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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com
PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Chris Prescott, sous chef, learns how to plate an order of jambalaya from Executive Chef Jason Bruner in KayDeAeis’ kitchen.
Cajun cuisine on Broad Street Local owners bring NOLA chef to Sumter BY SUSAN DOHERTY OSTEEN Special to The Sumter Item
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hef Jason Bruner grew up in Plaquemines Parish, just outside of New Orleans. He received culinary degrees in New York, China and Italy. He
trained under master chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Daniel Boulud and worked in Michelin Star restaurants around the world, most recently in Barcelona, Spain. Bruner hosted a weekly cooking show in Tallahassee, Florida, and competed on Food Network’s popular “Cutthroat Kitchen.”
So, when Bruner decided to go back to his culinary roots, he moved to Sumter. What? Bruner’s travels allowed him to learn the nuances of world-class cuisine. However, he never had the chance to showcase the recipes he learned from his mom and grandparents until Brian Anderson and his B. ANDERSON wife, Kimberly, asked him to start a Cajun restaurant in Sumter. “I was excited,” Bruner said. “The idea of getting back to my roots and cooking the food that made me who I am as a chef was unbelievable.” For Anderson, opening a res-
Chef Jason Bruner adds green onions to a plate of jambalaya.
KayDeAeis taurant is a life-long dream. Before embarking on KayDeAeis restaurant, he worked for General Electric’s nuclear power division. The logo for the restaurant is a blend of the atomic sign combined with the French fleurde-lis. The colors of the logo are Mardi Gras purple and gold, and the name, KayDeAeis, is Kimberly’s initials, phonetically written out in Cajun dialect. “My wife and I have always had a love affair with the Cajun creole food,” Anderson said. “Whenever our travels took us anywhere near Louisiana we would go out of our way to drive to some of the small parishes and find a small place to eat; sometimes we were even invited to someone’s home to eat with their family. We wanted to bring the love we have for Cajun food to Sumter.” Anderson, along with his brotherin-law and business partner Kevin Reed, posted the job of executive chef and received more than 200 applicants. After several rounds of inter-
WHERE: 2390 Broad St., adjacent to Quality Inn HOURS: Open for lunch MondayFriday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served Monday-Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sundays. PHONE: (803) 905-0505 ONLINE: www.kaydeaeis.com
views they decided Bruner was a natural choice to bring a taste of NOLA to Sumter. In addition to an authentic Cajun chef, Anderson also tried to bring the feel of an outdoor New Orleans café to KayDeAeis. The interior has been completely redesigned with an indoor alleyway, porch and “king’s table” that seats nine guests. The three areas have views of the stage, which showcases live music for lunch and dinner. The menu reflects Chef Bruner’s heritage. “The creole shrimp is my great-grandmother’s recipe from 1922,” he said. “We purchase local, fresh ingredients, nothing frozen, and everything is made from scratch.” This is why crawfish, a creole staple, is noticeably absent from the menu. Once they come into season Bruner said they will purchase from a local
ABOVE: Bartender Rachel Warren serves up a Plaquemines Punch at KayDeAeis’ bar. BELOW LEFT: KayDeAeis’ Cedar Plank Salmon is seen recently. farm. KayDeAeis also uses local vegetables, pasta and grits and sources its beef, pork and poultry from Carolina farms. If it is not local, Bruner said they ship it in from New Orleans. This is true for their po’boy bread from the famous Leidenheimer bakery. This dedication to keeping ingredients fresh and local means the menu is updated frequently. Changes also reflect Anderson’s and Bruner’s commitment to keeping prices fair. Entrees include classic creole favorites jambalaya, gumbo, blackened redfish and red beans and rice, as well as more adventurous options such as the house-made alligator sausage and Cajun pizzas. After a complete kitchen overhaul, the brick pizza oven is one of the only remnants of past restaurants. To keep to the Cajun theme, Bruner adapted the ingredients. The
Buffalo chicken pizza is topped with chicken fingers tossed in KayDeAeis’ signature sauce, and the duck debris pizza features duck confit and a Port wine reduction. Anderson said he knows the location proved challenging to restaurant owners in the past, but he hopes people will stop in to see the changes they have made. “We are new, local owners,” he said, noting his wife was raised in Sumter and he has called it home for nearly 27 years. “We have live music daily and an $8.99 executive lunch special. We have a full bar but pride ourselves as a family friendly restaurant.” Chef Bruner cannot reveal how he fared on “Cutthroat Kitchen,” but he said the episode is scheduled to run on the New Year’s edition. He is also a finalist for the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” series.