After working in fine dining kitchens, including Tempest and Church and Union, chef Tyler Cook knew he wanted to break off and create his own food concept.
“I come from [working in] fine dining, really high level food,” he said. “I wanted to do my own thing — that level but much more approachable.”
And so Fiddler’s Fire was born.
The open-fire pop-up/food truck concept is inspired by what Cook likes to eat — global street food. Presentation and flavor are important to Cook, and he said that diners are already letting him know that he’s offering something a little different than what they may be used to.
“The number one thing we’ve been getting from this is [people saying], ‘This isn’t your typical food truck food,’” he said.
Cook is currently popping up at Munkle Brewing Co. from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays this month (enjoy $5 drafts from Munkle during that time, too) with a full menu as well as $2 roasted Crystal Coast fat belly oysters.
Additional menu items include bulgogi pork belly skewers served with sweet braised carrots, peanuts and coconut curry rice; smoked chili butter poached shrimp rolls; and a jerk chicken sandwich with white sauce, basil and Jamaican coconut bread.
“I didn’t go to school for this. I went to school for finance,” Cook said of his cooking origins, adding that he’s watched and learned from chef mentors. “I always did my own thing … I like to kind of have fun and push the boundaries of what people think you can do with [ingredients] — because there’s a lot you can do.”
Power of the pop-up
Cook said that he knew his concept was a little different when the health inspectors, checking out his mobile pit room, weren’t really sure how to classify his food truck.
“I thought, ‘I might be on the right track to something cool,” he said. “I thought this was a way to push the boundaries and kind of get much more intimate with Charleston, then from behind the scenes in a kitchen. People might love my food, but it’s much different when you’re seeing it being made.”
He appreciates the opportunity to explain menu items, especially his roasted oysters, which he makes taste like chicken — yes, really. Made with chicken skin and caramelized onion butter, these oysters can turn non-bivalve lovers around pretty fast, according to Cook.
“I’ve done very high volume at a very high level, and this is just fun to me. I’m just having fun seeing the reaction of everyone,” he said.
As fun as pop-up life can be, Cook admits that it’s also a hustle. “One to two days of my week is spent scouting new places and trying to get new business … a day in the week of a food truck owner, especially one like mine [is busy] where I’m going out to farms and picking up my product — all my chicken comes from Keegan-Filion Farm in Walterboro,” he said.
The hustle often proves fruitful, though. Earlier this year Cook was doing late night pop-ups at Prohibition and he said those nights proved so successful that hungry night owls reached out to him for more Fiddler’s Fire long after the residency had ended.
Fortunately for evening revelers, Cook is bringing late night Fiddler’s Fire pop-ups back — this time to popular cocktail bar Dalila’s on Spring. Stay tuned to Fiddler’s Fire Instagram, @fiddlersfire for updates, but Cook hopes to bring the pop-up to Spring Street most Fridays and Saturdays for late night eats.
You can find Fiddler’s Fire at the Garden by Charles Towne Fermentory on May 26, June 2, June 9 and June 16; at Munkle on June 8; at Odd Duck Market on June 15; and at Prohibition June 10.
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