Charlotte Magazine – August 2019

44 CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // JULY 2019

ON THE LINE WITH

GENE

BRIGGS

Legion Brewing’s

executive chef turns

SouthPark’s first craft brewery

into a food destination

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

What ingredient do you always have on hand? Pork. Always. I love

cooking with pork, because it has that deep, rich avor. I have a new pork

belly gyro on the menu.

Any culinary trends you’re watching? Fermentation. It’s a very cool way

to get those avors to pop even more. When you do it right, it’s incredible.

Any trends you’re completely over? I was over pumpkin spice before it

started. And I might catch some ak for this, but I’m over avocados. It’s a

buzzword now. I do love them, but they’re twice as expensive now, because

they’re in such demand.

What do you like to do outside of the kitchen? I’ve been powerli ing

for the last ­ve or six years. I’ve always been in the gym, but now I’m the

strongest I’ve ever been in my life. Hopefully, I’ll start competing soon.

What’s your favorite local restaurant other than your own? When I’m

not working, I just want simple stuƒ like a burger, pizza, or the fried chicken

at Publix. I don’t want fancy stuƒ when I eat out.

Wine or beer? Both. I know I should say beer, but I love great wine, too. The

beer we do here pairs with food just as well as wine.

Any other local chefs you look up to? I’ve been doing this so long that

most chefs I’ve looked up to are dead. Now, it’s more respect for what

they’re doing. (Bruce) Moƒett and I started coming up in this town at the

same time. Moƒett and (Joe) Kindred are as good as anyone out there. Paul

Verica is doing an incredible job, too. I know a lot of these guys personally,

and they’re all really good guys and good at what they do.

What are you most looking forward to in this role at Legion Brewing?

I want to keep this place growing. We opened in October, and we still have

giant waits on weekends. We haven’t seen the full potential of what this

place can do. At ­rst, we sold a lot of burgers and chicken sandwiches, but

now everything across the board is selling well, so I want to re­ne the menu.

There’s always going to be things we keep, but you’ll never get bored here.

At least 50 percent of the dishes here have beer somewhere in them.

Any rules to live by in the kitchen? A big rule in this kitchen—or any

kitchen I’ve been in—is that nothing is ever ‘just good enough.’ It’s got to be

perfect every single time.

(Interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

PE

TER TA

YLO

R

FOOD+DRINK

You may know him from: Blue

Restaurant & Bar, where he was executive

chef for 14 years

Age: 55

Relationship status: Married with three

daughters, ages 17, 19, and 23

Hometown: Binghamton, New York

Pets: None, but I’m a big dog lover

Currently lives: Davis Lake

Favorite sports team: New York Giants