In the Kitchen

Chef Bob Waggoner shares his secrets and his table

 

BY PAIGE MARSHALL

 

Whether in Paris, Nashville or the Charleston Place Hotel, Chef Bob Waggoner has always found success in the kitchen. When he was head chef at the Charleston Grille at Charleston Place, the restaurant was awarded the AAA Diamond Award and the Mobile Four Star Award every year. So why would he turn his back on it all?

      Actually, he hasn’t. When Waggoner stepped out of the kitchen last year, he stepped right into the classroom—his own cooking school, called In the Kitchen w/ Chef Bob Waggoner, on Market Street downtown.

      When guests enter the home-style kitchen, Waggoner greets them with a warm smile  “Come in—and welcome to my home,” he says, setting the tone. The kitchen has a large U-shaped countertop, rich wooden cabinets, a table for the guests to consume the southern dishes they prepare, a wine cellar nearby and even a grand piano. The feel is not classroom but small dinner party with friends.

      Waggoner believes that people need hands-on experience to truly learn how to cook confidently.  Although the classes are designed to be casual and fun, “I want to show people how it’s done in the best restaurants around,” he says. Part of that lesson includes using local, fresh ingredients, so his recipes make use of sustainably sourced Charleston foods. It’s his hope that people will take what they learn in his cooking classes and bring it back to their family and friends.

      As soon as guests walk into Waggoner’s kitchen, the smell of southern cooking makes them feel at home. Patrons who take the class become relaxed, and good spirits preside. One patron, Charlotte Simmons, says that the class was the most fun she's ever had while cooking.

      Waggoner shares his knowledge and technique in a way that establishes a casual and upbeat tone throughout the two-hour cooking class. Emphasizing patience, he encourages his students even when they make mistakes, which most of them do—and often.

      Patrons enjoy a few complimentary glasses of wine, and the laughter and merriment increases. Waggoner limits the wine to a few glasses, however, because, as he says, “tons of wine and 10 people with sharp knives is not a great mix.”

      Waggoner knows something of sharp knives, coming from the high-stress environment of competitive high-end Charleston cooking. Now, with the school, he feels he has the best of all worlds, one that he looks forward to sharing with others.