Eat It and Like It—Savannah Food & Wine Festival Guide Fall 2014 | Page 22

CHEF Nico Romo

The Fish Whisperer

by Carrie Hirsch
FISH Restaurant offers classic
French cuisine blended with Asian
touches and has just launched the
new fall menu, based on local
ingredients including mushrooms
grown by monks at nearby Mepkin
Abbey. As far as the classic
Cordon Bleu, one of the most
popular items on the menu, Chef
Nico incorporates the “sous vide”
method of preparation which entails sealing the chicken in a bag
then preparing it in a temperature
controlled water bath, rendering it
moist and tender. After wrapping
the chicken in bacon and then
quick deep-frying it brings out the
best flavors- taking a ‘classic’ to
the next level. Did we mention it is
wrapped in bacon?

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It is a well-known universal opinion that Lyon is the food capital
of France-when French Master Chef Nico Romo, MCF arrived in
the United States from that famous culinary capital, he worked
at the prestigious Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee and the
Ritz Carlton in Atlanta, Georgia. When he landed in Charleston
to be the executive chef at FISH Restaurant, he brought much of that
French culinary legacy with him tucked in his toque. He also serves
as the Culinary Executive Director of Patrick Properties Hospitality Group
and has garnered international attention through his involvement
with sustainable seafood. He is the youngest chef ever to be awarded
the coveted title of “Master Chef of France” and he is the only
Master Chef in South Carolina. At culinary school, he had memorable teachers and a close-knit relationship with his classmates. “In
France, they teach you the back of the house and front of the house.
It didn’t feel like ‘school’ and I absolutely loved the challenge. The
energy of the group drove me, and everybody there was motivated.
There was a big push to succeed in school as well as after completing the training. Everybody wants a Michelin star, n’est-ce-pas?”

With all that goes with operating a high
profile Charleston restaurant, Chef Nico still
makes time to give back to the community and
it is commendable. “We support non-profits
like Wings for Kids and Louise’s Kids. Every
chef is involved in supporting the needs of
many wonderful non-profit organizations in
Charleston. You don’t even think about it, you
just do it. It is very rewarding.”

SPECIAL EVENTS
FISH Restaurant will be hosting a special event
on Saturday, November 1st —“Predator and
Prey.” A 5-course seafood dinner, a dish-bydish culinary journey through the ocean food
chain. Partial proceeds from this dinner will
benefit ocean research to measure the health
and diversity of seafood populations that sustain local fisheries and fishermen.

Chef Nico’s friends from across the pond are
very impressed and amazed by the Charleston
restaurant scene which has blossomed like a
grand magnolia over the past decade. “They
have rethought the old stigma of tourist trap
restaurants and the chefs really care about
what they do.” Being a steward of sustainability on behalf of our South Carolina waterways, working with fisheries which supply the
diverse fish population and the fishermen who
bring us the bounty is key to the continuation
of this movement—thanks in great part to Chef
Nico and his tireless efforts. Merci mille fois,
mille fois merci.

At the upcoming Savannah Food & Wine
Festival, Chef Nico and his staff will be doing a
cooking demonstration, and also a dinner with
other celebrity chefs with Savannah Riverboat
Cruises on Friday, November 14th, launching
from Rousakis Plaza on River Street—boarding
begins at 7:30 PM and the ship sails at 8 PM.
Tickets can be purchased at
www.savannahfoodandwinefestival.com

“Nobody specifically influenced me—there was one chef
proprietor who I worked for when I was first starting out and
I admired him for his dedication to the art of cooking- he was
fantastic! My mother and my grandparents- they were all chefs
to me. My one grandmother was Italian, my other grandmother
was Hispanic, and my father was born in Algiers.” So lucky
for the guests, his culinary DNA spanned many regions—from
cous-cous to paella and all that in between!
In addition to the main dining room in a restored 1837 Charleston
single, there is also an outdoor courtyard and ample seating at
the bar. On the second floor, there is a private dining room with
seating for 70 and an outdoor piazza overlooking the interior
courtyard and King Street below. This venue embodies the
epitome of Southern charm, infused with chic, modern-day architectural, artistic accents. Their off-site historic venues include
the William Aiken House and the Lowndes Grove Plantation
and River House. “A wedding reception is cooking for biggest
day of a couple’s life- if you want Indian food, we can do that.
If you want a Lowcountry menu, we can do that—we work to
accommodate exactly what our client’s preferences are, and
then some. Patrick Properties Hospitality Group hosts hundreds
of weddings and other special events throughout the year, with
over 150 employees.”

Classic French cuisine
blended with Asian touches.
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