Chefs' Dish 2018

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Savannah’s culinary creatives step into the spotlight.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATIE MCGEE, ANGELA HOPPER AND JASON B. JAMES

1540 Room ..................................................................................................................................Kyle Jacovino, Page 102 a.Lure ......................................................................................................... Bryce Knott and Zach Kartchner, Page 110 Cohen’s Retreat ....................................................................................................................... Will Herrington, Page 109 Edgar’s Proof and Provision .............. . Siran Watt, Vernard Flowers, Steven Ouellette and Tiffani Williams, Page 103 Five Oaks Taproom .................................................................................................................. Jose Rodriguez, Page 105 Hyatt Regency Savannah Moss + Oak Savannah Eatery .......................................................Alison Houston, Page 107 The Pirates’ House ................................................................... Shaun Carter, John Chaplin and Wes Waters, Page 109 Savannah Technical College Culinary Institute of Savannah ........................................................ Alex Lewis, Page 108 Savor Savannah ....................................................................................................................... Kasey Thexton, Page 104 Sisters of the New South .................................................................................................................................... Page 106 Tequila’s Town Mexican Restaurant .............................................................................................. Temo Ortiz, Page 110

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KYLE JACOVINO 1540 Room • 15 E. Liberty St. 912.443.2022 • 1540savannah.com SPECIALTY: Harissa spiced octopus, Carolina gold rice, chorizo, sofrito and preserved lemon.

AT MY PLACE: 1540 is not as much unique as it is refreshing. What makes it refreshing is the natural, local ingredients and the attention to detail in our everyday preparation. Dishes are composed with tremendous love and care, and you can always enjoy at least one dish that you cannot find anywhere else in the city. You’ll also never forget the taste!

MY DREAM DINNER GUESTS WOULD BE:

Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Massimo Bottura, Arianna Occhipinti, Alice Waters and Zoe Saldana.

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: When I was 16 years old and in high school, I wrapped meats and helped butcher chicken while dishwashing and also doing pizza prep.

MY LAST MEAL WOULD BE: Steak pizzaiola, which

is basically seared in a cast iron skillet, baked in a wood fire oven, braised in a tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella, parmesan and mascarpone cheeses. Add a bunch of chilies on the side and a glass of Lambrusco, and I’m good to go.

THE SAVANNAH FOOD SCENE IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS: Will be on the forefront of dining in the Southeast.

With the combination of raw talent, design and local restaurants that are pushing each other forward, we can solidify Savannah as a food destination.

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PROOF & PROVISION Edgar’s Proof & Provision • 15 E. Liberty St. 912.443.2000 • proofsavannah.com SPECIALTY: Bespoke craft cocktails created by our lineup

of talented mixologists and Edgar’s nachos, which are house made, tri-color tortilla chips with melted pimento cheese and braised short ribs. These are not to be missed!

AT MY PLACE: The atmosphere and the history of The DeSoto make it a unique experience. — Siran Watt THE CHEF I MOST ADMIRE IS: John Bertrand.

— Vernard Flowers

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE INDUSTRY: I started in my uncle’s bar in Dallas, Texas. After my military service was complete, I jumped back into the industry here in Savannah! — Tiffani Williams PERFECT PAIRING:

Bone-in, 18-ounce ribeye, potatoes and a glass of Macallan, 18 year — Vernard Flowers Curried Goat (I’m Jamaican, mon!) and a glass of Pappy Van Winkle, 20 year — Siran Watt Lobster (or chicken fingers) and a gin & tonic — Steven Ouellette Spaghetti with meat sauce, a Dr. Pepper and a shot of tequila — Tiffani Williams

WHAT SETS US APART IN SAVANNAH: We have

Savannah’s only official whiskey club, The Proofreader’s Club.

The biggest benefit of being a member is working your way through 75 of our more than 130 whiskeys, plus food and cocktail discounts. It’s basically the coolest club in Savannah!

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KASEY THEXTON Executive Chef • Savor Savannah at the Savannah Convention Center 912.447.4066 • One International Drive • savtcc.com

IN MY KITCHEN: I have the space and capability of

producing meals for a large number of guests, from one person to 1,500 people. We give as much attention to the details for a meal for 1,500 as we would when preparing a meal for one.

I CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Fresh ingredients and

my knives. Of course, I can cook without them, but I prefer not to if I have the choice! When I travel across the country to work with other chefs, I see how fortunate I am here in Savannah to have access to a variety and abundance of fresh ingredients.

MY DREAM DINNER GUEST WOULD BE: Hard to choose. There are many people I would love to have dinner with—actually far too many to list! An ideal guest is anyone with a love of food and great conversation.

