It’s probably the biggest restaurant story of the year on Hilton Head Island for 2020. Chez George opened last summer on New Orleans Road on the island and has been a huge hit since practically day one.
In February, owner George Casalicchio promoted from within in naming a new Executive Chef. Eric Golden was part of the group that helped craft the original menu and assisted in making it a great fit on the local food scene.
My conversation with Executive Chef Eric Golden:
JB: You are a California guy, what led you to come East? Little bit of culture shock, huh?
EG: When I was an early chef in my younger days, I saw Charleston was one of the cities to expand to on my career. So I decided to make the move down South and see what I could do in Charleston.
JB: Where were you there? (Charleston)
EG: A place called The Black Bean company. I helped open the restaurant with Ellis Grossman. He was doing something different with Vegan and Wraps out there in West Ashley.
JB: So was this a case of you came East and the Southern bug bit you?
EG: Yeah. A little bit of that. My kids also moved here, so I followed them with my next career move.
JB: So how did this come up at Chez Georges? Had you been there all along?
EG: I was hired as Sous Chef with the idea that he (Former Executive Chef Burns Sullivan) would eventually persue another project closer to his passion which is more BBQ than the French side of food. Turns out, I had always wanted to work at a French place. So I was excited to take over here.
JB: Why that curiosity?
EG Well, I was classically trained. One of the first restaurants I ever worked at was called Jsix in San Diego. Everything we did there was American, but had some kind of French technique or French inspired.
JB: You guys have been hot out of the gate since you opened, huh?
EG: Yes, sir.
JB: What would you say have been some of the bigger challenges of opening a restaurant during a pandemic?
EG: I would say the spacing. The rules and the laws nowadays. It’s a little hard to judge business. One day you are super busy and the next you will do 5 covers. Before COVID, it was pretty easy to tell when people would be coming on vacation. To me, the biggest challenges was adjusting to how business would go up and down.
JB: So you had a role in putting together this menu. What were you guys looking at when you put this together last year?
EG: The direction of the menu was going to be classic French Bistro with some Low Country influences. We wanted to combine it. Keep it simple, but a little more refined than actual Bistro food.
JB: What’s your most popular? The mussels or the octopus?
EG: Mussels definitely.
JB: What do you enjoy most about living on the island?
EG: Being close to my kids, actually. I just had a third child. My daughter who does live with me. We like to go to the beach or fishing. All the hard work is finally paying off for me and my career and it feels good.
JB: Are there any tweaks or overhauls to menu going forward?
EG: We are planning on rolling out our Spring menu is rolling out in 2-3 weeks. Not a complete overhaul. But also keep the things that are working.
# # #
