Mike Lata

Gaining culinary acclaim in a city with an always-bustling food scene like Charleston, South Carolina, is no easy feat. But James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Mike Lata has become synonymous with top-quality Carolina cuisine by bringing bright, satisfying flavors to classic Southern recipes. He has an extensive history of training in professional kitchens around the world that he channels regularly for inspiration, but it’s his emphasis on using quality cookware and sourcing produce from local vendors that continues to set his two restaurants apart.

“What speaks to me the most as a chef is being able to tie a menu to the seasons through the people who grow and gather the food I cook with,” he explains. “Realizing that may have been