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Charleston's First Top Chefs

Photos 5Issue December 2013
Continuing the Legacy: After Eliza took over her mother Sally Seymour’s shop and married free mulatto tailor John Lee, the couple expanded the business, catering for such associations and events as the Society of the Cincinnati meetings and the Jockey Club Banquet during Race Week, as well as owning and operating four boarding houses.Fare Game: Nat Fuller was the most popular banquet provisioner in the 1850s, overseeing meetings and meals by the Phoenix Fire Company, the Charleston Light Dragoons, the St. Andrew’s Society, and the Chamber of Commerce. By autumn of 1860, the “renowned” “prince of caterers” announced the opening of his establishment, The Bachelor’s Retreat, at 77 Church Street.Leading the Way: Sally ran a cook shop at 80 Tradd Street, becoming Charleston’s first caterer to gain city-wide acclaim.Théonie Rivière Mignot Rutjes was a part of the French influence that established Charleston’s coffeehouses, confectioners, and ice-cream gardens.Parisian Style: Théonie and her husband, Adolphus Rutjes, operated The Mount Vernon at 174 King, later expanding it to include a candy store, a restaurant, and an outdoor ice-cream garden.

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