She Built a Baltimore Restaurant Empire, but Still Works the Stove

Cindy Wolf is a rarity — a seasoned chef focused on her flagship and a style of white-linen dining that’s been endangered by the pandemic.

BALTIMORE — In July of 1999, Cindy Wolf cooked lunch for Julia Child at Charleston, her restaurant on the city’s downtown waterfront. At the end of a five-course meal that included fried oysters with cayenne-lemon mayonnaise and pan-seared sweetbreads, Ms. Wolf went out to the dining room to meet the cooking legend. “Why haven’t I heard of you?” Child asked. Ms. Wolf’s obscurity was understandable. She was then just 33, and Charleston was less than two years old, tucked away in an underdeveloped part of a city that had virtually no reputation for fine dining. “I love living in Baltimore,” Ms. Wolf said. “But let’s be honest — food people don’t think this is a sexy place to visit.”