Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2016

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one of the locations. Describe how a
chef is selected.
Reichman: There are a few criteria.
Foremost, is the chef doing something
special with food? Is it important
to the city’s cultural identity? Can
the chef hold interest? And can
the restaurant support production?
Not every place has all of this. For
example, being at McCrady’s on the
peninsula, where George Washington
once dined, is entertaining for viewers
and provided multiple story layers.
Mount Pleasant Magazine: Which
parts of this season have been a
favorite?
Reichman: There are a couple
things we’re excited about. We did
a luncheon honoring Edna Lewis,
a well-known food matriarch for
Southern cuisine. We also sent chefs
to home-cooked meals in historic
homes. The homes included those of
BJ Dennis, Carrie Morey and others.
Mount Pleasant Magazine: Has the
fact that Charleston is still a fairly
small place (despite its cosmopolitan
feel) affected this season of Top Chef,
and how so?
Reichman: I think that the cities
always get excited we’re there. In
Charleston and the surrounding areas,
locals helped us get access to certain
places. We got to see cool things, not
the typical tourism checklist. From
a small town standpoint, Charleston
is hospitable and gracious. There’s
a fraternity, you might say, of chefs
here as well. When we’re in New York
or Los Angeles, it’s harder to focus.
Charleston is a nice size. The city that
we’ve been to that most resembles
Charleston, geographically and
population-wise, is New Orleans.
Mount Pleasant Magazine: Do
you see any variation between the
specific areas of the Lowcountry –
Mount Pleasant, downtown, Johns
Island – as far as cuisine/menu/
style?
Reichman: We covered a lot of
ground. We shot at all those places.
We tried to find backdrops that
support the creative and show all the
things happening in the Charleston
food scene, from outdoor casual
to barbecue to fine dining. When
you’re on King Street, there are some
beautiful restaurants and steakhouses.
Out on the islands it’s more casual,
like eating shrimp with your hands.
Mount Pleasant Magazine: Where
did you spend time in Mount
Pleasant and East Cooper?
Reichman: We shot at the Wreck
of Richard and Charlene – it’s one
of those special outdoorsy spots I
mentioned! What we wanted to do
was play off the pirate theme and the
coastal geography. That’s how we are
on the show; we try to get off of the
beaten path. We also shot at Whole
Foods in Mount Pleasant and Boone
Hall Plantation. And the chefs lived
together in a house at Isle of Palms.
Mount Pleasant Magazine: How
has the Charleston food scene helped
drive enthusiasm for the episodes of
Top Chef shot here?
Reichman: What’s happening in
Charleston is happening across the
country – getting into the heritage
behind foods. It’s at the top of
everyone’s radar. We were very happy
to capture it at peak.
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