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Charleston Grill at Charleston Place is pleased to announce the launch of the first cookbook by its award-winning Executive Chef, Bob Waggoner. Scheduled to debut this September, Charleston Grill at Charleston Place: French-Influenced Lowcountry Cuisine (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, $29.95, Hardcover) features Chef Waggoner’s unique cuisine, which fuses traditional Lowcountry cooking with his own French-inspired technique that has made Charleston Grill a preeminent force on the Southern restaurant scene.
Charleston Grill at Charleston Place: French-Influenced Lowcountry Cuisine features photography by Chef Waggoner himself, and shows readers how to create an impressive spread of the restaurant’s most famous dishes in the home for family and friends. Chapters highlight appetizers, breakfasts, vegetables, salads, soups, meat & game, fish, and desserts, with a resources section listing purveyors. Waggoner ups the ante by providing suggestions for wine pairings with many dishes.
Relying heavily upon the abundant local produce and seafood of South Carolina, recipes include Collard Greens Braised in Palmetto Amber Beer, Carolina Quail with Country-Fried Foie Gras & Sawmill Gravy, and Thin Crêpes Stuffed with Praline Grits & Pistachio Ice Cream. This is a book that will entice both Charleston Grill regulars and anyone interested in learning that there’s more to Southern cooking than just deep-frying.
Chef Waggoner has been named Food & Wine’s “Readers’ Favorite Chef in America” and one of Saveur’s “100 Favorite Things.” He has also been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for a “Best Chef in the Southeast” award, and as one of James Beard’s Rising Stars of the 21st Century. Waggoner is one of the few Americans to be Knighted with the “l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole” by the Government of France.
The California native received his formal training with Michael Roberts at Trumps in Los Angeles, and later in France at a constellation of Michelin-rated restaurants with chefs Jacques Lameloise, Charles Barrier, Pierre Gagnaire, Gerard Boyer and Mark Meneau. At 23, he accepted his first chef position at the private club “Members” in Caracas, Venezuela. Chef Waggoner returned to France at age 24 to become chef of the Hotel de la Poste in Avallon for three years. Then, in 1988, in the town of Moneteau in Burgundy, he became the first American chef to own his own restaurant in France, the much acclaimed Le Monte Cristo. In 1991, Waggoner was offered the opportunity of Chef de Cuisine with Chef Jean-Pierre Silva, the two-star Michelin, at Le Vieux Moulin in Beaune, France. After 11 years in France, he returned to the States in 1993 to cook at Turnberry Isle in Florida, before joining The Wild Boar in Nashville, where he earned the restaurant a coveted AAA Five-Diamond Award.
Every year since Chef Waggoner joined Charleston Place in 1997, Charleston Grill has received the AAA Four-Diamond Award and the Mobil Four-Star Award. The restaurant was the only one in the area to be included in the Nation’s Restaurant News “Fine Dining Hall of Fame” and in the book, The Elite 1000. Charleston Grill has received Wine Spectator’s “Best Of” award since 2003, and the “Distinguished Restaurants of North America” award beginning in 1997.
Charleston Place, an Orient-Express Hotel, is located in the heart of Charleston, South Carolina’s historic district and evokes the ambiance of a grand, 17th-century residence. With 440 luxurious guestrooms including 42 suites, the hotel offers “The Club” floor for the ultimate in bespoke services with a private personal concierge and an array of culinary offerings. The Spa at Charleston Place is a renowned sanctuary for pampering and relaxation, while Charleston Grill is consistently recognized as one of the best restaurants in the country. The hotel’s Thoroughbred Club was built to evoke the ambiance of a historic Jockey Club and offers “the best tea in Charleston.”
Charleston Place is located at 205 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401; Telephone: 843-722-4900 or 1-800-611-5545; website: www.charlestonplace.com. Reservations can be made at reservations@charlestonplace.com.
