An exclusive interview with Charleston’s celebrated chef, James London, of Chubby Fish. The 2024 James Beard Best Chef Southeast finalist with a Bon Appétit Best New Restaurant nod, Food & Wine’s #7 U.S. spot, and a place on The New York Times Top 50 list, will headline our Cayman Cookout Harvest Dinner.
How did your childhood shape your dock-to-table philosophy, and how do you keep that connection alive in your day-to-day work at Chubby Fish?
I started my love of seafood through a love of fishing. When I was a little kid I would fish all day and I would bring in my catch to my mother who would clean and cook the seafood and feed the family with it. It was such an impactful experience and one that I harness to this day.
Since your menu changes daily depending on what local fishermen and farmers deliver, how do you balance creativity with consistency for your guests?
We have the best clientele in the world. They trust us and that allows us to improv on a daily basis. We talk about the menu changes we will be attempting every morning and then we test those dishes several times throughout the afternoon. We don’t use recipes but every one of my cooks is a Jedi ninja when it comes to flavor. They understand flavor inside and out and so it doesn’t take long for us to pull together a plate that will knock your socks off.
What standards or criteria do you use when selecting seafood or other ingredients, especially to ensure sustainability and ethical sourcing? What have been some of the biggest challenges in maintaining that?
We work exclusively with small fishermen and women. Everything comes from the Charleston area. We have close relationships with every single one of our purveyors. Because of that we get the best product right out of the water. It’s a dream to work like that as a Chef.
In interviews you’ve mentioned how meaningful it is to share what you know with the next generation. How do you approach mentorship in your kitchen, and are there specific practices you’ve put in place to support younger chefs?
Every cook who walks through our back door becomes a family member. I’m not looking for the cooks with killer resumes who have been sous chefs at Michelin restaurants. I’m looking for the young kid who has a great heart, a solid drive, work ethic, and an immense desire to learn from me. I will give that kid everything I have to make them into a great Chef. They’re now part of my lineage and I don’t take that likely.
If you had to choose one dish from Chubby Fish that best represents everything you want the restaurant to communicate, which would it be — and why?
We do a poached fish dish. It’s pretty simple but it showcases our philosophy. We take a fish, fillet it, smoke the bones and make a broth with the bones and some local seaweed. We poach some just picked vegetables with the fish fillet and spike the broth with fresh shaved horseradish, Thai basil, lemon, and white soy. It is heaven in a bowl and it is a true celebration of what is coming out of our waters and fields in that specific moment of time. It will be different each day you have it but it will always be a hug in a bowl.
What is your earliest memory of seafood — catching it, eating it, or even smelling it — and how does that memory influence what you put on the table today?
I remember vividly long days spent fishing, shrimping, or crabbing as a young kid. I was instantly hooked and it consumed me. I can smell the fish on my hands as I took fish off the hook and placed them in the bucket. I can smell the crab cakes my mom made out of dozens of crabs that she so painstakingly picked through. Food is so powerful in that aspect. All of my childhood memories rotate around food.
Can you share a story about a local fisherman or farmer who deeply shaped the way you cook or think about ingredients?
We have a shrimper named Cindy Tarvin. When she doesn’t have shrimp, we don’t have shrimp. We could buy from 50 different shrimpers all at a lower price but we choose to support Cindy and her family because we love them, they do things the right way, and they’re really great people. We’re not in this business to make money. We’re in it because we want to leave this world better than when we found it.
Every name has a story. What’s the real story behind calling the restaurant Chubby Fish, and how do people react when they first hear it?
My wife Yoyo coined the name Chubby Fish. I needed to present a business plan the next day and we still hadn’t decided on the name so Yoyo and I drank a couple bottles of wine and decided we were going to hash it out. Eventually she came up with Chubby Fish and I was not a fan. But as the hours ticked away I decided that either I was going to accept Chubby Fish as a name or I was not going to sleep before my meeting. Chubby Fish won and now I couldn’t imagine calling it anything else.
Have you been to Grand Cayman before? What are you most excited about on your visit to the island?
I’ve never been to the Caribbean period so we are extremely excited!
When you think about your cooking, what experience do you most hope the Harvest Dinner guests at The Brasserie will take away from the meal?
I hope that people can sense the effort we take in balancing our flavors. We get really deep and it goes a long way in satisfying our diners.
