| Tweet |
Celebrity Chef Marvin Woods will bring his charm and talent to Hilton Head Island.
Q: What are the best things about Southern cuisine?
A: I don’t really think you can talk about American food or cuisine without talking about its Southern roots. There’s a lot of history and melding of ethnic groups. I don’t think it’s a type of cuisine that you can be pigeon-holed into.
Q: Your career started in New York, but your first book is about Lowcountry cuisine. How did that come about?
A: I applied for a position in a Manhattan restaurant and the owner was from Beaufort. I got the job but I didn’t know much about the Lowcountry or the cuisine. The owner gave me early-printed cookbooks and history books on the Lowcountry and I was blown away by all the information! I thought other people would be excited as well.
Q: Do you have a favorite meal?
A: Shrimp and grits - I just love it.
Q: What’s the best thing about cooking for other people?
A: It’s being a performer. You get instant gratification and instant ridicule. You’re going to work really hard to get more gratification than ridicule. You love what you cook but you love the applause at the end of the day.
Q: Is there a story behind the signature bandana?
A: I was in a Manhattan restaurant with an open kitchen. It was the late 1980s and we catered to a young and hip crowd. The owner thought the toque blanc was too pretentious and asked us to wear ball caps and bandanas instead. I worked other places with the toque blanc. When I got to the point in my career where I could wear what I pleased, I grabbed the bandana. Then we shot the pilot for “Home Plate” and it just fit me. I felt liberated in the bandana.
Q: How and why did you start “Droppin’ Knowledge with Chef Marvin Woods?”
A: I really just got tired of traveling around and seeing the lack of knowledge when it comes to preparing simple, nutritional foods. Childhood obesity is at epic proportions. The fast food industry is still growing and somebody’s got to stand up and push back a little bit.
