Wichita chef lands at culinary school with what may be the fanciest job title in town

Chef Bill Crites has landed a job with what may be the fanciest title in town.

He’s the new chef de cuisine at NICHE, which is WSU Tech’s National Institute for Culinary and Hospitality Education that opens to students in January.

“I’m, like, so stoked on the title,” Crites said with a laugh. “It sounds so big and important.”

But what is a chef de cuisine?

It’s a rather unusual position that is the creative force behind an establishment, said NICHE director John Michael.

While Michael focuses on NICHE’s administrative side and his wife, department chair Lexi Michael, focuses on the educational side, Crites will be free to focus on creativity and raising the culinary bar by overseeing the food in the restaurants and at events that NICHE will operate.

Events will begin in February, and the school’s restaurants will open in July.

Michael said Crites’ biggest attribute was “his overwhelming enthusiasm for this project.” Even before the chef de cuisine position was posted, Michael said Crites was sending him lengthy texts with ideas for the school.

Most recently, Crites has been executive chef at Odd Fellow Hall in Delano. He won’t be there on a daily basis anymore, but he’ll continue to consult on menus for Odd Fellow clients.

“We’ve been building a really cool and unique venue there,” Crites said.

He’s also a past executive chef at Koch Industries and for the five restaurants within Dempsey’s restaurant group. He also was executive chef at Hooray Ranch in Kingman.

Crites said he’s “always been really passionate . . . about the culinary education I received.”

He said he feels it’s a chef’s responsibility to pass on knowledge.

“There’s something really special about having a hand in shaping the trajectory of people’s careers.”

Crites said he wants students to learn how to stay passionate and relevant and develop a continual love of learning.

“That’s kind of the big thing, just keep yourself curious.”

Crites said being chef de cuisine is a great fit for him for a number of reasons.

“It felt like just custom made for my skill set and experience and things that matter to me.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:00 AM.