About Xias

Meet Chef Joy Benton, a woman whose culinary journey began long before she ever imagined she would become a chef and entrepreneur.

Believe it or not, Joy’s love for cooking began around the age of 11. While her mother worked the 3–11 p.m. shift, Joy would take food from the freezer to thaw and begin preparing meals for people in her neighborhood. She would pan-fry pork chops seasoned with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, bake potatoes, and sell her homemade meals to locals in her community. Even at a young age, Joy was already discovering what would become her lifelong passion: feeding people and bringing them joy through food.

Like many teenagers, Joy began working outside the home at 15, taking a job with McDonald’s. Her natural leadership abilities were quickly recognized by management, and she eventually became a Crew Chief.

During her junior year of high school, Joy enrolled in a double-period culinary arts class. Her talent and dedication earned her an opportunity to enter culinary school through an accelerated program immediately after graduation. At the time, however, Joy worried that choosing culinary school would not be viewed as a “good enough” career path by family and friends. She declined the opportunity and instead earned an Associate Degree in Business from her local community college.

But the kitchen kept calling her.

As the culinary industry began receiving more attention through televised cooking programs and the growing popularity of chefs in mainstream media, Joy found herself drawn back toward food. After becoming a mother to her oldest son, Boaz, she accepted a cashier position at Carnegie Mellon University through Parkhurst Dining Services.

Even though she had been hired as a cashier, Joy could not stay away from the kitchen.

Parkhurst was a union-based workplace, and when an opportunity became available to bid on a cold-side catering cook position, Joy went for it. As part of the hiring process, she was given a cooking test by Head Chef James “Pool” Dupree, who asked her to prepare 40 pounds of potato salad completely from scratch.

She got the job.

Her new position opened doors to experiences she never could have imagined. Joy had the opportunity to prepare food for notable figures, including then-presidential candidate Barack Obama and Bill Cosby.

Determined to continue advancing her culinary career, Joy left Parkhurst and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu Pittsburgh, where she would become one of the school’s final graduating classes before its closure.

While attending culinary school, Joy also took a leap of faith and opened a takeout restaurant in Pittsburgh’s Swissvale neighborhood. Balancing school, business, and the demands of working under experienced chefs ultimately became too much, and she made the difficult decision to close the restaurant.

That decision led her to Savoy Restaurant in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, where she worked under Executive Chef Kevin Watson.

Joy continued developing her skills and built a reputation for being dependable, creative, and willing to learn. Using the name Joy’s Spoon, she also continued catering for clients throughout the years.

At Savoy, Joy quickly earned the respect of Chef Watson. She became responsible for preparing and cooking many of his specialty dishes—recipes and techniques he trusted her enough to handle independently.

Her responsibilities continued to grow. Joy was entrusted with the keys to the kitchen, opened the restaurant for operations, received food deliveries, checked in orders, and helped prepare the restaurant for service.

Then came one of the most memorable moments of her culinary career.

Chef Kevin Watson had entered Savoy into Savor Pittsburgh, a highly regarded local food competition. While preparing for the competition, Chef Watson challenged his cooks to create a dish using chocolate pasta.

Joy immediately thought about a butternut squash ravioli she had created from scratch during the pasta module at culinary school. She brought her concept to Chef Watson, and together the idea evolved into a Chocolate Butternut Squash Ravioli with Lobster and Butter Sauce.

The dish was entered into the competition.

Savoy returned with the winning trophy and award, giving Joy another unforgettable milestone in her culinary journey.

While working at Savoy, Joy also became a familiar face at the restaurant’s Sunday brunch, working the live omelet station. She would arrive early on Sunday mornings to prep and help prepare the restaurant’s extensive brunch buffet.

Eventually, Joy made the decision to step away from restaurant life so she could focus more on growing her family. The long hours and weekend demands of the restaurant industry made it difficult to balance motherhood and her career.

In April 2013, Joy opened a clothing boutique. Later that same year, in December 2013, she opened a daycare with her best friend. These ventures allowed Joy to spend more time as a full-time mother while preparing to marry her high school sweetheart, Boaz.

But Joy never truly left the kitchen.

She continued catering on the side and, through word of mouth and professional recommendations, eventually became a personal chef providing nutritional meals for former Pittsburgh Steelers players Jarvis Jones, Vince Williams, and Ryan Shazier, working with their trainers to help provide meals suited to their nutritional needs.

Joy’s passion for food never disappeared.

After getting married and with the support of her mother, who helped oversee the grandchildren, Joy was finally able to pursue the dream she had carried for years.

In 2021, Joy and her husband opened Xia’s Restaurant, Lounge & Events in Pittsburgh’s Monroeville community.

Xia’s quickly became known as more than a restaurant. It became a place where people could eat, celebrate, gather, and create memories.

The 5,049-square-foot venue offered an extensive variety of experiences, including First Friday Jazz Nights, wing nights with karaoke, line dancing, Sunday brunch, repast services for grieving families, bridal and baby showers, private parties, dinners, and weddings.

The restaurant developed a loyal following and became a destination for food lovers throughout the Pittsburgh area. Its influence could even be seen as surrounding establishments began updating their menus and offerings to keep pace with the growing demand for the type of food and entertainment Xia’s provided.

Then life changed.

Joy’s mother became seriously ill, and Joy and her husband made the difficult decision to close Xia’s so they could return home and care for her.

On October 7, 2024, Xia’s closed its doors.

Joy continued catering lightly while taking the necessary time to grieve the loss of her mother. She also spent a year working from home for Verizon before parting ways with the company in the spring of 2026.

But closing one door did not mean the end of Joy’s story.

In 2026, Joy registered a new business: Xia’s Catering & Events. She also ordered a brand-new food truck, taking another step toward the next chapter of her culinary journey.

Today, Chef Joy Benton continues to pursue the dream that began when she was just an 11-year-old girl pan-frying pork chops and selling meals to her neighbors.

Her journey has taken her from a neighborhood kitchen to corporate dining, culinary school, professional restaurants, catering, personal-chef services, food competitions, entrepreneurship, motherhood, marriage, and owning a 5,049-square-foot restaurant and event venue.

Joy believes there is still more ahead—more doors to open, more people to serve, more food to create, and more of the promises God has placed on her life to walk into.