Making DI Delicious: Island Chef Insider
Writer’s note: With Daniel Island mirroring more and more each year the culinary charisma of its City sibling, the downtown peninsula, we figured it was high time to highlight the talented chefs who are making that happen. Earlier this year, we launched our newest column, Making DI Delicious: Island Chef Insider, where we regularly dig into the bio and brilliance of each such captain of the kitchen. Our aim is to eventually feature every one, and hope our readers enjoy learning about them as much as they love eating their food.
In the world of a chef, is it possible to be truly dependable, but keep a steady stream of surprises? Can culinary consistency coexist with innovation? Chef Matt Brigham puts his answer on the plates he creates and the menu he designs as executive chef of Laura Alberts Tasteful Options in Daniel Island. Oh, and the answer is a dependably surprising, consistently innovative, and downright yummy “yes.”
During his professional training at Johnson and Wales, Brigham determined that “fresh” would not only denote how fast his fare could get from farm to table; it would also mean constantly delivering thoughtful food. His philosophy fit right in with the Laura Alberts concept, where locally-sourced ingredients are a given, and exceptional daily specials are nestled among indispensible favorites.
Brigham grew up in Florida, and credits his home state with introducing him to a farm-to-table scene as “vibrant” as that of the Lowcountry, as well as his profound crush on cooking during a gig as a line cook. “I remember watching the chef cook and run the kitchen with such precision with chaos all around him,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘I wanna do that some day’!”
Chef Matt moved to Charleston in the late 90s. As a culinary student, he gleaned from his classroom training a solid foundation of cooking techniques. But it would be the experience of working with many different chefs that would help Brigham cultivate his own style of cooking. One of those impactful mentors was the late Rose Durden, with whom he had first worked during her renowned run as executive chef at Carolina’s Restaurant. When Durden accepted a position to run the kitchen at Laura Alberts, she tagged Brigham to come with her in 2007.
Just over a year later, Durden decided to pursue her own business, and Laura Alberts owners Laura Leppert and Karen Elsey turned the wheel over to Brigham. Today, he considers “knowing that Laura and Karen had the confidence in me to take over as Executive Chef” a distinct high point in his career, and remarks that it was a seamless transition.
Chef Matt manages a relatively small kitchen staff; it’s just him, a sous chef, a part-time prep/pastry cook, and a dishwasher. But together, with the creative input of Laura Alberts’ owners, they create mealtime magic. The weekday lunch, Saturday brunch, and Wednesday dinner menus are extensive, and their daily dinners-to-go are so popular that they are often fully “reserved” by 3 p.m. Brigham and his crew make all of their dressings, vinaigrettes, and sandwich spreads from scratch; slice their own meats and cheeses; and smoke their pork, brisket, chicken, and salmon three times a week. Chef Matt is responsible for the famed fruit chutney and smoked tomato jam that is used for dishes on the menu and canned for sale in Laura Alberts retail department – and the team is working on private labeling the condiment duo.
Recognizing the need to balance his inventive spirit with tried-and-true customer darlings, Brigham limits minor menu overhauls to twice annually, but he does enjoy the liberty of crafting daily specials, particularly those that come from Charleston’s faithful fleet. “I think the Lowcountry is blessed to have fisherman, shrimpers and farmers that respect our waterways and land,” he observes. “The fruits of their labor can be tasted in local restaurants around the Lowcountry.”
If any and all seafood would be considered Chef Matt’s superchef sidekick, his nemesis would be baking. “Though everyone enjoys my cookies, Charleston Chews, cheesecake and flourless chocolate cake, I don’t enjoy baking,” he admits. “Zack, our pastry cook, is working hard to take that on.”In fact, Laura Alberts has recently expanded its dessert menu, and of course Leppert still makes the all-star lineup of chocolate bourbon pecan pie, bread pudding with bourbon sauce, and her famous coconut cream pie.
Over a decade in, Laura Alberts has enjoyed great success in its rather unique concept of part wine and beer purveyor, part restaurant, part caterer to the weekday family table. Chef Matt has an insider hunch as to why the Daniel Island jewel has been so loyally embraced: “Family-like and friendly staff that know customers by name. The food is fresh, local, and very consistent and our menu is diverse. We feature memorable daily specials and the menu is reasonably priced.”
You see, it’s all deliciously logical.
Laura Alberts Tasteful Options is located at 891 Island Park Drive, Suite C in Daniel Island. Check out their menus and learn about upcoming special events at www.lauraalberts.com.