatic Slims Tonga Club (which she sold in 2008), The Beauty Shop Restaurant, Do Sushi, Noodle Doodle do, The Mollie Fontaine Lounge and her newest venture—Bar-DKDC Social Club.

Critics have applied descriptors like daring, exuberant, eclectic and risk-taking to her restaurant ventures – words that apply equally well to the fanciful fusion food, the funky décor and chef—owner Karen Carrier. Her ambitious cooking combines big Southern and international flavors—it’s what Food & Wine described as “in your face” cooking: imaginative, well-prepared, and full of surprises.