Charleston has emerged as the culinary heartbeat of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, with a food scene that has been heating up for years. Some chefs draw inspiration from traditional Southern ingredients, while others are importing flavors from their own cultures. Here, we speak to five chefs who are redefining Southern cooking in this historic city about what got them in the kitchen and what keeps them going.
Chefs Shuai and Corrie Wang.
CHEF SHUAI WANG, KING BBQ AND JACKRABBIT FILLY
Chef’s journey I was born in Beijing, and then my family and I emigrated to Queens, New York. My grandmothers on both sides cooked all the time. Asian people love to eat, and holidays are such a big thing. My mom could probably out cook me any day. When we went brick-and-mortar—we used to have a food truck serving unconventional Japanese fare called Short Grain—I just thought, Why don’t I make what I know and love? The dumplings at Jackrabbit are the same recipe passed down from my grandma to my mom. The chili oil is a family recipe.
Standout differences King BBQ is really an ode to Chinatown barbecue. It’s old-school Cantonese barbecue, that sweet and sticky Chinese pork, but with Carolina and Southern influences. There’s plenty of mustard and vinegar, but also ginger and scallion. Jackrabbit is a heritage-driven new Chinese-American restaurant utilizing local ingredients. We’re not doing Cantonese style takeout…a part of me loves that, but that’s not the Chinese food I grew up with. The recipes are influenced by my mom and my grandmothers, and dishes that have inspired me throughout my career. It has a little bit of Hispanic influence; I worked with a lot of Mexican cooks in New York. I love Indian food, so I’ll do something with chutneys. Or old-school French. Right now, our mapo tofu is served inside a puff pastry. There’s a lot of room to play, but it’s still very much a Chinese menu. Jackrabbit just moved to a new space, and we’re planning to showcase a lot of vegetables as well as fish this spring.
Charleston favorites My wife and I have been here for more than 10 years. I love New York, but it’s so cutthroat; it just didn’t seem like a place I could grow old in. When we moved down to Charleston, we didn’t think we would be here for this long, but the food-and-beverage community is so close-knit. All the chefs are amazing and have each other’s backs. The farmers, the fishermen, they have all become family. We’ve been buying pork and shrimp from the same people for nine years. I buy radishes from the same farmer… I know exactly who is raising the chickens that my eggs are coming from. I can go to the docks where I buy my fish. There’s an entire food culture here, there’s so much history, the Gullah Geechee. Charleston is changing, but places like Bertha’s, in this little blue house, haven’t changed. They have some of the best food I’ve ever had, simple, but heartwarming.
The dumplings at Jackrabbit Filly are true to Chef Shuai Wang’s family recipe.
Signature dishes At King, I have two favorite dishes. The shrimp toast sliders: the shrimp is in between Hawaiian bread, dill pickle, with cheese. I love our spicy noodle soup with the duck leg as the protein option, too. At Jackrabbit, I love the vegetable dishes, like the fragrant eggplant with cod and oyster sauce. It reminds me of what we would eat growing up. The vegetables change with the season. I love our beans and greens, too. We use hearty greens from our farmers with caramelized ginger, braise these large lima beans, with a little ginger-scallion, dashi, and crispy garlic on top.
Diners’ experience I want to give Grandma vibes. We built our restaurants to feel like you’re going to your grandmother’s place on a Sunday afternoon, there’s a sense of home and comfort. For King, I want to transport you to Chinatown, to a great
Chef Jeanna Oleksiak.
CHEF JEANNE OLEKSIAK, HERD PROVISIONS
Chef’s journey I’ve lived here for more than 30 years and one thing I never really paid attention to growing up was the farmers. We would go strawberry picking out on Johns Island or harvest tomatoes on Wadmalaw Island. My dad and brother and I would go shrimping every season, we raised some chickens, but it never occurred to me how special those things were. As I’ve grown as a chef, I’ve met a bunch of farmers, from hydroponic to in-ground to animal raising, and I’ve seen how much love they put into what they produce. I put love and care into my dishes, and it makes sense to start with those who put love and care into the ingredients.
Standout differences We strive to bring in whole animals and butcher ourselves. It allows us to confirm the quality and customize cuts. Currently we are butchering whole ducks, lamb, the occasional fish and beef, but have also brought in goat and pork. We age our beef in house from 60 to 180 days and beyond, either as straight dry age or rubbed in things like ash, dried flowers, tallow, or yeast.
Cooking inspirations I am focusing on having a bit more fun with our menu. I love to recreate classics by reconstructing the way they are made, while still retaining that comfort-food element. Currently, I’m inspired by the darker flavors of winter, braises and confits that create rich, comforting dishes, nose-to-tail butchery, and utilizing all the “off cuts.”
The entrance to Herd Provisions, one of the city’s new culinary gems.
Charleston favorites I honestly don’t go out much, but my “I don’t feel like cooking/treating myself” meals generally come from Kwei Fei or Old Li’s. I find inspiration everywhere, from the local produce list from GrowFood Carolina to social media to whatever I’m reading currently.
