Lowcountry Local First presents the first Incubator Farm in South Carolina

Andrea Limehouse (Limehouse Produce), Nikki Seibert (LLF), Will Furman (USDA) , and Jamee Haley (LLF) cut the ribbon at Dirt Works Incubator Farm

Great logo design is part of the LLF marketing strategy at Dirt Works.

Men in Denim: John Warren and Andrew Werth - Farmers of Spade and Clover

Andrew Werth, of Spade& Clover Farm, explains, “Diversity is security”. At the Dirt Works Farm on John’s Island, he and John Warren focus on growing new crops to sell to local restaurants. They grow varietals and plants they say chefs have never seen grown in the lowcountry. Harleston Towles, of Driftwood Downs, shows off the Arbequina Olive saplings that will hopefully flourish in the South Carolina heat. His inspiration comes from innovative farmers in Georgia, who were the first to attempt to commercially grow olive trees on the East Coast of the US since the 1800’s. Bo Collins of Sol Haven Farms gathers organic detritus from local fishermen and lumberyards. He blends them together to create fish compost that he and the other farmers use to add nutrients to the sandy lowcountry soil. Each of these farmers has a different vision for how to best utilize their space on the Dirt Works farm. Eventually they will sell produce, flowers and other products at local farmer’s markets throughout the city.

Farmer Bo Collins shows off the locally sourced fish compost he is creating on the Sol-Haven plot.

Gina Perez of Fiddle Farms explains how the sugar cane she has planted is going to grow around her plot to create a natural wind-break.

Harleston Towles and his Arbequina Olive Tree Saplings

All of these farmers have the opportunity to experiment because they are part of the Dirt Works Incubator farm. Six farmers were chosen to care for 1-2 acre plots where they are encouraged to experiment with a variety of crops and farming methods. Dirt Works is the first “incubator farm” in South Carolina, based on similar models throughout the country; these organizations foster the development of young farmers through education, apprenticeship, and mentoring. Moving forward Lowcountry Local First, through a partnership with The Limehouse Family, USDARural Development, David Thompson Architects, Steen Enterprises, the BB&TCharleston Wine & Food Festival, among other local organizations, is working to pair new farmers with land plots and provide farmers with business and marketing education. 

Jim Martin Shows off his new honey bees and marketing strategy for Compost in my Shoe

While speaking to director Jamee Haley, over a Westbrook Bearded Farmer brew, I teared up thinking how blessed we are to live in such a caring, nurturing and beautiful environment. LLF’s membership brochure proclaims, “Choose to love the place you choose to live.”  That’s what Charleston is all about. We can all appreciate the community created by the Eat Local movement. Jamee and a team of volunteers work incredibly hard to make Charleston a better place to live and we cannot express enough gratitude for their efforts. 

Representatives of Kiawah Cares and other sponsors enjoyed a farm tour and a taste of local farm food. 

A beautiful day on John's Island at Dirt Works Farm

Find the post and more from Good for the Palate at Eat This! Charleston

Thanks for Two Big Anniversaries at GFP

Two days ago, March 26, 2013, marked the four year anniversary of the day I created Good for the Palate. I remember feeling lost, and bored and full of energy. I remember writing all the coding. I remember sitting on photoshop for hours editing the text logo, contacting the artist to create the little farm creatures and trying to tackle the world of food photography. 

Good for the Palate hasn't always been my top priority, but it has really given me direction in my life. Focusing on my food photography and writing skills, or lack thereof, has been a challenge. Taking the time to go to culinary school mini-mesters has broadened my knowledge of technique and my willingness to experiment. Most of all, immersing myself in the world of food has pushed me to follow my dreams.

Besides having worked on GFP for four years now... April 1st marks my 1year anniversary living in Charleston. I moved here to get a job doing something creative in the food an beverage industry and I've already had quite a few.

I have worked for two incredible local restaurant groups (REV @ Closed for Business, and NDG @ McCrady's Restaurant) and gained an immeasurable amount of FOH experience. I had a short stint as a brewery representative which I am so grateful for. My beer knowledge increased 100 fold and I grew professionally and personally.

I have made friends I will never forget.

I started writing for Eat This! Charleston online and will be published in print in the upcoming issue.

I just got word of a new position I am accepting and I will share the details on that very soon.

I'd say I'm winning and I'm really happy you are all sharing it with me.

There are other things I should be doing right now but I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and I want to share the love.

Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and to all of my moral supporters.


Please check out a few of my favorite posts from the last year (really I think I've loved every one, but I have to try to narrow it down):

March 27, 2012: House Smoked Tasso Ham Gravy over Chipotle Sweet Potato Biscuits and Collard Greens
This post got a lot of love and affection and one one of the most involved recipes I ever created. Here is a link to the creation of the Tasso which I made for Charcutapalooza.






April 10, 2012: Life is Great
The first few days I spent in Charleston. This post birthed three other posts, including one about Lee Burbage's Herbs, the Marion Square Farmers Market, and the Bon Bon Mi post below.
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May 19, 2012: Where to Go First?!
I posted a huge list of places I wanted to try in Charleston and I am happy to say that I have made it to the majority of them. I crossed them off the list but hopefully later on I can go back and tell you what I thought. You can intereact with all of this info on my Yelp! Profile. See all of the bookmarks.

July 5, 2012: Walk Softly and Carry a Spider Stick - On Chanterelle Foraging
Charleston is a world of wonders. Working with local chef's can teach you that you miss a lot of things when you aren't focused. This is a personal thank you to all of the folks at McCrady's for everything I learned from them.

July 7, 2012: Monthly Wine Dinners at Ben Berryhill's Next Door
Sadly Next Door has closed. However Chef Berryhill's Red Drum is still as fabulous as ever. This post led to a post on reviewing and this night introduced me to the wonderful team at Eat This! Charleston.

July 26, 2012: How to Get the Best Food in a Foreign Town - Vietnam
My family went to Southeast Asia (I and II) in 2011. The trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity. My culinary lens has been focused on asian food ever since. I have posted about a trillion times about Banh Mi since then.






August 17, 2012: Bon Banh Mi/ Street Hero
One of the Vietnam inspired posts about two friends who opened a stall at the Marion Square Farmers Market and morphed it into a new shop on Spring Street. 

March 3, 2013: Charleston Wine + Food Festival - Opening Night at the Aquarium
I took a little siesta from life to explore my opportunities. When I came home my path seemed more certain. I had the honor of covering the CWFF for Eat This! and got to try a delicious Sharecropper Collins from Joe Raya of The Gin Joint. 

March 26, 2012: Three Years of Eating
My Three Year Anniversary post from 2012. 

No Time For Lunch?

I've been kinda busy enjoying the beautiful weather recently. I've also been low on the cash flow.

Healthy food has been the way to go.


Breakfast radishes sliced and neatly tucked between green leaves, with a spread of miso-goat butter on a lightly toasted piece of Holy City Pluff Mud Porter bread from EVO Bakery (I've been squirreling that away in my freezer).




Or a can of black beans from the pantry, pulsed in the food processor with Tapatillo hot sauce, cumin, salt and pepper. A quick egg omelet (unless an oozy fried egg suits you better), quick sauteed beech mushrooms, green onions, spinach, avocado, cilantro, a sprinkle of red cabbage for crunch all on a tortilla for easy eating.

Simple. Delicious. Fresh. Fast.