Chef Hank Yaden
Talking She-Crab Soup, Gumbo, and Lowcountry Cooking with
Chef Hank Yaden
story by KATE HAMILTON PARDEE
photos by PAUL NURNBERG
If chicken soup is good for the soul, then Hank Yaden’s award-winning She-Crab Soup is great for the spirit. Add to that his savory Seafood Gumbo or luscious crab cakes — currently both sold online and at local farmers markets — and you have a delicious Lowcountry food journey. His culinary adventure began, though, in Pasadena, CA.
Hank was born at Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, CA, to Patricia Yaden, a single mother and actress who used the stage name, Jody Warner. Hank spent a lot of time alone growing up and said, “I was a latchkey kid, so I learned early how to cook my own meals.” In the afternoons, he watched The Galloping Gourmet hosted by Graham Kerr, and his culinary interests ripened.
At 15, his first job was learning to prep and cook at a nearby Japanese restaurant. Unfortunately, he was let go for being underage, but Hank had his first taste of cooking and wanted to pursue a culinary career. The next stop was working at the Mediterranean Kitchen in Pasadena. Souhail Abou Rass, the head chef, took Hank under his wing and taught him his Arabic style of cooking. He stayed there for four years.
Hank then had a moment that not only would positively alter his life but also change the direction of his culinary career. One day he walked into a local bar and saw a pretty girl sitting at one of the stools. He decided to walk up to her and introduce himself: “One minute I was saying hello, the next we were holding hands, and the rest is history.” Wanda Sue was her name. She was living with her sister, Sylvia, in California at the time. The next thing Hank knew, they were packing up her Datsun 200sx and driving cross country to see her Mom and Dad located in her home state of South Carolina.
Hank and Wanda Sue married and settled into their first home on St. James Island where he continued his culinary career. As he was learning, he read about the French Chef Auguste Escoffier, who developed the “five mother sauces” of France: béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. This was the starting point for countless recipes. Hank says, “Chef Escoffier was my hero, and I focused on learning from him how to become a saucier. That centered on matching ingredients with spices that worked best for soups.” Hank was devoted to studying Chef Escoffier’s skills and lived by the Chef’s motto: “In a kitchen without a stock, nothing can be done.” Hank also began learning about the different roux used in gumbo: “A gumbo will never work without the right roux.”
His next job was working at the Charleston Fish Market under German Chef Heinz J. Graf Polke and training under French Chef Bernard Shure. He began as a line cook and then was promoted to sous chef. “I was classically trained with real hands-on experience, and the lessons were never-ending,” he shared. From then, he worked at the fish market restaurant Jillicks on East Bay Street in Charleston and then entered a partnership at the Queen Street Inn. Hank was now gaining quite a name for himself. His culinary skills were requested at restaurants by such famous names as Lauren Hutton, George Kennedy, and Tom Berenger — when they were in town.
Hank enjoyed Charleston and began to learn more about the local food offerings, precisely what is defined as “Lowcountry Cuisine.” Now working at a restaurant on Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, Hank shared how his recipe for She-Crab Soup began.
“In the past restaurants I worked in, they all made She-Crab Soup the same way, and my original recipe was similar to those,” Hank said. One evening, after ordering She-Crab Soup, two ladies requested to speak with him. Upon visiting their table, they said to Hank, “My recipe for the soup was the worst they ever had, and they handed me a handwritten note.” He tucked the note away without reading it. He found it a few years later. The note had a recipe for She-Crab Soup authored by the name William Deas. Hank searched the name Deas and read in 1903 that William Deas had been the butler for R. Goodwyn Rhett, the mayor of Charleston. The story goes that President Taft was visiting the mayor and didn’t like the crab dish served at dinner. William Deas then took the roe from the female crab; added spices, sherry, and cream; and She-Crab Soup was born.
Hank said, “I then realized the name William Deas and the author of the recipe given to me by the ladies were the same.” This became a base for Hank’s She-Crab Soup. Hank then added his spices and techniques to make it his own. Although the recipe is top secret, Hank did share, “Add some common spice mace for that special taste.” The recipe is loved by many and has won many accolades in both Bluffton and Beaufort.
Wanda and Hank then had two children, Emily and Dylan, and moved to Columbia, SC, for the school system. Hank worked at the Charleston Crab House but moved to Beaufort after his daughter decided to stay upon graduating from USC Beaufort.
Now settled in Beaufort, Hank decided it would be a good idea to introduce and sell his famous She-Crab Soup locally, along with other items. The first stop was the Port Royal Farmers Market. Hank said, “I was told that there was a three-year wait for food purveyors. So I took a chance and brought a quart to the manager. She tasted it, looked up at me, and said, “You are in.”
Hank enjoys living in Beaufort, where he and Wanda Sue enjoy fishing and spending time at the beach. When asked what is next for the accomplished chef, Hank responded, “To continue catering, cooking with local ingredients, and possibly writing a cookbook, sharing recipes that include advice about the importance of the spice flavoring in creating them.”
For now, his velvety She-Crab Soup or base, hearty Gumbo, and Lowcountry Crab Cakes are available online and at the Port Royal Farmers Market. You will see the crowd in line and hear the customers’ sounds, excitedly anticipating and ready to bring Chef Hank’s delicious dishes home to enjoy.
