September 21, 2021

A Day in the Life: Chef Christa Csoka

The Artisan’s Palate owner faces family tragedy and inconsiderate customers

By Allison Braden

There are really only two items on Christa Csoka’s agenda: sleep and work. “I am trying to get better at delegating,” she says, but in the meantime she manages most of the restaurant and gallery herself, from washing aprons and cleaning floors to developing menu items and hosting themed events.

The NoDa eatery and wine bar opened in September 2019, and the restaurant was just beginning to find its footing when Covid struck. “We’ve been more open during the pandemic than we were before that,” Csoka says. Through 2020, the restaurant’s identity adapted, from coffee shop and bakery to wine bar and small plates. Throughout, Csoka maintained her focus on building community around local art. She has artists booked to show in her gallery space through 2023.

I catch up with her on the day Charlotte’s indoor mask mandate goes back into effect. “We all got vaccinated, we did our part, we did what we’re supposed to do. And now we have to put masks back on,” she says. “Have we not been hit hard enough already? I’m very strong, but there are moments where I feel like, Am I this strong?”

She has a lot to cope with, even aside from the pandemic putting her business in jeopardy. After her dad had a stroke in 2017, Csoka’s mom acted as his caregiver. When I spoke to Csoka, her mom, in remission from breast cancer, was undergoing a third round of chemotherapy for lymphoma. She and her siblings were taking turns caring for both parents. (Just days after our interview in late August, she let me know that her mom had passed away from an infection: “In the end, her small body just wasn’t strong enough to fight it off.”) Csoka and her siblings continue to care for their father.

Here’s what a day in her life looks like.

6 a.m. “I basically get up at six in the morning, whether I want to or not, with my mind racing.” With so much to do, Csoka is no slugabed. “I don’t really have personal time anymore, at least not since opening this place.” Before work, she hang dries the servers’ custom aprons. “I personally wash them because if we were to dry them in the dryer, the logo would come off. And the cost — it’s just one of those things. We’re trying to save money in weird ways, so sometimes I’m washing aprons.”

8:30 a.m. Csoka arrives at The Artisan’s Palate, on East 36th Street, two hours before it opens. She gives credit to her team but feels like the restaurant’s experience and environment is ultimately her responsibility. “One of the things that I tell my staff all the time is I don’t expect anyone to do anything that I don’t do. We should all be doing everything together to make this all work, but it’s still a lot on my shoulders,” she says. “I’ll be in here trying to get inventory done, and then, Oh, the printer’s out, Christa. Oh, something’s wrong with this oven. Oh, did we order this? Because I don’t see anymore. Oh, the wine order came in, and it looks like bottles are missing. That’s my life.” The day slips away as she tends to the tasks she can predict — and all the ones she can’t.

2 p.m. When the mask mandate was initially lifted early this summer, diners packed local restaurants and an air of relief settled over the city. At Artisan’s Palate, staff got vaccinated and relegated masks to drawers and backpacks. But the tentative return to normal came with an unexpected side effect: “We were dealing with a lot of weirdly bad customers — impatient, leaving bad reviews, yelling at our servers. We had a customer that made one of my servers cry, and I was like, Nope.” Csoka, who is 51, explains that she comes from a generation with a customer-is-always-right mentality, but she hopes perceptions of the service industry are changing. “We don’t have to be your ragdoll because you think we’re your servants. We’re serving you to make you happy.” The behavior she saw when customers descended in droves was in startling contrast to the goodness she witnessed during the height of the pandemic. Customers then, she says, were generous not just in the sense of tipping well but in extending their hearts and souls to her business.

The pandemic has lent new weight to that old hospitality-industry question: What keeps you coming back for the abuse? For Csoka, who’s worked in kitchens for three decades, it’s the moments of joy and connection. During the pandemic, she was proud to offer a semblance of normalcy, a place to connect with art, artists, and neighbors when opportunities were scarce. “I personally walk around my restaurant and look at people’s faces. Even with a mask on, you can tell in their eyes.”

7 p.m. Csoka tries to sneak out of the restaurant by five, but usually it’s seven or eight by the time she gets out the door. At home, distractions vanish and she can focus on developing event menus and refining recipes. A recent Argentine wine tasting exemplifies her approach: “I research Argentinian cuisine, and look at different flavor elements, then I take those flavors and make it my own. I know chimichurri is a huge part of Argentinian cuisine, so of course that was going to be on the menu — but how does chimichurri go with Argentine wine and what wines go better?” Her research guarantees a curated experience.

Csoka’s love of travel and dining inspired her restaurant’s identity, but she rarely gets to enjoy long evenings chatting with bartenders anymore. “Fun?” she says. “That’s a vague memory.” Her only real free time is on Sunday nights and Mondays, when The Artisan’s Palate is closed, but she often takes advantage of that time to tackle administrative chores with her general manager, Jada Bennett. She eats popcorn or a bowl of cereal for dinner many nights, but will occasionally treat herself to her favorite comfort food from her favorite spot: sushi at Yume, a short walk from her home.

9 p.m. Csoka worked with her father at his company, Apex Performance, in Uptown until he closed the business after his stroke in 2017. The organization worked with veterans and part of its mission was to instill resilience. “I was just doing the admin and running the business, but through osmosis I learned those skills,” she reflects. “Sometimes it’s as simple as breathing. If you’re getting stressed and you feel yourself freaking out, sit down, take a breath, take a moment, and then just move forward.”

10 p.m. The pandemic — and everything else — has tested Csoka’s resilience. She tells herself it’s temporary. “We are all going through this pandemic, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I just got to keep my head to the ground and know that eventually I will get through this,” she says. “Here I am, middle-aged and working this many hours, but it is what I love. I created a beautiful little garden in the back, and sometimes I just sit back there by myself with a cup of coffee in the morning before anyone gets there. It’s my heart and soul.” At the other end of her day, she tries to capture another instant of peace with breathing exercises before bed. Just like in the morning, she says, “That’s when your mind starts racing.”