Celebrated high-energy chef Brett McKee is wrapping up his knives and stowing his pots and pans.
“I don’t have anything else to prove,” said McKee, the only winner for best private chef in the three years that the category has existed in the Charleston City Paper’s annual Best of Charleston contest. “I have a deep and talented staff.”
After more than 50 years in kitchens from New York to Charleston, it’s time to slow down. He says his 67-year-old body, which has endured 38 surgeries over 20 years to deal with spine, heart, knee and other issues, is just worn out. Continuing to pick up heavy pots, turn on a dime on sometimes slippery floors or twist in the wrong way could cause paralyzing damage, he says. Two more spinal surgeries, in fact, are planned for the fall.
“I am hanging up my knives and (working) the pots and pans for 15 hours a day and turning over the culinary part to my people,” said McKee, known in recent years for tattoos and a shiny bald head.
But in an exclusive interview with the City Paper, McKee emphasizes he is not fading away. Rather than grinding away daily as a private chef, he’ll become a consultant to his business, coaching a team of a dozen who will continue to travel here and abroad to satisfy hungry clients.
“I’m not even carrying up my f***ing knives any more,” said the colorful chef, who has perfected the frequent drop of the F-bomb. “My value is what I’m bringing into the room – energy.”
He said he’ll continue to attend some of his company’s catered events to serve as an entertainer because he loves being with people.
“(Being a storyteller and entertainer) is still part of my dopamine. But I can’t say I’ll be at every event.”
A new chapter
McKee also is planning – literally – to turn a new page. In October, he plans to release his memoirs about his fast-paced life that has taken him from restaurants in Long Island and the Hamptons near his native Brooklyn to the Lowcountry. Since moving here in the late 1980s after thrilling to Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides, McKee has opened, feted and fed customers at a variety of restaurants, from Hugo’s on Isle of Palms and Brett’s on James Island to Union Hall and Oak Steakhouse. Through the years, he’s cultivated thousands of loyal, satisfied customers, which helped as he settled into the private chef business about a dozen years ago.
“I’m not retiring. … I’m doing bigger and better things and saving my body a little – and letting my staff grow as I watch them and supervise them.”
McKee, an avid reader who admits he wasn’t the most serious student during college in the 1970s, says he’s been surprised to be able to write a book. But thanks to friend Mookie Morant, a musician and recent author, he’s gotten into the writing groove. Later this year, he and Morant are planning a podcast and he says he expects to offer a line of cooking-related merchandise to augment budding media platforms.
McKee says he’s looking forward to a slower daily pace away from the kitchen.
“I’m not going to get up at 6 in the morning. I’m not going to prep all day. I’m not going to open the door with one hand. “
He said Team McKee’s private chef business is set up for success.
“Customers will have the same food and experience,” he said. “When I feel like I need that dopamine rush, I’ll go to the parties. I love being with people. But I’m not picking up the pots again.”
McKee, who lives on Johns Island, says he’s not fading away.
“I’m certainly not going anywhere. There’s not any retirement home in my future. I’m not dead and buried yet. I’m going to live a nice, happy life. In fact, I’m going to make a bigger imprint on what I’m doing next as opposed to what I’ve done the last half century.”
Kind of sounds like Brett McKee, age 67, is just getting started. Right?
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
