Photos by Michael Piazza

Though his restaurant has fewer than 30 seats, David Welch wouldn’t call the place small. “It’s exclusive,” says the proprietor and namesake of Chef Dave’s, a petite American bistro in Chestnut Hill. The intimate size “makes the whole experience,” he says, because you can see everything— from the chef himself at work in the open kitchen, grilling each rib eye and pan-searing each filet of halibut, to the hands-on service delivered by his team and the energy of the other diners in the room.

And you never know who else might be there. Welch won’t name names, but “we have a lot of heavy hitters that come here,” he says. Chef Dave’s opened in 2022, more than two decades into Welch’s career as a high-end catering chef. His clients included prestigious institutions like Harvard and MIT as well as power players like the late culinary great Julia Child and even President Barack Obama. Welch’s discretion about such relationships—and, presumably, the quality of the dining experiences he provides—turned many others into repeat customers, he says.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of great people that I probably wouldn’t have met if I didn’t do the style of catering that I’ve done,” he says.

That style, specifically? Whatever his customer wants—and is willing to pay for. (“The only way someone canceled” a catering contract, he says, “was if they couldn’t afford it.”) At Chef Dave’s, Welch is slightly more constrained by the equipment he has within the restaurant’s modest kitchen. So he settled on a chophouse-style menu of starters, salads and mains—such as crispy jerkseasoned duck wings served with bright cilantro pesto; an eggless Caesar salad; a bleu cheese burger; pasta pomodoro; and a selection of prime steaks—plus seasonal specials like swordfish piccata, lobster carbonara and a heritage pork chop accompanied by summer peaches or autumnal candied yams.

“I use only the best of the best” ingredients, Welch says, sourced from the same purveyors, like Kinnealey Meats and Specialty Foods, where he would shop for his most discerning private clients. The prices—which Chef Dave’s leaves off its menu listed online—reflect that excellence. If customers ever question or complain about the cost of dinner at Chef Dave’s, Welch tells his staff to not worry about it. “I know who’s not my customer,” he says. “It’s like me going to Applebee’s and complaining about the food. ‘That’s not for you, Dave. Why would you go there?’”

Welch, who grew up in Mattapan and took the bus to Newton schools under the state’s METCO program for educational opportunity, developed a taste for the finer things in life early on. His parents emigrated from Montserrat, in the British West Indies, and the “healthy, beautiful” meals they would put on the family’s table reflected their heritage, from bacalao to tender roasts and chicken. After school, Welch took many jobs to support the lifestyle he wanted to live, eventually becoming a stock trader. It was at One Financial Center in the 1990s where he learned to love cigars, Scotch and fine wines.

“Just imagine, you could walk into that building with your cigar lit,” he says, laughing at the memory.

After a stock market crash, Welch took his aspirations out of finance and into the food world. He soon took a job at Formaggio Kitchen in Huron Village, where he stayed for 12 years and established the company’s produce department as well as its popular weekend barbecue that continues seasonally today. (Chef Dave’s signature smoked ribs are one of the most popular menu items at his restaurant.) Welch’s private-events business evolved from relationships he made with those same customers in Cambridge, and some of them are now regulars at his very own restaurant.

“The joy” of his latest endeavor, he says, “is seeing and experiencing the tremendous support of so many beautiful people. They bring me wine, they bring me cigars, they bring me Scotch.”

It’s the life he always envisioned for himself.

chefdaves.com
3C Boylston St, Chestnut Hill

This story appeared in the Winter 2024 issue.