A James Beard Award gives winners instant notoriety, bringing with it a business boom to chefs and restaurants who take home a medallion. In January, six Charleston semifinalists moved one step closer to that career-altering win.

To recap, Kimball Brienza and Steve Palmer were recognized in the Outstanding Restaurateur category for their work at King Street sushi spot O-Ku, while Edmund’s Oast — which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in February — was listed among the country’s top Outstanding Bars.

Jacques Larson of The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island and James London of Chubby Fish downtown earned spots in the Best Chef: Southeast category, an award previously won by Charleston chefs Mike Lata, Jason Stanhope and Rodney Scott.

Remy Funfrock of La Pâtisserie inside Hotel Bennett earned a spot in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category, and Nikko Cagalanan of Kultura was nominated for top Emerging Chef.

With so much buzz surrounding these chefs, restaurateurs and their six establishments, I decided to revisit each of them in February. Here’s a look inside.

Chubby Fish

252 Coming St., downtown Charleston 

A sense of pride emerges when I bring friends to Chubby Fish for the first time. That’s because this restaurant — transformative, inspiring and … cool — exists in the city we call home, though it could easily belong in the country’s culinary hotbeds, like New York City or San Francisco, where chef and co-owner James London cooked before returning home to South Carolina. 

It’s here at Chubby Fish where he’s caught the eye of publications across the country and, for the first time, the James Beard Foundation. 

Even before we enter the 1,250-square-foot restaurant, I’ve done my best to convey what makes this place so special. I tell my guests about the bites I know will be on London’s dynamic fresh-off-the-dock-driven menu: buttery blue crab tagliatelle spotted with trout roe; fall-off-the-bone charred lamb ribs resting on romesco; tempura fried fish with soy beurre blanc; caviar sliders, spread atop softened butter, chives, sea salt and lemon zest. 

That’s just the start. Inevitably, every visit I taste something I could only dream of imagining myself. 

For the uninitiated, Chubby Fish does not accept reservations, though there are plenty of places to wait after giving the host parked out front your name and number. On a recent Saturday, Elliotborough Mini Bar offered live music a block away from Chubby Fish, catering to those looking for drinks to pass the time while waiting for a table. Other nearby options include Cutty’s and The Tippling House, depending on your mood and beverage of choice.  

Once seated at Chubby Fish, snap a picture of the menu, hand-lettered on black magnetic strips and affixed to a broad metal board above the small counter in the back. Orders are asked to be placed in their entirety and are paced accordingly. 

When the colorful antique dishware — curated by London’s wife Yoanna, who goes by “YoYo” — starts arriving, a wave of energy sweeps across the table as your eyes register what’s on them. Crudos and ceviches are different here, with Thai basil and avocado livening up mild fish like American red snapper. Local Brandon’s Bread serves as the bed for cubed tuna belly bites that, right now, are paired with fennel and benne seeds. 

If there is one thing that sparks conversation, it’s grilled oysters, doused in crab fat curry and sprinkled with puffed rice. That discussion could spill over to the table to your left, where a couple hailing from Scandinavia wants to know about the bivalve’s mildly spiced butter bath, bulked by an essence of the sea. 

Pulled straight from the water by local purveyors like Abundant Seafood, fish is unsurprisingly the star here at Chubby Fish. London’s focus on ingredients in his backyard extends to the fields of South Carolina farms. 

Chubby Fish’s celery salad combines the stalky veg with strips of kohlrabi, adding a peppery pop that’s complemented by airy nickel-sized fried potatoes and Parmesan. That same salty cheese is the star of the stunning cauliflower cacio e pepe — the meatiest vegetarian dish I’ve had in quite some time. 

And then there is that one bite that rises above the rest, becoming the dish you tell friends about when taking them in for their first Chubby Fish dinner. This time, that plate was the seared tuna toro, delicately cooked and surrounded by shiso, jalapenos and bits of crispy shallots. A slice of bright orange rangpur lime from a Johns Island farm imparts a floral tinge, amplifying the fish’s soft fat. 

It’s the type of bite that’s worth bragging about. 

Edmund’s Oast 

1081 Morrison Drive, downtown Charleston  

Ten years in, Edmund’s Oast continues to evolve in an organic way that stays true to the original vision: Serve comforting cuisine alongside a world-class beverage program. From house-brewed beers to cocktails currently curated by Vinnie Cellini, Edmund’s Oast serves food and drink with thought and intention.

A steady happy hour destination for The Post and Courier staff, Edmund’s Oast’s beverage menu is just as accessible as it is compelling in The Bower — the restaurant’s large, partially covered patio. Frozen drinks, from a boozy Moscow mule to a white cranberry cosmo, are dangerously delicious, so exercise with caution. 

