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Hagins serves diverse clientele at Blu on Folly Beach
By Angel Powell, Special to The Post and Courier
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Jonathan Hagins, executive chef at Blu Restaurant and Bar on Folly Beach, has been in the kitchen for almost 20 years. Originally from Savannah, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1995.
Before Blu, Hagins worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the Lowcountry, including the Kiawah Island Resort, the Cloister Hotel in Sea Island, Ga., and Antonio's restaurant on Hilton Head Island.
Q: What is the most popular dish on the menu at Blu?
A: Pan-seared sea scallops served over sweet corn risotto finished with fire roasted tomatoes.
Q: What is your favorite thing to cook when you're away from the restaurant?
A: My favorite thing that we have at home is my wife's pan-fried pork chops with stewed tomatoes over rice.
Q: Where do you go for "guilty pleasure" food?
A: When I want guilty pleasure food, I go to FIG for their outstanding chicken liver pate.
Q: Tell me how it's been for you to open up this restaurant? What kind of a learning curve have you had?
A: Opening the restaurant has been challenging, but also very rewarding. We started basically from scratch, creating all new tapas-style menus appealing to tourists and locals alike. The concept has been very well-received.
Q: How would you describe your clientele?
A: We have a very diverse clientele at BLU and the food certainly serves a variety of tastes and preferences.
Q: How is it different to cook in a hotel restaurant than it is in a freestanding restaurant?
if you go
what: BLU Restaurant & Bar.
where: 1 Center Street Folly Beach.
phone: 588-6464.
A: It is certainly more challenging to cook in a hotel restaurant simply due to the number of meal periods. It is a much larger operation with multiple meal periods, banquet functions and room service and requires considerably more organization and planning.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: My smoked duck and oyster gumbo.
Q: If you weren't a chef, what would you be?
A: If I weren't a chef, I would want to be a teacher. I really enjoy mentoring aspiring culinarians.
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