Chef to helm new Italian-American restaurant on James Island
Kevin Bruntz is the consulting chef for La Tabella, which opens Monday on James Island. Bruntz, who until recently could be found in the kitchen at Necter, has an integral role in the development and menu planning for the new Italian-American restaurant.
Q: What's your first memory of food?
Provided
Chef Kevin Bruntz got his first restaurant experience in 1974.
A: Mashed potatoes and gravy; growing up in a German/Irish house of seven with parents who went through the Great Depression, I was taught at an early age to be grateful for every plate put before you. Considering the heritage, we rarely ate rice but always had potatoes.
Q: What do you cook at home?
A: Home cooking for me is simple with a great beverage.
Q: What's your favorite cookbook?
A: There are so many reference options at hands reach, but I have to say "The Escoffier Cookbook and Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery"
Q: What made you decide to become a chef?
A: I started washing dishes in a German Restaurant in 1974 for $20 a night where my mom was a waitress and dad a bartender on the weekends. My chef had me doing as much prep as he could teach me, and I just did what I was told. The next thing I knew, he had me on the line cooking potato pancakes, frying schnitzel and tossing spatzel in bacon fat, doing 400 covers on a Saturday night. At the time, it was just a job. I swore off the kitchen after high school to peruse a career as an electrician and found myself at culinary school in 1986. I haven't stopped since.
Q: How passionate do you feel you are in relation to other chefs?
A: I can only say that I feel extremely blessed to be able go to work and get to do something I love to do.
Q: Favorite kitchen gadget?
A: My Robot Coupe R2 food processor.
Q: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment as a chef?
A: To be able to always give back.
Q: Who is your favorite chef outside of Charleston?
A: Anthony Bourdain ... mostly due to envy.
Q: Who is your favorite Charleston chef?
A: Sean Brock of McCrady's.
If you go
What: La Tabella.
Where: 979 Harbor View Road, Charleston.
History: La Tabella is in the spot where Lombardi’s used to be.
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