Flavors Unknown

Merging the Past with the Future in Southern Cuisine by Chris Coleman

Chef Chris Coleman

In today’s episode, I talk to Chef Chris Coleman. He’s an accomplished restaurateur from the growing food scene of Charlotte, North Carolina. His restaurants, The Goodyear House and Old Town, have brought an elevated southern-style of cuisine to the expanding city.
You’ll hear about what southern food means to him and how he’s merging the past with the future in his food. He shares his sources of inspiration and his experiences on TV cooking competition shows like Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay and Alex versus America.

What you'll learn with chef Chris Coleman

Chef Chris Coleman early train trips to visit his grandparents on the farm (2:48)
The smell that brings back childhood memories (3:29)
A jam hack from his grandmother (5:02)
How his grandmother’s cooking has influenced his menu (6:00)
Why Chef Chris Coleman loves being on cooking shows (7:49)
How Chris Coleman's passion for cooking started (9:54)
How he describes his style of food (10:49)\
The expansion of the food scene in Charlotte (11:28)
One dish that will help you understand his food (13:14)
The rice that founded the South (15:19)
The “southern progressive” style of The Goodyear House (17:25)
How southern food differs by region (20:17)
Who’s influencing the menu at Goodyear (22:18)
The concept behind Old Town Rock Hill (23:01)
A preview of what you’ll taste at Old Town (26:07)
One southern dish to try at home (27:26)
What’s on the horizon for Charlotte (30:24)
Why balance is a part of chef Chris Coleman's company ethos (31:13)
A restaurant tour of the city (32:31)
Chris Coleman's guilty pleasure foods (34:35)
Cookbooks you should have in your kitchen (34:57)
Pet peeves in the back of the house (35:44)
Must-have condiments (36:39)
Series of rapid-fire questions.
Link to the podcast episode on Apple Podcast

Links to other episodes in the Carolinas

Conversation with mixologist Bob Peters in Charlotte

Conversation with chef Shamil Velazquez in Charleston

Links to most downloaded episodes (click on any picture to listen to the episode)

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My grandma had the best cast-iron dropped biscuits in the world, so there was no rolling or laminating. Just make the dough and spoon it into the cast iron; they were really crunchy on the outside and crumbly in the middle, and it's one of my favorite things to make to this day. 

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If you can be on the national stage, like the Food Network, there's no better publicity than that. I've always enjoyed competition. All those shows are competitions at heart. I've always been a bit of a ham, you know. I love entertaining people. 

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My brand and kind of who I've created myself to be is this guy who celebrates southern food and what it can be.  

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Charlotte is a city of transplants. It's a city of growing culture and a growing community. It's inspiring to see people from Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Central and Latin America move into the city and bring their food culture with them.

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The guinea hen came over from Africa, right? So it was born out of slavery, which is a really terrible tradition. It's a really terrible thing that happened but I feel like we have to talk about it. We have to learn from it as a culture and as a people.

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