By Helen Mitternight
(Editors Note: Charleston is such a foodie town that food and beverage superstars are hiding in plain sight, out of the James Beard limelight, but still very much creating and serving amazing food and drinks. This series profiles Charleston’s “hidden F&Bs.”)
We HAD a list of questions to ask, but once Stefan DeArmon starts talking, you just sit back and enjoy! Known as the Reverend Cornbread, DeArmon went from the cooking program at One80 Place to the kitchen of Smoke Barbecue. A happy accident when making the cornbread – he added heavy cream instead of buttermilk and created a rich, moist bread -- led to a business with Smoke co-owner Roland Feldman. He now sells his cornbread, along with collards and smoked meat, from a food truck and offers a cornbread mix for those wanting to try at home.
Some highlights:
Stefan is a Coast Guard veteran who was referred to One80 Place through the Veterans Administration.
He learned to cook from his mother, who is legally blind but still makes the best pound cake and red rice he’s ever tasted.
Smoke’s Roland Feldman met him when he was wearing a black chef’s coat and over a white T-shirt. The joke was that it made him look like clergy and, when he started making his cornbread, he became, “Reverend Cornbread.”
Sugar or no sugar? He settles the debate by saying cornbread HAS to have sugar!
His comfort food is his mom’s lasagna.
Find where the Rev. Cornbread parks his food truck on Facebook at Reverend Cornbread Co.
Listen to the companion podcast at
https://www.spreaker.com/user/10829597/episode-5-hidden-f-b-rev-cornbread-2-19-
Copyright © 2015 Dez Inc. dba GulfStream Communications
