He’s among the nation’s most promising chefs. Find him, for now, at a Bluffton food truck
Bluffton is home to a nationally recognized chef, but diners will find him — for now at least — working out of a mobile food truck while his restaurant is under construction.
Chef Bernard Bennett of Okan was named as a semifinalist in the Emerging Chef category of the James Beard Awards late last month.
Okan the restaurant is scheduled to open this spring, possibly as early as late March, in The Bridge Collective at the intersection of Calhoun and Bridge streets in Old Town Bluffton. The food truck, which Bennett and his business partners launched last fall, currently can be found at the Bluffton Farmers Market in Old Town on Thursdays, plus Starland Yard in Savannah and other locations.
The James Beard Awards are among the nation’s most prestigious honors in the restaurant industry. Bennett’s inclusion caught him by surprise.
“As a chef, I’m certainly familiar with watching my colleagues — people I aspire to be like — be recognized for their achievements. But I was not expecting this,” he said. “I did not expect to be on the list whatsoever.
“I woke up to texts from friends and family saying, ‘Hey, congratulations.’ And I’m like, ‘For what?’ ”
‘Heart and soul’
Okan means “heart and soul” in the Yoruba language of West Africa, and that goes hand-in-hand with Bennett’s mission to celebrate foods that are part of African American culture and history.
Diners should not expect American soul food traditions like fried chicken that are widely available, he explained. Instead, he is looking at a bigger picture and reaching through the Caribbean to Africa for ingredients that are often ignored.
As stated in a news release about the restaurant: “Chef Bernard Bennett … asks that any preconceived notions for African American cuisine be checked at the door.”
Moving to Bluffton
Bennett, 36, grew up and went to school in Michigan but was working in Chicago during the pandemic when the restaurant industry took a hard hit, especially in the northern winter’s cold when it wasn’t comfortable for diners to sit outside.
He made the decision to relocate to Bluffton because he had family here. Through a mutual friend, he was introduced to The Bridge Collective developer Matt Cunningham, who would later become one of his business partners with Ben Carson in the restaurant and food truck.
To say Bennett and Cunningham were fast friends is putting it mildly. Their first conversation was five-hours long, Bennett said.
“I had said if I had the chance to have my own place, I wanted to create something that is representative of African American [culture] through the slave trade, and showcase that,” he said.
Their plans took off from there, with the food truck seen as an early extension of the restaurant.
Bennett explained that the dishes on the food truck’s menu are served in the manner of street food, while the restaurant will be West African/Caribbean-inspired cuisine “that is much more elevated.”
“The restaurant The Farm is the level we are going for,” he said.
“Currently, I would say The Farm, Poor Richard’s, The Bluffton Room, those are the top restaurants in town, but they are all very similar cuisine-wise. Bringing something different but at the same level, to me, is important.”
The menu
While the menu for the restaurant is still being finalized, Bennett said it will be seasonal and will feature ingredients from the Bluffton Farmers Market.
Bennett is a fan of changing things up regularly, but there will be certain features diners can count on, and some of those are currently available on the food truck menu as well.
“Rice is a big part of the story that we’re trying to tell,” Bennett said. “Rice was a cash crop, definitely during the slave trade. … Jollof rice, in my opinion, is the mother rice of several dishes — tomato-based dishes. Think of dishes like jambalaya, red rice, paella, all have this influence from jollof rice, so we’ll highlight that.”
Roti is a flatbread typically associated with Indian cuisine, but it is on the menu.
“You’ll find roti all throughout the Caribbean. It comes from Africa as well as India,” Bennett explained.
“After slavery was abolished in the Caribbean … they brought Chinese and Indian indentured servants,” he said. “so that mixture of cultures of African, Chinese, Indian … will be represented. We have a jerk goat dish that’s representing the people of Jamaica.”
What’s next?
At the upcoming “second edition” Africa to Afros Culinary Journey Dinner, Bennett will team up with Todd Harris, executive chef at The Garage at Victory North in Savannah, to prepare a seven-course menu focusing on ingredients from African and Caribbean countries.
Tickets are $125 for one of two seatings at 71 Calhoun St. in Bluffton on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Additional wine pairings will be available. Purchase tickets online at bit.ly/africa-to-afros-dinner.
The James Beard Awards
The James Beard Awards recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food systems in a culture where all can thrive, according to the group’s website.
The Emerging Chef category specifically recognizes a “chef who displays exceptional talent, character, and leadership ability, and who is likely to make a significant impact in years to come, while contributing positively to their broader community.”
Of the 20 semi-finalists in Bennett’s category, only three are from the South, and most hail from large cities such as Chicago, Seattle and New York.
Finalists, called nominees, will be announced on March 29 and the winner on June 5 in Chicago.
This story was originally published February 12, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
