Chef Alex Eaton has worked in some of Charleston’s best kitchens, from The Ordinary to her most recent role as Estadio’s executive chef. Now, as culinary director at La Cave and Félix Cocktails et Cuisine — a role created just for her — she will usher in a new chapter for both restaurants.
Eaton oversees back-of-house operations and leads menu development at each location, working closely with the existing teams. At Félix, which just celebrated its eighth anniversary, guests will still see favorite dishes but can expect thoughtful updates and additions. At La Cave, a new menu has rolled out, expanding on the restaurant’s existing identity with Eaton’s creative vision at the forefront.
The vision behind the new chapter
“La Cave is evolving into a true dinner destination, with dishes meant for guests to settle in and savor,” Eaton said. “The new menu is guided by what is growing around us, shaped through close relationships with local farms and purveyors so it can evolve with the season. The spirit is Provençal: simple, seasonal dishes that let great ingredients speak for themselves.”
Whether sourcing pumpkin and turnips from Grow Foods Carolina or carrots and cabbage from Murray Heirloom Farms, Eaton leans on the purveyor relationships she has cultivated during her time in Charleston kitchens.
At La Cave, for those looking to taste the sea, charred octopus is served with potato purée, salade mentonnaise (fennel, orange and artichoke), burnt orange and pine nuts while Provençal Tarvin shrimp come with a saffron beurre blanc, Castelvetrano olives, tarragon and micro chervil. The poulet rouge is a Joyce Farms half chicken with herbes de Provence, beurre blanc and roasted seasonal vegetables and a whole fish comes with braised cabbage, herb butter, roasted vegetables, endive and carrot. For those craving decadence, the menu offers a caviar profiterole with lemon, crème fraiche and caviar while the boeuf en croute is a filet mignon with mushroom duxelles, puff pastry, prosciutto and sauce bordelaise.
“I have been especially excited about Hakurei turnips and cabbage,” Eaton said. “Roast those turnips and they get incredibly sweet. We serve them alongside the boeuf en croûte, tossed in a little Bordelaise, where they soak up all that richness. And we are stuffing tender braised cabbage inside the whole fish, which turned out even better than I imagined.”
Settling into a new role
While Eaton knows what it takes to succeed in a top Charleston restaurant, overseeing multiple restaurants is new territory.
“Running two independent kitchens means double the staff, double the sourcing, double the scheduling,” she said. “It’s been a fun challenge to find ways to cross-utilize ingredients to reduce food waste while still making sure each restaurant has its own personality.”
She noted the executive chef in her is still in the kitchen every day, making great food to share with people. The culinary director role requires her to lean on organization, strategy and a holistic approach to food and beverage.
“I am thinking about how to grow both programs thoughtfully, how to build systems and how to create reasons for guests to want to experience each restaurant for its own reasons,” Eaton said.
She also shared she draws on knowledge gained and lessons learned in past jobs.
“At The Ordinary, I always asked to work Wednesdays because that was when we received our produce deliveries,” Eaton said. “I wanted to be there to see what was coming in and build relationships with our farmers, like Sean Murray, who I still work with.”
Eaton also cites renowned Chef Mike Lata as a major influence on her cooking.
“Mike once told me, ‘You have to treat each tomato differently,’ and it changed how I cook. You pay attention to the shape, the size, the ripeness. That’s what’s special about using a completely local ingredient, it’s weather dependent. I let the produce and the fish that comes in dictate what I do with it versus the other way around.”
At Félix, produce and seafood shine in dishes like beets with herbed chevre, toasted pistachios and arugula as well as crab croquettes with jalapeño-leek aioli and watermelon radish. These join favorites like the raclette burger, lobster deviled eggs and mac et cheese, three dishes that will be mainstays on the menu.
“At Félix, people love the classics and those are sacred,” Eaton said. “My goal is to bring more technique and seasonality into the kitchen while keeping the menu rooted in familiar favorites. We are polishing and elevating what guests already know and love.”
French food often gets characterized as fancy and unapproachable, yet Eaton finds a way to take simple, beautiful ingredients and elevate them in new ways. While sky’s the limit when it comes to menu evolution at both restaurants, a desire to showcase local ingredients will always be at the core of what she does at La Cave and Félix.
“Ultimately, I want people to crave these dishes,” said Eaton. “Even a salad can show refinement and maturity. In our Roquefort vinaigrette [at La Cave], the cheese acts more like a seasoning, adding tang and a tiny bit of funk without taking over. We dress the bowl first, so the greens stay crisp and vibrant. I love taking humble dishes and turning them into stars.”
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