CHEF FRANK CHIASERA
Opens White Table Restaurant in Port Royal
story by LYNNE HUMMELL photos by JENNY PHILLIPS
Chef Frank Chiasera has come a long way from his dishwashing job at age 16 in his hometown of Niagara Falls, NY. Since that day when he walked down the street from his parent’s house and got that first job at a little Italian restaurant, he has been in a kitchen pretty much every day of his professional life. These days, he is in the kitchen at his new restaurant, Chef Frank’s Bistro in Port Royal, preparing fresh, local ingredients in chef-inspired, handcrafted dishes to delight any palate.
The journey wasn’t a direct route from New York to South Carolina, though the first prominent professional step did bring him to the Palmetto State. “I tried college, but that didn’t work out,” Chef Frank said. “At some point, I thought I’d try culinary school.” After attending a community college in his hometown, he applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY — considered, by many, the finest culinary arts school in the world.
After graduation, one of his classmates invited him to Mississippi to work in a private member club where the friend was a sous chef. “That’s when I started my journey in private member clubs,” he said.
Chef Frank worked as a line cook for about 18 months and then was offered a sous chef position at Harbour Club in Charleston. Within a week of being offered the position, he had packed everything he owned and moved to Charleston. It was his first trip to the South Carolina Lowcountry that he would come to love. Three years later, he was offered the executive chef position, which he accepted, and worked another three years there. When the executive chef position became available at the Citrus Club in Orlando, FL, a high-end, well-known club, and was offered to him, Chef Frank accepted that position and moved to Florida, where he stayed for about eight years.
The next move was to Colleton River Club in Bluffton, where he became executive chef over two clubhouses. Three or four years later, Chef Frank got another job offer, this one in Charlotte, NC. The plan was to stay just a few years, but he ended up staying ten years.
The family’s longing for the Lowcountry beckoned them back to South Carolina. “We missed the Lowcountry, we missed being on the beach, we missed everything this area offers — the weather, Spanish moss, Lowcountry cuisine — everything about it,” Chef Frank said. “We felt at home in South Carolina.”
Moving back to the Lowcountry, Chef Frank took another executive chef position at The Ford Field and River Club in Richmond Hill, GA, where he stayed for three years.
The chef soon realized he had worked in private member clubs for over 25 years. For all those years, he had been overseeing and preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for hundreds of members, 364 days every year — as these clubs generally close only on Christmas Day. Plus, the clubs held special events, such as wine dinners, golf and tennis tournaments, private cooking classes, and weddings, which required special menus and extra planning. “It was great, with beautiful facilities in beautiful locations,” Chef Frank said of his club career. “But it was hard work.”
The duties of an executive chef in a high-volume private club setting include hours of planning, prepping, creating menus, making work schedules, hiring people and training them, ordering food, ordering wine and other beverages, calculating food costs, organizing invoices, and then making sure everything is in order for every meal, every day.
“It takes a toll,” he said. “Plus, you don’t cook as much.” There wasn’t much time or energy to be creative and follow his passion for making good food. “I knew it was time for something else,” Chef Frank said. “I said to myself, ‘Why don’t I follow my own path and open a small restaurant?’”
Earlier this year, a friend told him about the space at 1635 Paris Avenue that had become available. Once he got inside and walked around, the chef realized it would be perfect for what he envisioned — an intimate space with about 40 seats, and a kitchen large enough for him and his sous chef to prepare the kinds of fresh and creative meals he intended to serve.
Six months ago, Chef Frank’s Bistro opened and has enjoyed success ever since. “It was an adjustment to downsize from having 25 to 30 staff to one full-time employee and three or four part-time wait staff,” Chef Frank said. His wife and three daughters help out as well.
The restaurant’s one full-time employee is sous chef Nicole Harrell, a native of Burton. Chef Frank first hired her when he was at The Ford Field and River Club. “She went from no experience in a professional kitchen to my sous chef in two years,” he said. “That’s how well she did. When I decided to open this restaurant, it was imperative that she was part of the deal.”
It’s the team’s first gig together, where they make everything. “It’s just the two of us in the back,” Chef Frank said. “We set up everything, and we make everything.”
Not having owned a restaurant before, Chef Frank said there was a fair amount of stress — from the financials to the staffing, from customer reactions and acceptance, to food preparation, suppliers — and all the elements that go into building a successful business.
The stress is starting to subside, and now he and the staff are having fun. His passion for creating new dishes has returned, which makes every day more exciting.
Chef Frank still feels the pressure of always doing things the right way, especially where his dishes are concerned. “That’s the one thing we always want — to prepare the food the right way,” he said. “We pride ourselves on cooking and seasoning things properly and making things look nice on every plate that goes out.”
Chef Frank said he enjoys going out into the dining room and meeting his patrons. He greets as many customers as possible, asking about their experience and thanking them for coming in. “It is important to me to know that everyone that comes to my restaurant has a positive experience,” he said.
“Port Royal has such a great, small-town feel,” Chef Frank said. “There are times when I come out to the dining room and see that many patrons know each other.”
Chef Frank lauds his servers for their professionalism and excellent service. The chef offers sample plates for the specials each night so the servers will know how they taste and how to describe them to diners.
“They get excited about the menu,” he said. “They ask questions and want to know what’s in it.”
Chef Frank describes the menu as “basically derived from all the 25 years of me being in private member clubs.” For example, his She-Crab Soup was something he developed in Charleston, while his shrimp etouffee was created in Mississippi. He especially enjoys making “pretty awesome” soups — listed on the menu simply as “Chef’s Inspired Soup.”
The Grilled Swordfish started as a catch of the day, and so many diners loved it that Chef Frank put it on the menu. It has become the No. 1 seller and will remain on the menu.
Other favorites are the locally farm-raised chicken and the wild-caught salmon. The chef said that these items will always be on the menu, though ingredients and preparation might change.
While the menu doesn’t always necessarily include vegetarian or gluten-free items, special orders are never a problem. “We can accommodate any special requests,” Chef Frank said.
Though the white tablecloth might indicate a fancy, high-priced restaurant, Chef Frank said his focus is more about quality and fresh food. “I don’t want to be known as the special occasion place — even though we get a lot of birthdays and anniversaries,” he said. “I want us to be known as the everyday place.”
Asked how his passion for cooking evolved, the chef chuckled and replied, “I don’t know. I just love it. I love being a chef. I was so happy and good at what I did; that’s why I ended up doing it for so long. It just felt right.”
Opening the new restaurant is an extension of things feeling “right.”
“It was almost like ‘the-stars-aligned’ kind of thing,” he said. “I had looked at other restaurant spaces, but then when I saw this white tablecloth establishment, I said, ‘This is me.’ Everything lined up, and it was just the right time.”
Chef Frank’s Bistro is open from 5 to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are encouraged by calling 843-379-3664. The restaurant is located at 1635 Paris Avenue in Port Royal. Learn more at cheffranksbistro.com.
