Dedication. Loyalty. Every day, just doing everything that I can for the customer.Yes, it’s about the food, but more importantly, it’s about the customer and giving them what they want.”

Making everything from scratch is a little uncommon in the average Folly Beach kitchen, but Anthony DiBernardo is convinced that four-year-old Rita’s Seaside Grille better serves the beachgoing public by taking the more difficult route of a “scratch kitchen” in a laid-back locale.  “Work hard, and eventually you will get what’s coming to you.

There are many reasons why a chef finds his or her way into the kitchen. Who we are, who we become, begins at birth. The people we love, the people we meet and the circumstances of our lives continually shape us. Sometimes we arrive at our destiny by accident, but more often the path is unfurling before us as we move forward. If a chef’s food is his signature, then his evolution is his unique story.

To be a chef is to court creativity. It is to imagine a marriage of flavors and textures and then produce it on a plate. Success is dependent upon the preferences and palates of their guests. It is a daunting and yet welcoming challenge that chefs face everyday. There are chefs that are happy to take an existing menu and add their own nuances of taste and quality. There are also chefs that desire to create their own menus, to take a concept from scratch and make it their own. This is an opportunity that doesn’t present itself as often as some chefs may desire. Yet, when it does, a chef’s whole world can change …

by Antonia M. Krenza & Laney Roberts

Subject: Pastry Chef / Owner Allison Smith, GLAZED Doughnuts

ORIGINS: Native Daughter - Charleston, SC

CAREER PATH: Graduating from the Culinary Arts division of the Art Institute of Charleston roughly three years ago, Smith's focus was the savory side. Never considering a career in pastry, she took only the required pastry classes to complete her degree. Her last position prior to her new business was Sauté on the line at Anson.

by Antonia M. Krenza and Laney Roberts

The kitchen is a place of dual personality. It is the heart of a home and the heart of a business. In both kitchens, hopes rise and fall with the execution of a dish. Special occasions are marked by the efforts of the kitchen. Young palates are inspired there. Novice cooks become chefs sweating blood and tears in the heat of the kitchen. Earning the title of Chef is not simply the acquisition of a culinary degree. It is a baptism by fire at the grills, burners and ovens in restaurants all over the world. A Chef is the heart of his kitchen.

As a 30-year industry veteran, former assistant director at the School of Culinary Arts in Denver and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, chef Fred Neuville has been the founding chef and partner with some of Charleston’s favorite restaurants. Neuville has received several coveted industry awards from the American Culinary Federation, the Southern Bridal Show, the Celebrity Pro/ Am competitions and the Western Regional Conference and has been featured in national publications such as Bon Appetit and National Geographic Traveler. Ready to fuse his passion for food and family, Neuville opened Fat Hen (Lowcountry French) with his wife Joan and family in 2007 as an outpost for culinary delights and domestic enjoyment.

As a 1998 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Executive Chef Charles Arena brings sixteen years of experience in the food and beverage industry to The Boathouse. Jean Jacques Rachou at La Cote Basque in New York is just one of the highly rated chefs Arena studied under before coming to Charleston. Once in Charleston, Arena became the Sous Chef of Tides at the Beach Club, a Tom Colicchio Consultant Project where he quickly formed strong relationships with local farmers and fisherman and began to participate in the Sustainable Seafood Initiative. Today he continues this tradition and supports local initiatives in his diverse menu. Since 2007, Arena has been sharing his talents as an Adjunct Professor at The Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College. Those who have dined at The Boathouse have said he has stepped up with some very daring and flavorful combinations. Thatalone is worth the attention.