Inside, the lighting dims but the mood stays light, with the wall listing Edmund’s Oast’s many beer selections coming into full view. One, named Gourds of Canada, is infused with squash roasted in the restaurant’s open kitchen, allowing for a smooth autumnal taste that stays light and fresh.

Cellini’s cocktail menu, new this month, pairs nostalgia with sharp technique. The Gimme Pizza (P-1-Z-Z-A) is infused with savory sopressata, cooked in olive oil and added to a Dutch spirit called genever. On the darker, sweeter side, the Friendly Pepper Upper is an old fashioned reimagined, with a Dr. Pepper reduction calming the strong rye whiskey base.

Settling into the leather-studded high-tops lining the bar, you might start to sense the neighborhood atmosphere that so many spots claim to deliver. Here at Edmund’s Oast, the bartenders and servers converse with regulars and take newcomers through the many food and beverage options. Owner Scott Shor and executive chef Bob Cook are present in their establishment, and a massive bowl of curly fries costs just $7.

That’s the type of place I like having in our neighborhood.

Kultura

73 Spring St., downtown Charleston 

Born in Bacolod in the Philippines, Kultura chef Nikko Cagalanan’s fast ascent in the culinary world since he immigrated to the United States in 2011 is not an accident. It’s the result of effort, attention to detail and a willingness to pay it forward.

The former nurse became a full-time chef just 10 years ago. His Filipino food, which shines the spotlight on his home country but isn’t bound by tradition, earned him local acclaim before he even opened his first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Now that he has, Cagalanan is paving the way for other immigrant chefs with a story to tell.

Operating his pop-up Mansueta’s, named after the grandmother who taught him how to cook, gave Cagalanan the vision for what his restaurant, Kultura, would look and feel like inside. Kultura is the Filipino word for “culture,” an apt name for a place that strives to share “good food and the roots of the people who make it.” During the restaurant’s karaoke brunch, Cagalanan welcomes the opportunity to showcase food from his fiancé and business partner, Paula Kramer, co-owner of Baguette Magic.

Baguette Magic pastries are infused with Filipino flavors like ube and a tropical plant named pandan. Egg sandwiches showcase Kultura’s Filipino-American influence, with eggs and American cheese joining pork belly adobo, banana ketchup aioli and house-made pickles inside a Baguette Magic brioche bun.

On a recent Saturday, karaoke wasn’t taking place in the traditional sense, but a couple in the corner of Kultura could be seen dancing and mouthing the words to a playlist headlined by Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Rihanna. Kultura’s album of bold brunch flavors is enticing enough to make you shimmy in your seat.

Cagalanan serves a few holdovers from the dinner menu at brunch. From my seat in the back corner of the restaurant, I watched him in Kultura’s pint-sized open kitchen, where he blended green lettuce and herbs with a tangle of long, tender noodles enrobed in calamansi sauce to make pancit.

“The pancit is … oh, my God,” exclaimed one diner across the restaurant. Another seated next to me at the bar raved about Kultura’s baon box.

In the Filipino language, the term “baon” means to pack a supply of food for a long journey. Cagalanan’s artfully plated lunch box is of the vegetarian variety, with a mushroom, red onion and carrot sisig served over sticky rice.

When I took my first bite, I couldn’t help but think back to Cagalanan’s first Mansueta’s pop-up back in 2019, when I sampled mushroom sisig and leche flan at Charles Towne Fermentory. That evening and subsequent pop-ups were the start of Cagalanan’s emergence in Charleston’s culinary scene.

La Pâtisserie 

404 King St., downtown Charleston 

Of the six Charleston nominees, I have visited La Pâtisserie the least. I suppose I’ve always been drawn to the handful of scrappy, small-batch bakeries that opened on a shoestring budget in Charleston. 

Clad in painted tile floors, gorgeous crown molding and custom fleur-de-lis ceiling tiles, La Pâtisserie is not that. Hotel Bennett’s bakery is, however, a lot of other things most seem to like. On a recent Sunday, a line endured for an entire hour, as patrons queued up for coffee, pastries and artful desserts crafted by James Beard Award nominee Remy Funfrock. 

The display case that awaits has classic baked goods on the left, with macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies, frangipane and almond croissants produced to pair with lattes and cappuccinos. On the right, shining through the glass are the types of desserts that Lyon, France-born Funfrock might have cooked during his days in Michelin-star restaurant kitchens. 

