The Chef and the Farmer

Digging into what makes South Carolina agriculture so special

Tourism is now a $30 billion dollar industry in South Carolina, in no small part due to the state’s reputation for having a dining culture rivaling those of major cities around the US. But the question of what makes our food culture so unique, so standout, is harder to define and to answer that question, we spoke to the people instrumental in shaping that culture: chefs and farmers.

LOWCOUNTRY

Chef BJ Dennis and Joseph Fields Farm

Saint Helena Island and Johns Island

When Gullah Geechee chef and caterer BJ Dennis began doing popups in 2012, he started sourcing from Joseph Fields, a third generation farmer he’d connected with during his time in the kitchen at the now closed Carolina’s in Charleston. Now located near St. Helena Island, Dennis has been relying on the Johns Island farm for local produce ever since. “I’m big on farming,” he says. “My parents both grew up farming; that was just a way of life for them for survival. The soil is very fertile. Those of us of Gullah Geechee descent played a big part in agrarian history here. My ancestors were brought here, enslaved, because of our agrarian knowledge.”

Dennis relies on Joseph Fields Farm for seasonal crops that he uses in a wide range of dishes, showcasing their versatility and recalling an era when cooking with seasonal produce was the only option. He identifies okra as a crop of particular significance in Gullah Geechee culture and the state. “If I had a restaurant, I could have okra [on the menu] in five different ways. The classic, obviously, is okra soup, which is more like a stew, but that is the dish of South Carolina. You see it in Charleston Receipts, in these cookbooks predating 1830.”

Helen Fields agrees with Dennis that the soil is what distinguishes the quality of South Carolina crops—and it was the reason Johns Island was once known as the tomato capital. “The soil gives us the taste that we want,” she says. But the area’s farmers today are facing multiple challenges: “It’s very expensive to plant the amount of tomatoes that was planted years ago” according to Fields. And just this year, federal funding cuts have ended programs like Climate Smart through Clemson Extension, which the Fieldses and others relied on to navigate the impact of climate change. Finally, the older generation of farmers is dying out.

The solution? “You have to get the younger generation involved,” Fields says. To that end, with the help of the Fieldses’ granddaughter, Joseph Fields Farm is planning a Farm Fest on October 18, with family friendly activities like pumpkin carving and various vendors. Find full details at facebook.com/josephfieldsfarm.

MOUNTAINS

Chef Dayna Lee-Márquez and Rabbit Crest Farms
Greenville

Since her popup days, chef Dayna Lee Márquez, now the James Beard nominated owner of Comal 864 with two locations in Greenville, has sourced from Rabbit Crest Farms, which specializes in growing flowers as well as a small amount of produce, just 5 miles south of the city center. “I relate to them because they built up their business the same way I did, very small and not giving up,” Lee Márquez says, adding that she uses their squash blossoms in her restaurants almost daily.

Squash blossoms are “an ancient food,” Lee Márquez says, that “has been around in Mexico forever, something my ancestors ate.” She remembers eating it as a child growing up with very little, because it’s hearty and filling, a common meat substitute. She usually serves it one of two ways: quesadilla de flor de calabasa, a traditional vegetarian street food in which the blossoms are sandwiched with Oaxaca cheese in a handmade corn tortilla and then grilled; or stuffed with ricotta, aromatics, and tomatoes, then fried tempura style. “I like things that look fancy but aren’t,” Lee Márquez says. “We ate this growing up and we were poor.”

Lee Márquez moved to South Carolina from Texas, and she acknowledges that South Carolina’s climate and geography is special. “In every direction there is produce, there is bounty, and it’s plentiful. I still get some of my produce from where I come from in Texas, but South Carolina produce feels like it’s cared for just a little bit more. These families who have been working these farms for generations, they care.”

Elijah Kivett of Rabbit Crest Farms agrees. “Between a mix of precious native crops that were grown by the indigenous people of the Carolinas like corn, beans and squash, to the diverse crops that we are now so lucky to have thriving here thanks to their introduction from cultures around the world such as rice, okra, and collards, and of course the cuisine they brought with them, South Carolina feels like a place to celebrate all of it.”

MIDLANDS

Chef Mike Davis and Bushels and Bags
Columbia and Ridgeway

Bushels and Bags founder Lance Samuel bought a piece of land in Ridgeway initially to be a retreat from the hustle for his family. He and his wife were planting and harvesting a small vegetable garden for themselves when Covid hit. They took some extra produce down to the local farmers market and, Samuel says, “realized there was a real demand for chemical-free, naturally grown food,” adding, “We still to this day can’t keep up with the demand.”

He dug into the research and began farming full-time, connecting with chefs at regional farmers markets over the next several years. One of those chefs was Mike Davis of Terra restaurant in Columbia, who has a longstanding reputation for highlighting local produce on his menu. Davis says Samuel’s root vegetables are one of his favorite things to source from the small, no-till farm. “They grow some beautiful stuff,” Davis says. “The root veggies he’s very consistent with. I get baby carrots of all different shapes and colors, beautiful little beets. I want them to be a little bigger than a golf ball, and he is just perfect with that.” Last spring, Davis used the beets on his menu in a salad with local lettuces, whipped vadouvan goat cheese, walnuts, and sumac sunchoke chips.

Samuel says the lack of shoulder seasons in South Carolina makes growing a unique challenge and opportunity. “The cold of winter directly into the heat with no transition is hard on the crops, adjusting to the watering needs. Same for fall going into winter,” he says. “But the great part about it is our winter is so mild we’re able to grow year-round. Winter is our favorite time to grow. We can grow a lot more diversity.”

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