15 Minutes With ... Q&A with SC Chef Ambassador Michael Sibert
Chef Michael Sibert says heart and soul are the two ingredients necessary to prepare a meal that is a declaration of love for the South.
A skilled master in the art of preparing signature Southern cuisine, Sibert graduated from the Culinary Institute of the Carolinas at Greenville Technical College, then honed his culinary skills studying and working in the restaurant industry in New Orleans -- learning to make authentic Cajun food.
Returning to Greenville, Sibert opened two restaurants, Anonymous Burger and White Wine & Butter, earned an appearance on the Food Network game show Guy’s Grocery Games, and this month will be participating in Euphoria, Greenville’s premier food festival, not only as a chef, but as a 2024 South Carolina Chef Ambassador.
One of three chefs chosen from around the state, Sibert has been traveling throughout the state all year, highlighting the connection between Southern food, culture, and heritage. Sibert has created his own path to success in career and life by learning, taking risks, and staying true to himself.
He embraces the artistic side of cooking and often finds himself combining techniques from a variety of cooking styles to give a traditional dish an unconventional spin. Sibert took some time to talk with us about euphoria, his position as a Chef Ambassador, smash burgers and what he would cook for a neighbor from “up north,” who is just sitting down to his very first Southern meal.
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TALK Greenville: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How were selected to be a 2024 SC Chef Ambassador?
Chef Michael Sibert: Thank you for the interview. To be chosen as a SC Chef Ambassador, you go through a scouting process. One of the higher ups in the program visited my fine dining restaurant, White Wine & Butter, and he loved the food and fell in love with the restaurant. So that put me on his radar. You also have to be nominated by a former Chef Ambassador, and I was lucky enough to be nominated by a handful of former ambassadors, which helped my case and brought more attention to our company. My restaurant also went through a screening process where they looked over my menu and how we operate. You have to be willing and able to commit to a lot of activities, because there are a lot of travel dates and events you have to attend.
TG: What will you be doing in your position as a SC Chef Ambassador?
MS: The objective is to bring together 3-4 chefs from different regions of South Carolina to highlight our agricultural system, our culinary scene, and to draw tourism to the state. I’ve worked with some amazing farmers and these farmers are getting put in the spotlight through this ambassadorship. We put focus on how we use the produce and agriculture we have in our own state instead of importing from elsewhere. We also get to participate in festivals and private events -- again another way to showcase local farmers or the guys who are out fishing and bringing us fresh, local seafood so we don’t have to fly shrimp in from Argentina.
TG: What are some of the events you’ve participated in as a Chef Ambassador?
MS: Charleston Food and Wine Festival was the first one I participated in. I was on pace to do five events for that festival, which is a weeklong event, and several people who organized the festival said five was the most events any one chef has ever done. I took it as a challenge and was on pace to make it happen but unfortunately, the last day of the festival got rained out. We did the Seaweed Festival in Charleston where I did a demo onstage of some SC grown products and everyone in the crowd got to taste test. And, of course, we are doing euphoria.
TG: You’ve participated in euphoria since 2020, your first year in business. What do you like the most about the festival?
MS: Just the gathering of all the chefs, especially the chefs from my own community in Greenville. We have specialty chefs who come from all over and celebrity chefs, but I love getting to bond with the chefs in the community I’m already in and learning from them about how they are combining flavors and using the theme of the event. For example, Roast and Toast and Aged to Perfection are some of the themed events. These events challenge you to create a dish that fits the name, or the theme, of the event. I enjoy these euphoria events the most.
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TG: On Sunday, September 22 the 2024 South Carolina Chef Ambassadors will team up to produce an unforgettable meal at euphoria. What’s on the menu?
MS: I’m doing a boiled peanut falafel, a mustard green tzatziki, sweet potato crackling corn bread with wildflower whipped honey butter, and my entrée is braised Meishan, a specialty breed of pig that my friends at Barefoot Acre raise, with cream corn and a golden beet chow chow.
TG: That sounds fancy. We might be biased, but we think Southern food is the best in the world.
MS: I agree.
TG: As a Southern culinary connoisseur, what do you think makes Southern food better than the rest?
MS: The heart and soul. The love that goes into the actual cooking. I studied in New Orleans before opening our first restaurant and that’s where I experienced the best food of my life. I never understood it before, but there is food in gas stations in New Orleans that tastes better than food you’ve had anywhere else in the world. They cook on the principle of low and slow cooking and varying levels of seasonings and of course, cooking with your heart. There are recipes used, but a lot of the measurements are measured with your heart. That’s the beauty of Southern food. The love and passion that goes into it.
TG: You’ve been quoted as saying that you don’t have a signature dish.
MS: I don’t have one, because I don’t like to be defined by one dish. I always say my best dish is my next dish. I like to keep evolving and trying new things. I have the most fun as a chef when I’m thrown a bunch of ingredients and I’m told to make something out of it that I’ve never made before.
TG: Do you have a favorite cooking tool?
MS: My sous vied or my immersion blender because I use both for everything.
More: Chef Michael Sibert of White Wine & Butter named a 2024 South Carolina Chef Ambassador
TG: You appeared on the Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games. Tell us about that experience.
MS: Great experience. Guy’s advice was that he was there to uplift us and explained that, by being on the show, we had already won because he wanted to use his platform to give other chefs a chance to showcase their talent and be able to compete on Food Network. He told us he has no favoritism on his show and wants the best for everyone. He said to “just have fun,” so that’s what I did.
TG: If you had a cooking show, what would it be called?
MS: That’s tough! Everything is Better with Butter? I’m not sure what I’d name it, but I’ve always played around with the thought of going to people’s houses and learning their specialty dish to see if I can create it at a different level. So I have a concept in mind, but not sure about a name.
TG: You are the owner of Anonymous Burger, where you specialize in smash burgers. What is a smash burger?
MS: A smash burger is a thin, crispy burger. You take 4-ounces of beef and lightly pack it and lay it on a buttered grill, or in our case we use duck fat instead of butter, smash it down to get consistent edges and the objective is to have thin, crispy edges. They are best when stacked and we offer up to three patties, but we’ve had people who want to double that and have a six-patty burger. It’s a quick bite.
TG: Imagine you are preparing a Southern meal for a neighbor from up North who has never eaten Southern food. What do you serve up?
MS: I wouldn’t want to do the staple meal of fried chicken, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. I think I would cook something that is more a combination of things I love, such as Shrimp and Grits. A lot of northerners don’t know what grits is. You know, you never hear anyone say, “I’d love some good ol’ Northern food.” But you do hear, “I need some good Southern soul food." I think Shrimp and Grits fits the Southern soul food bill just right.
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This article originally appeared on Upstate Parent: 15 Minutes With ... Q&A with SC Chef Ambassador Michael Sibert