We spent yesterday shooting Chef Lata's Scrambled Farm Egg and Stone Crab Tartine to be published in the upcoming cookbook, Away from the Kitchen. The dish is Chef's take on breakfast in the lowcountry, and we think he nailed it. Local seafood, colorful vegetables, and perfectly-scrambled eggs are elements guaranteed to create a perfect dish.
Photos by Olivia Rae James
We're hitting the road, Southern-style, this week, traveling from Charleston to Atlanta to NOLA to Mississippi for some exciting events. This weekend (Oct. 21-23), we're cooking for the VIP tables at the Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Charleston, featured the Zac Brown Band, My Morning Jacket, Warren Haynes and a host of other impressive acts. We'll be making our "Butter Pea Pasta e Fagioli," which made it's debut at the Lowcountry Field Feast October 2, one of our favorite events of the year!
Next up, we're headed to Atlanta to join other Southern chefs at Sunday Supper South, a family-style Friends of James Beard Benefit dinner hosted by our friends Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison on Sunday, October 23.
On Monday, October 24, Chefs Collaborative hosts it's National Summit in New Orleans, and Mike is up for a big-time chef award at the Sustainability Awards. The "Sustainer Award" recognizes a chef who has been both a great mentor and is a model to the culinary community through his/her purchases of seasonal, sustainable ingredients and the transformation of these ingredients into delicious food. Good luck Mike!
Finally, we will cap it all off at the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium in Oxford, MS. We are so excited about this weekend--the SFA always knows how to throw a great party! Mike will be cooking for 300 foodies, writers and SFA members at a special dinner during the symposium.
Whew...it's a whirlwind but we wouldn't have it any other way! See you on the road.
Brooks Reitz, our talented man-behind-the-bar at FIG, is quickly becoming known for his cocktails around town. From classic to innovative, he makes some of the best drinks around, and Imbibe magazine recently featured a few of his favorite recipes for a Rhubarb Negroni and Hummingbird. The drinks were also featured on the Huffington Post--click here to read.
Check out this interview with Mike Lata from Atlanta food blogger Gwen Praetsi of Bunky Cooks, and learn how to make his famous Sea Island Coddled Farm Egg from home.
We had a great time shooting for this month's Southern Living, featuring Mike Lata, Sean Brock and Robert Stehling. Palmetto Bluff is absolutely gorgeous and we really enjoyed hanging out and eating some great food. Food Editor Jennifer Cole challenged us to come up with a 3 course menu based on 5 Lowcountry ingredients--peaches, rice, pork belly, okra and shrimp. Luckily, these are some of our favorite things to cook with and we think the dishes we came up with are pretty darn tasty. Hope you will agree!
Click here to view the full article.
We hosted our FIG Dine Around as part of the 2011 BB&T Charleston Wine & Food Festival a few weeks ago and wanted to share some of the behind-the-scenes kitchen pics with you. The photos were taken by our good friend Angie Moiser of Placemat Productions and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Chefs Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, Frank Stitt of Highlands Grill in Birmingham, Steven Satterfield of Miller Union in Atlanta, and wine pro Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards joined us for what turned out to be an incredible dinner with longtime FIG friends and new faces. Thanks to Le Creuset for sponsoring the dinner and for providing the guests with take-home mini-cocettes in their new signature color, Gullah Blue.
Check us out in this month's Southern Living. Thanks to the Sinkler family for graciously lended us the stunning backdrop of Rosebank Plantation out on Wadmalaw Island for the occasion. It was a freezing day (temps in the 30s and windy!) when we did the shoot last February, but we still managed to have a blast roasting oysters and drinking Peroni. Look closely and you'll see Mike and Adam among FIG friends Matt and Annie Hamnett, Michelle and Gee Sinkler, and Dana Jr. and Dana Sr. Sinkler. Thanks to Scott Jones of Southern Living for inviting us and putting it all together. It was a great day!
Next weekend, we're headed to the beautiful Palmetto Bluff down the road in Bluffton, SC to take part in a weekend put on by Charleston magazine. Mike will join Palmetto Bluff Chef Kirk Gilbert for an oyster roast and BBQ block party on Saturday afternoon (January 29), which Charleston magazine will be photographing for an upcoming issue. This weekend serves as a kick off for the Palmetto Bluff Music to your Mouth Festival, scheduled for fall 2011.
Click here for more info on how you can join us!
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