“We want to be known for fine dining but not too stuffy. We want to be entertaining both in service and food and we are trying to connect personally with our customers,” replied Chef Walter Wilkes, when asked what he hopes to accomplish as executive chef at the White Dog Bistro in Mathews.

And in fact Wilkes is accomplishing this four nights a week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, serving dinner at this old home in Mathews Court House. Circa 1840, the building was once a Mathews hotel, but is remembered by many locally as the Bailey Hudgins house; it is now listed on the National and Virginia Registers of Historic Places.

“We make everything here, use as many fresh products as possible, love to create new dishes with new names, and I don’t claim to be a pastry chef but do as much as needed,” said Wilkes. This is the formula in the Wilkes kitchen where he works closely with sous chef Holly Dietz.

Wilkes was born in ...