Chicago Chef Art Smith has cooked for everyone from President Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey.

Last March, in a narrow chamber somewhere inside the Vatican, Smith served the pope — fried chicken and biscuits.

Actually, the pope. It would be another couple of months before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost would be unveiled as Pope Leo XIV.

The Chicago-born pontiff can expect to enjoy plenty more Smith-inspired cuisine after the Vatican announced Friday that Smith, the executive chef at Reunion on Navy Pier, has been picked, along with Chicago restaurateur Phil Stefani, to develop a culinary concept on the sprawling grounds of the traditional papal summer retreat, Borgo Laudato Si’, about 15 miles southeast of Rome.

The restaurant, the only one on the grounds of the 135-acre retreat, is exp

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