Derick Wade is a Charleston-based chef who has spent a great deal of time in and around Savannah the last 4 years. He is participating in the Heritage Fire Tour’s Savannah stop this year for the 3rd time. It’s always an event he looks forward to. This year is no different.

What can you expect? My chat with Derick Wade….find the podcast above. Transcription below.

JB: So Heritage Fire, how many have you done? This will be, have you done all three or did you just do last year first?

Chef Derick: Yes, that will be my third year. I think actually technically I let Dan lead the last Heritage in Savannah. I was part of it and everything, but he was coming on as, you know, I’d hired him as the culinary director and kind of hired him to be the lead of the opening of The Darling down there. So I had him as front man last year. But I’ve done every year in Charleston and Savannah so far.

JB: What is the appeal to chefs about this particular event?

DW: Being able to cook in these kind of environments with a live fire in front of guests is really cool. And I feel Heritage Live Fire is a separate type of festival in that way. Because, you do a lot of food and wine events. And, you know, a lot of it’s just you got your station there and you have your dish and you’re plating for these people. And it’s right in front. Heritage gives you the availability to do some of these cooler things like, you know, whole roasted pigs or, know, actually building these outdoor kitchens and like cooking in a different environment where you’re able to showcase more of the cooking process as opposed to like, prepping so much offsite and then delivering onsite.

JB: I’ve gathered from talking to a few guys that it’s more exciting. It’s, it’s, it’s there. There’s a lot more, not to say you guys don’t love your jobs. Obviously you do in the restaurants, but there’s a lot of enthusiasm with the chefs to do this particular event or events like it.

DW: I think it is more exciting because you’re a lot more involved for an offsite event and you know, it is competitive I feel you know adding that layer to it, you know, not all events kind of add a competition in that sense, you know like a voting competition So I knew where you get like best best dish and whatnot. But I think that this isn’t just I feel like from a guest perspective, it’s about the dish itself, but it’s also about you know them showcasing because you you might be like, I really love this dish, but I really like their setup. And did you see them? were, you know, they, you know, had a whole pig they were cooking over the fire and that was just amazing.

It’s more appealing and eye opening and from us, from a chef perspective, I feel it makes us more excited because we get to showcase different, a different side of our capabilities.

JB: Do you know what you’re going to be doing this weekend?

DW: yeah, I’m already kind of set it up. So I’m doing a smoked beef cheek. I’m smoking them and then I’m sous vide them for 24 hours and then I’m finishing over live fire at the event and I’m making basically a barbacoa. So we’re doing a smoked beef cheek tostada with a peach and pineapple, Georgia peach and pineapple salsa with a like Peruvian green sauce, cotija cheese.

And then I actually made a hot sauce in particular for this dish and I bottled it and branded it and we’ll be giving people a sneak peek at that because it might be something that we’re going to continue to bottle and carry. And that is a Georgia peach and ghost pepper hot sauce. We put together specifically for this event. And we call that we call it Peach Poltergeist.

It’s something fun and it’s like, you know, just another element to add to everything. know, I got a small amount, but enough to give, you know, to some people maybe to be able to walk out of there with one of our beta tests of this new hot sauce.

JB: You have participated in events all over the country. The Heritage Fire Tour is a major deal. I ask the question for those who don’t understand, because you and I both do. For those who don’t understand, you know, the fact this tour is coming here is great for both Savannah and Charleston, right?

DW: I think it showcases how much that we are on the map. We’re not just little guys. mean, they going to Napa, they going to Miami. And you have some major chefs that, our TV chefs or very accredited chefs that are all over the country that participate in this festival. And to see a festival of that kind of stature in our cities just reinforces the fact that our culinary scenes are amazing.

And I travel a lot as you do as well.you know, and there was preconceived notions on the culinary scene of some of our cities. I think that watching Savannah grow personally over the last four years in this culinary scene has impressed me and continues to impress me. And I think that them continuing to come here and wanting to be, know, Savannah to be a part of that just really shows that we’re on the map, you know, and people are watching what we’re doing.

Yeah, I don’t disagree with that.

For more information and a link to tickets for 2025 Heritage Fire Click Here.

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