13 SOUTHERN CAST IRON
“
We’rE tAkInG tHiNgS tHaT aRe gRoWiNg iN NoRtH CaRoLiNa, SoUtH
CaRoLiNa, GeOrGiA, aNd a lItTlE bIt oF ViRgInIa, aNd cOmBiNiNg tHeM
wItH fLaVoRs aNd tRaDiTiOnS fRoM aRoUnD tHe wOrLd.
”
—Chris Coleman“We’re taking things that are growing in North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, and a little bit of Virginia, and combining them
with fl avors and traditions from around the world,” he says. “It’s
very approachable, but you might fi nd some North African spices
or a Korean technique in the fried chicken.”Inside this cozy spot is a 600-degree, dual-sided wood-
fi red oven that infl uences nearly every aspect of the restaurant,
including the name.“We wanted to create a space and a meal that could stoke a
good conversation,” Chris explains. “Every dish on the menu has
something to do with that oven. If it’s not cooked in the oven,
then we’re fi nding ways to use the ashes or embers from the fi re
in a dish. We want that wood oven to be fi rst and foremost on the
menu.”Since his beginning, Chris’s style has transformed in simplicity
and refi nement. He’s taking ingredients found in locals’ backyards
and presenting them in a minimalistic fashion that truly
showcases the ingredient. It’s how his grandmother taught him to
cook so many years ago using foods from the farm.“The way that I think about food is much more aligned with
cooking at home, where it’s maybe just a few things on the plate,
but fi guring out how you can maximize the fl avors in each thing
that’s on that plate,” he explains.And though he continues to create imaginative and artfully
delicious meals in the restaurant, it’s down-home favorites that
remind him of days long gone that continue to be Chris’s favorites,
like his grandmother’s biscuits and his mother’s gumbo.One of the best gifts Chris ever received was his grandmother’s
cast-iron skillet. It was the pan he marveled over while watching
her bake biscuits, fry bacon, and roast corn and okra.“I don’t know if she had a premonition or what,” says Chris.
“But the very last time I saw her before she died, she gave me her
cast-iron pan. And now that’s what I use at home.”From ingredients to cookware, recollections of the past seem
to creep into every facet of Chris’s culinary experience.“I think it’s a natural thing to tie memories to food,” he says.
“It’s not something that I consciously do, but it just happens.
The best food ultimately is nostalgic and makes you remember
the fi rst time you ever had those ingredients and exactly where
you were.”Z Z