Funfrock clearly knows his way around a macaron. The first dessert to catch my eye featured fresh, plump raspberries that were sandwiched between two enlarged halves of the rose-hued confection, soft and balanced with a reserved sweet nuttiness. As if it wasn’t pretty enough, this macaron sandwich’s topping was an edible flower petal and sugary dew drop. 

If this Parisian-inspired bakery has a signature dessert, I would point to the Camellias, a delicate lemon almond sponge cake covered in a glossy pink coating and white sprinkle rim. Cutting into the cake — adorned with two miniature macarons — unveils lemon cheesecake mousse, intercepted by a layer of strawberry jam. Light with a just-right sweetness, this cake is the bite I’ll mention when asked about La Pâtisserie. 

O-Ku

463 King St., downtown Charleston 

O-Ku’s Japanese-inspired concept has been helmed by some of the Holy City’s most notable sushi gurus, including Sean Park of Kanpai in Mount Pleasant and Kazu Murakami of Sushi-Wa downtown.

Those chefs and the restaurant made such an impression on Charleston that Steve Palmer, president of Indigo Road Hospitality Group, brought the Japanese concept to seven additional cities, including Greenville and Atlanta. Its James Beard Award semifinalist recognition, however, specifically spotlighted the Charleston original.

Of the six nominations, this one surprised me the most. That’s not a knock on O-Ku, but rather an endorsement of other Indigo Road restaurants like Indaco and Oak Steakhouse.

“What makes the hospitality group’s Japanese concept stand out?” I wondered as I parked my car on St. Philip Street. 

Walking down King Street toward O-Ku, I thought to myself how infrequently I visit this stretch of downtown. Those who do, whether from Charleston or out of town, might be looking for a restaurant with a palpable ambiance and vibe. O-Ku continues to deliver that, with cheerful servers, upbeat music and inventive cocktails.

If you wanted a restaurant to meet friends for dinner before enjoying a night out on the town, this would be the place to do it. It’s also the place to pair a refreshing mocktail with an alluring selection of nigiri.

As I pondered the menu, the four chefs in front of me barely looked up from their workstations at O-Ku’s eight-seat sushi bar. One pressed miniature lemon triangles into a roll crowned with sliced salmon, while another put the blowtorch to a row of rolls topped with wagyu beef.

The bamboo mats stay busy during the restaurant’s highly regarded happy hour, when many rolls are offered half-off from 5-7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Though it comes with a higher price point, sampling from the nigiri selection can turn a casual dinner at the sushi bar into a special occasion. The best bite of my recent visit came first — an off-menu special of beet-cured salmon.

Five red-tinted filets were fanned across a coconut cream cloud, infused with the herbaceous heat of fresh green wasabi. Black salt specks and bits of lime zest, barely visible to the eye, tickle the tongue, sharpening the sweetness of the soft fish. 

Beyond the ambiance, bites like this make O-Ku distinct. 

The Obstinate Daughter

2063 Middle St., Sullivan’s Island

Jacques Larson of The Obstinate Daughter is as invested in the local community as just about any chef in the Lowcountry, serving on the board of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival and as chef chair of The Lowcountry Food Bank’s Chefs Feast, among other community-driven endeavors. At The Obstinate Daughter, Larson leads a kitchen of talented chefs, empowering each one to push beyond their comfort zone.

During a recent Friday lunch service, Larson was present in the Sullivan’s Island restaurant’s open kitchen, which looks out onto a dining room paneled — walls and ceiling — with sun-bleached wood. Perched on the second story behind a large live oak tree, the sunlit setting exudes a lively, approachable ambiance that is perfectly suited for Sullivan’s Island.

Dining at The Obstinate Daughter is relaxed enough for a casual catch-up with friends, but it’s not a place that plays it safe. White anchovies, tomatoes, black olives, red onion, garlic and chile oil top one pizza, and black truffle is added to a warm salad of farro, chicken, peanuts and Brussels sprouts.

I suggest setting the table with at least one order of The Rutledge white pizza; ricotta gnocchi; and Marsh Hen Mill polenta fries, golden logs of earthy joy so satisfyingly salty you’ll want a second basket.

Every time I eat at The Obstinate Daughter, I’m wowed by an unexpected newcomer on the menu or specials board that hangs between the kitchen and bar. Though decadent, the ring-shaped cappelletti — stuffed with foie gras and sprinkled with strands of black truffle — was that bite the other day.

Equally as impressive were the simpler selections: plump peel-and-eat shrimp and the meatball sandwich, served on a halved loaf and showered in arugula.

The juxtaposition between those and the decadent pasta demonstrates the sometimes-complex, always approachable leanings of Larson’s Sullivan’s Island kitchen.