PERFECT PAIRING: I have multiple favorite dishes, but there are a couple of simple items that are always perfect to start the day: a fresh-baked biscuit with butter and honey paired with a strong cup of coffee.

MY BEST DAYS IN THE KITCHEN: Are when I have

the opportunity to teach someone who is willing and eager to learn. I would gladly hire a cook who has very little experience and kitchen knowledge but is eager to work and learn over a cook who has all the kitchen skills and work experience but lacks a passion for what they do.

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JOSE RODRIGUEZ Five Oaks Taproom 201 W Bay St. • hotelindigosavannah.com I CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Butter and a soup spoon.

Butter is the bacon of vegetarians; it is the staple of classical cooking. Its flavor enhances the pallet and gives a sense of security when finishing a sauce or basting a filet. Butter never fails.

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: While working at the Barclay Intercontinental Hotel as a receiving clerk, Alex Feher, the executive chef, would allow me to come in on my days off and wash dishes, clean onions, peel potatoes. The guys in the kitchen would give me a hard time, because I had to earn my stripes. The time came when I was making lunch money beating them out on peel offs!

(Whoever peeled ten items the fastest was the winner.)

MY LAST MEAL WOULD BE: Mr. Lee’s House

special fried rice, or Jing Yaa Tang’s Pekin Duck. Mr. Lee would brag about how good his hometown food was in Beijing, and one day, he invited me to enjoy a dish that he had prepared at home. It was the best rice dish I’ve ever had.

SITTING ON THE BACK BURNER: Front and center, we have our innovative breakfast menu coming with new dishes and guest favorites this spring. Dishes like our light fare and the wild berry compote pancakes are getting all the big buzz. We decided to give them competition with the likes of our new short rib tater bowl and our own huevos rancheros. We’re looking forward to the morning showdown.

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SISTERS OF THE NEW SOUTH 2605 Skidaway Road • 912.335.2761 thesistersofthenewsouth.com

SPECIALTY: Soul food. Our traditional Southern meals

will make you think of wonderful dinners at your Mama’s house—fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, red beans and rice, collard greens and corn bread. You can select from traditional dishes like ox tails, turkey wings, smothered pork chops, smothered shrimp, hamburger steak and liver and onions, then pair them with Southern sides like candied yams, mashed potatoes, lima beans and fried okra.

SOUTHERN ROOTS: All eight of us sisters were born

and raised in Savannah. Everything we know about Southern food, cooking and seasonings came from here.

WE CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Our specialty

seasonings for all our traditional Southern dishes. We even sell our homemade seasonings for corn, fried chicken, hamburger steak, lima beans, collard greens, oxtail, pork chops, turkey wings, okra and tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, cabbage and smothered shrimp.

PERFECT PAIRING: Finish your meal with a slice or serving of our homemade Southern desserts: red velvet cake, white velvet cake, key lime cake, banana pudding, peach cobbler or bread pudding.

WE HELP THE COMMUNITY: By facilitating fundraising efforts. We can host a “Spirit Night”, in which your group can invite the public to Sisters of the New South on a specific evening, and 10 percent of your guests’ purchases will go to your organization. You can also sell gift cards for a percentage of the proceeds.

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ALISON HOUSTON Executive Chef • Hyatt Regency Savannah Moss + Oak Savannah Eatery 912.238.1234 • savannah.regency.hyatt.com WHAT KEEPS ME MOTIVATED: Learning! As a chef, you can never learn everything about food. There are so many different cultures and preparations that one lifetime is simply not long enough to learn. Right now, I am learning about beekeeping and gardening. I’ve always wanted to keep bees, and here at Hyatt Regency Savannah, we have a functioning hive and garden on our roof. We use the honey and herbs that we grow in our everyday menus items. It’s great to see them nurtured and used full circle.

MY DREAM DINNER GUEST WOULD BE:

My grandma Agnes, who has now passed. She was born in Ireland in the early 1900s and came from modest beginnings.

Out of necessity, she learned to be a great cook with little resources.

MY LAST MEAL WOULD BE: Authentic Mexican street tacos. Growing up in California with the huge food influence of Mexico, I crave good tacos and salsas. Because of that, it’s also my favorite food to cook as well!

PERFECT PAIRING: Grilled oysters with grapefruit mignonette and a glass of good sauvignon blanc. Simple, clean and delicious.

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ALEX LEWIS Savannah Technical College • 912.443.5792 5717 White Bluff Rd. • savannahtech.edu/culinaryarts SPECIALTY: I feel most passionate about California

cuisine. Food that highlights local, sustainable produce with clean flavors.

AT MY PLACE: I’m a stickler for cleaning as you go.

I CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Salt, pepper and my chef’s knife. People can get many exotic spices from all over the world, but salt and pepper are universal.

MY DREAM DINNER GUEST WOULD BE: Prince.

THE CHEF I MOST ADMIRE IS: Edna Lewis and Alice Waters. As chefs and authors, both have been instrumental in defining our national cuisine.

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: I have been cooking or baking since middle school. I would bake cookies for my brother’s friends when we were out of school for summer vacation. That experience came in handy later in life when working in a professional kitchen with the mass production of catering.

MY LAST MEAL WOULD BE: Tamales. I am fourth generation born and raised in Northern California, so my family would make enchiladas and tamales often.

PERFECT PAIRING: Since it’s spring, what better time to have lamb? Herb crusted lamb and spring vegetables with a good California cabernet sauvignon.

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THE PIRATES’ HOUSE 20 East Broad St. • 912.233.5757 thepirateshouse.com OUR CULINARY TEAM: Executive Chef Shaun Carter, Sous Chefs John Chaplin, Wes Waters and Mike Simmons (not pictured)

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: My journey began when I turned 15. I started working in a small, locally owned restaurant hosting a menu of the classics. I was a dish washer after school and eventually began working as a commis chef, and I haven’t looked back. —Shaun Carter AT MY PLACE: Everyone strives for the same goal, to take care of our guests! We make a conscious effort to push ourselves to improve guest experiences every day. We have an outstanding and passionate management team that carries this ambition to fruition through teamwork and unity. —Shaun Carter

WHAT’S NEW AND EXCITING IN THE KITCHEN: We have recently released an all-new dessert menu, which I’m particularly excited about. It features nods to the past as well as new and exciting dishes, all made in-house. Also, we’ve started work on a new dinner menu that showcases creative plates and low country classics.

—Shaun Carter

COHEN’S RETREAT Will Herrington • 5715 Skidaway Road 912.355.3336 • cohensretreat.com SPECIALTY: Barbecue lamb ribs with braised collard greens and house made pickles. I was hooked the first time I tried lamb ribs. It’s a bit of a forgotten cut of meat, and the richness of the lamb fat is incomparable.

We also incorporate our greens from Canewater Farms, one of my favorite purveyors.

AT MY PLACE: You can’t find a more unique setting than Cohen’s Retreat. It’s emphasis on art, community and a modern approach to Lowcountry inspired food is special to Savannah.

HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: As a kid, I would watch my mother cook. As I grew up, I was always drawn back to the kitchen.

I also hunted and fished in my youth and brought everything home to clean and cook. I love the kitchen atmosphere—it’s fun and feels like home to me. I especially love people and making them happy providing food for them to eat!

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TEMO ORTIZ Tequila’s Town Mexican Restaurant 109 Whitaker St. • 912.236.3222 7360 Skidaway Road • 912.226.3307 tequilastown.com MY SPECIALTY IS: Street-style tacos, high-end and artisan tequila and traditional Mexican recipes.

I GOT MY START: By tradition. My mother expected me to help her in the kitchen as I talked about my day at school. I officially started cooking at age 17, after starting out as a dishwasher in my brother’s restaurant.

MY PERFECT PAIRING: Barbacoa lamb tacos with a glass of Mezcal Amarás and Chapulín salt (grasshopper-infused salt).

WHY WE OPENED TEQUILA’S TOWN: My family and I saw a need to shake up the Mexican and Tex-Mex food scene in Savannah. We feel passionate about respecting and valuing our beloved Mexican cuisine, and we wanted to see a menu focused on regional and traditional fare, with great tacos. There is so much great tequila that we offer as well, above and beyond the usual choices of Patrón and Jose Cuervo.

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Bryce Knott and Zach Kartchner 309 W. Congress St. • 912.233.2111 aluresavannah.com SPECIALTY: Southern food, with a current focus on low country cuisine.

–Zach Kartchner

I CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: My spoons. Each one serves a purpose.

Everyone who has ever cooked with me knows that they are a few of my prized possessions. –Bryce Knott

MY DREAM DINNER GUESTS WOULD BE: My Grandma Kartchner. She spent her entire life raising 13 incredible children on a cattle ranch in southern Arizona. To her, the height of gastronomy was mixing “the yellow squash with the zucchini squash,” so to be able to show her the full potential of food would be an honor and a joy.

–Zach Kartchner HOW I GOT MY START IN THE KITCHEN: Washing dishes at a barbecue restaurant in high school. I instantly fell in love with the fast pace and the intensity of the hot line. That was almost 13 years ago, and now I can’t imagine doing anything else. –Bryce Knott

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