Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 | Page 28

traditions

TEA FOR THOUGHT
SEA ISLAND TAKES A TRADITION STEEPED IN HISTORY
AND GIVES IT SOME DELICIOUS, MODERN TWISTS.
BY GARY SINGH

s

weet tea is quite possibly one of
the oldest culinary traditions in the
South. With a handful of tea bags,
boiling water and sugar, off it goes
to the fridge. Astringency cross-pollinates
with sweetness, and a tasty equilibrium
vors all exemplify a proprietary Southern
charm, but that doesn’t mean the creativity ends with a glass of ice. John Helfrich,
executive chef of The Lodge and Retreat
at Sea Island, says it takes just a few
savory ingredients—salt, bay leaves, garlic,
thyme—to transform a simple sweet tea
into the perfect brine for meat. “We started
[with] chicken, and we put a pork chop
on the menu that was sweet-tea brined,”
Helfrich explains. “They ended up tasting
really good.”
Even more elaborate schemes are emerging at Sea Island. Quite a few creative culinary
dynamics are slowly coming into play. Chefs,
servers, and food and beverage directors are
manifesting a wealth of other tea-inspired scenarios. In general, a British-inspired high tea
service draws numerous regular customers,
including children. As a culinary reduction,
tea also makes its way into cocktails. Looseleaf blends from Mighty Leaf Tea Co. become
recipe ingredients alongside everyday spices.
The ideas just keep on steeping.
Cameron Hayes, manager at the Oak Room
at Sea Island, says tea can be used with cocktails, adding an entirely new perspective to
traditional libations like the John Daly, which
is normally just lemonade, unsweetened tea
and vodka.
“We use English Breakfast, which is one
of our loose-leaf teas from Mighty Leaf, and
we reduce that down to a simple syrup,” he
explains. “That’s a really creative way to

Tea service includes dainty bites with assorted jams and jellies.

that and some freshly-squeezed lemon juice
creates a powerful taste. And we’ll top it off
afterward with a splash of a craft beer—
Sweetwater 420