Stanhope Takes His Cooking Magic To Sullivan’s Island

3 weeks ago

There are respective reasons why James Beard Award-winning cook Jason Stanhope is astir to go a part-owner of Sullivan’s Seafood & Bar connected Sullivan’s Island, but nan 1 that’s not making headlines is nan 1 that shows nan magic of hospitality, he says.

“When you’re a student of hospitality, you sometimes spell supra and beyond for group and you wonderment really it’s going to translate,” he said. “I was talking pinch Jeremy (Graves, 1 of nan caller owners astatine Sullivan’s) who wanted maine to bargain into Sullivan’s Seafood & Bar and he remembered a achromatic truffle omelet I made for him, and past a day meal pinch FIG classics. That was almost a decade ago.

“You conscionable perpetrate to your trade and hospitality and you ne'er cognize erstwhile that 1 repast you navigator personification is going to move into a business that tin alteration your life for nan better. That’s benignant of nan romance of nan story.”

Stanhope, who won his grant while astatine FIG downtown, will beryllium leaving Lowland edifice successful nan Pinch Hotel for nan beachy entreaty of Sullivan’s. He said he intends to alteration nan sanction backmost to its original Sullivan’s Fish Camp to bespeak what he hopes to do location – thin into nan food campy vibe of nutrient reflective of nan waters surrounding nan restaurant.

“We are truthful adjacent to Shem Creek and places that bring successful unthinkable shellfish, and we person astonishing pockets of agriculture,” he said. “I want to pump arsenic galore vegetables arsenic I tin onto nan paper and show nan lighter broadside of what food cuisine tin be.

Not that Stanhope intends to stomp into nan edifice for illustration a culinary Bigfoot.

“The first shape of maine being location is not for illustration kicking successful nan door, guns blazing. I want to support nan squad and study nan systems. I want to put my sound successful and thin into that organization done nan menu. My first extremity is to thin into nan food campy conception and what it tin be, and to bring backmost nan sanction Sullivan’s Fish Camp,” he said.

A reliable prime to make

But why time off Lowland aft little than 2 years, erstwhile he’s spent overmuch of that clip reshaping that restaurant?

“The reality is I wasn’t looking to leave,” Stanhope said. “We were conscionable getting bully astatine what we do. There was a steep learning curve because we retrofitted our conception into nan building that was already there.

“The creation was quirky, truthful it was a batch of problem-solving and a batch of cooking by math: we person this galore people, this galore items we request to do, this galore hours. What tin we perchance do pinch that? We sewage bully astatine moving pinch that abstraction pinch nan room and walk-in upstairs, nan paper sewage much personal, and nan work unit was catching connected to nan philosophies we wanted to create.”

The acquisition astatine nan edifice improved, he said.

“I was proud of what we were accomplishing, but past this connection came from section group I respect and spot and it presented maine pinch nan opportunity to beryllium an proprietor and to really, genuinely beryllium successful power of my ain destiny.”

The determination was difficult for Stanhope, who said he turns down offers frequently.

“This was a large determination for me. I talked to a batch of group successful my life, group I look up to successful my manufacture and extracurricular of it,” he said. “The overwhelming feedback was, ‘Jason, are you going to beryllium happier?’ They each said that if you are going to beryllium happier, nan different things for illustration nan money and nan pride, will come.”

Ultimately, Stanhope said, what would make him happy was a occupation that allowed him to amended equilibrium edifice life pinch family life and to execute his dream of owning his ain place.

“Looking astatine my boys and my family, I deliberation successful nan adjacent word and successful nan agelong term, this conscionable sets america up to beryllium successful a amended position to person nan life we want to create. And nan partners are amazing. I spot and respect them.

“Everybody says, ‘Jason, why don’t you conscionable do your ain point and unfastened up your ain spot,’ but, while we don’t unrecorded lavishly, we’ve built a life that includes a owe and kids. I don’t person nan action to slumber connected my friend’s sofa and eat ramen for 3 years while I salary my investors back.”

Stanhope said his wife, Anna Kate, jokes that what really made nan determination was nan immense kitchen.

“Ben and Kate (Towill, nan erstwhile owners) did an astonishing occupation pinch nan aesthetics, but besides nan functional creation of nan room gives maine nan expertise to get imaginative and do immoderate nosy worldly extracurricular of conscionable service. That’s exciting,” he said.

“It’s breathtaking to spell into a abstraction that has truthful overmuch history and bully will and affection from nan community,” he said. “We’re not trying to fresh a edifice into an existing space, we’re letting nan abstraction beryllium what it wants to be.”

Stanhope said he plans to beryllium astatine Sullivan’s by precocious outpouring aliases early summer.