Signature dishes About once a week I ask my guys to make me our soy marinated duck with duck confit hash. It’s the umami sauce that does it for me. Tangy, spicy, dark…it balances all the fat from the duck and really rounds out the dish.
Soy-marinated duck at Herd Provisions
meal that you could come back tomorrow and have again and again.
Chef Michael Toscano at work in the kitchen at Le Farfalle.
CHEF MICHAEL TOSCANO, LE FARFALLE AND BLANCA ESTRADA
Chef’s journey I’m fortunate to have had two parents who made time for us, and through the meals we had, that culture of being around a table, laughing, eating together. That is such a big part of who I am. I spent a lot of time in New York and one of the first dishes at Perla (my Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village while there) was this whole roasted veal head. That came from my mother; she would roast a whole cow head overnight and make tamales out of it. Moving from New York to Charleston, we noticed there’s less of that hustle that is a way of life in New York, and here people just have more time for one another. That’s something I love about Charleston.
Cooking inspirations Spring is a special time in Charleston. It’s crab season, ramps, chanterelles. It rains and everywhere you look there are chanterelles!
The restaurant’s garden patio.
Charleston favorites I love history. Just being able to walk through downtown Charleston and take in the history that has happened there, the good, bad, ugly, and how this town has evolved from theater to art to food. It’s our duty to contribute to this community; we’re all here to make this community great. One of my all-time favorites, if my wife and I can sneak away for a lunch, is Malagon; it’s Spanish cuisine, and they do it so well.
Signature dishes At Le Farfalle, it’s the octopus carpaccio, born from the grill station at Babbo (where I was sous chef); an octopus antipasti, braised in wine, with roasted tomatoes and pickled eggplant is a beautiful way to start a meal. At Blanca Estrada, it’s no question the beef tongue taco on one of our homemade tortillas, topped with pico de gallo, cilantro, a little bit of rice, and finished with habanero salsa.
Diners’ experience Le Farfalle is all about using local ingredients and cooking the Italian food I know from all over the boot, making pasta, focaccia, doing it well and doing it in a space that can go from casual, a Wednesday night bowl of spaghetti at the bar, to a special occasion for a birthday or anniversary. We use local pig, mill our own flour, do it all from scratch. The plan is to build out a pizzeria, but right now Blanca Estrada is the food I grew up eating, my mother’s Mexican roots, homemade tortillas and homemade meats. My mother is an important part of my cooking, a huge inspiration, but all of that came from my maternal grandmother.
Chef Nikko Cagalanan.
CHEF NIKKO CAGALANAN, KULTURA
Chef’s journey I moved from the Philippines to Boston in 2011, and was working as a nurse. I eventually changed careers to embrace my passion for food, and found my way to Charleston in 2018. When I got here, there was a big gap in terms of diversity in the food scene, with very few people representing their [own] cultural food. I was doing pop-ups around town, collaborating with other chefs, and finally opened Kultura. We have been lucky to receive a lot of recognition; I could never have imagined that I would have been part of that conversation.
Cooking inspirations We have this Filipino adobo dish on the menu, but instead of rice, I use grits, cooking them with coconut milk and aromatics. It’s my Southern twist! The best way to collaborate, for me, is to think about local ingredients from the incredible fishmongers and farmers in the area.
The Kamayan Feast at Kultura spotlights a variety of Filipino specialties.
Signature dishes The Filipino rice porridge, with lemongrass, ginger, and scallion. It’s what my lola (grandmother) would make me when I wasn’t feeling well. It’s a very nostalgic dish for me. Also, the red curry dish with snapper that is slow roasted; there’s a lot of coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass, and calamansi, and a very simple carrot salad on top.
Diners’ experience I just want them to feel like they are in my grandmother’s house, getting fed great food.
Chef Marcus Shell of By The Way Restaurant.
CHEF MARCUS SHELL, BY THE WAY
Chef’s journey My food is calculated and well thought out. It’s hard to find ways to do things differently these days… a way to truly take ownership. I cook with my heart and compose with my mind.
Cooking inspirations My role is to continuously raise the bar by highlighting local, fresh, and beautiful ingredients as often as possible, while pushing the limits of what ingredients pair well together and what applications are typically used.
Charleston favorites My desire to stand out and be different is a driving force in what I do. It’s very easy to see the culinary and hospitality greatness when you set foot in Charleston. For me, inspiration stems from seeing people succeed in something that they truly love. There is no shortness of that here. Places like Graft and Kultura, whose chefs and teams have their own stories of how they came to be and the integrity in which they operate, continue to be an inspiration to me.
By The Way’s fried oysters with caviar and Fox Den wings.
Signature dishes A standout to me, the true American item, is The Burger—a classic tavern-style patty that’s dressed up with Bibb lettuce, caramelized onions, tomato jam, and sharp cheddar. The beef blend is fantastic, and with a simple seasoning of salt and pepper, it’s quite the favorite among patrons visiting the restaurant.
Diners’ experience Happiness. Food brings me such joy. The real treat is having the platform to create it in my vision, having teammates who trust me to do it well, and sharing it with strangers.
