Meet Chef Ant

Chef Ant Soriano found his love for the culinary arts in his mother’s kitchen growing up. Her Filipino influenced cuisine combined with North Carolina’s Southern ingredients and flavors planted the passion for cooking early in his life. He began nurturing his love for food working in restaurants in Tallahassee, Florida as a student at Florida State University (FSU). 

After graduating from FSU with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and realizing that he was more interested in being in the kitchen rather than the lab, Ant enrolled at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) in Providence, Rhode Island. There, he built the foundation for his career as a chef. He also had two beautiful boys, Ollie and Noah. 

After graduating from JWU, Ant continued honing his skills in Boston and Providence, finally arriving at the Ritz Carlton Beach Resort in Naples, Florida under the tutelage of CMC Chef Lawrence McFadden. There, he worked in the Grill Room with Chef Michael Voltaggio and the Dining Room CMC Chef Arnaud Berthelier.  He moved to Sarasota, Florida and became the Chef at Beach Bistro.

In 2005, He came to North Carolina, where he began his Charlotte career with the Harpers Group at Upstream Restaurant. Working with Chef Tom Condron, Ant was quickly promoted Chef de Cuisine at Arpa, Spanish Tapas Restaurant in Uptown.

He then moved on to the Executive Chef position at Nolen Kitchen and worked with the Stratos Restaurant Group to open the Big View Diner before becoming the Executive Chef at Ballantyne Country Club in 2009. In 2017, he left the country club to become the opening Executive Chef of Southpark Grill with restaurateur Greg McIntosh. Ant’s passion and experience can now be found in his own venture, Feel Good Meals by Ant’s Kitchen.

Feel Good Meals is based out of Ant’s Kitchen, a commissary kitchen in North Belmont that he established in 2019.