Enjoy the entire Maverick collection. Click here. Click here and learn how you can share the joy. Click here to make a reservation thru OpenTable™ A peek behind the scenes at Maverick Southern Kitchens. Frank Lee Peter Pierce Russ Moore Frank Lee, Vice President of Culinary Development Executive Chef Slightly North of Broad, Old Village Post House, High Hammock He’s been standing at a stove for nearly 40 years, but Frank Lee has never lost his passion – the fire in his belly – for combining French technique with his beloved Southern ingredients. Considered a guiding force in the Lowcountry’s culinary renaissance, Lee has mentored dozens of young chefs. He’s also helped local farmers and crafts people grow their businesses. Indeed, Lee was local before it was cool, and sustainable before it was sexy. “I still get excited about this business,” says Lee. “One of my favorite things is seeing our chefs de cuisine take an idea, and flesh it out, and make it so much better than I could have by myself.” Lee, who still spends at least three to four hours a day at the stove, spreads the gospel of sustainability. Under his direction, Maverick Southern Kitchens have all but abandoned industrial beef. Maverick chefs are encouraged to source as much produce and meat from regional growers as possible. And all practice the fine art of conservation, using every possible ingredient to its fullest potential. On any given day, Lee oversees kitchen crews breaking down a whole hog, braising game livers for pate, turning a whole tile fish into a heady combination of dishes, and experimenting with the flavor profiles of in-season vegetables. He also tends a diverse herb garden behind Slightly North of Broad. It’s all a far cry from his first professional assignment, when the former Psychology major and his buddies pooled $5,000 to launch a vegetarian restaurant in Columbia, SC. “We literally did not know how to boil beans,” he laughs. Over the years, Lee traveled to numerous top kitchens throughout North America (Le Perroquet and Les Nomades in Chicago, Le Pavillion in Washington, DC, Restaurant Million in Charleston, SC and Wild Dunes at the Isle of Palms, SC). In 1992, restaurateur Richard Elliott recruited Lee to The Colony House, Charleston’s then-oldest restaurant. In time, Lee became a partner with Elliott and David Marconi in Maverick Southern Kitchens, Inc. While his role as executive chef requires business savvy, Lee notes: “I really love the doing. There’s a Tao about cooking. For us chefs, the kitchen is the only place where things make sense.” His philosophy and his talent have not gone unnoticed. Lee has been lauded in Food Arts, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Southern Living and The Washington Post, among scores of others. He has appeared on “ABC’s Good Morning America,” and has twice served as guest chef at the James Beard House. His Maverick Grits earned a Golden Dish award from GQ Magazine, and he is featured on the “Great Chefs of the South” television series and its corresponding cookbook.