Knowledge is key to pushing the envelope in the F&B industry

Micah Pearson | Photo by Ashley Stanol Credit: Ashley Stanol

I was a round child and a chronic procrastinator in middle school. I didn’t pick my electives for school on time. My choices were band or gym, and needless to say, I ended up in band. I was terrible at all instruments but one — the majestic tuba.

I was so short that I couldn’t even hold it upright. In middle school, I participated in regional auditions and failed to place during my first two tries. But in eighth grade, I was named the last alternate in the bottom-level band. Essentially, I was the very last person picked, but I was picked nonetheless.

During my sophomore year, I transferred to a new school after my family lost our home to foreclosure. At my new school, I ranked at the state level for tuba. This was the first in almost 25 years for the school.

I practiced for almost five hours a day and was also extremely involved in an advanced engineering program. That year, I was featured on the news multiple times for things like my involvement with a sea perch program and winning a $7,000 tuba in an essay contest.

During my junior year here, I received a full ride to a multidisciplinary art school. I taught music to kids at multiple schools, mine included. Eventually, I ranked fourth in the nation out of thousands. I played in the Charleston Concert Band with veterans, and it resulted in a community service award.

Becoming a cook gave me a unique opportunity to become a student again. Each job and interaction became learning experiences that I continue to carry with me. I have often considered myself lucky to even have a career in the first place.

It took me many exhausted years until I understood that you have to be a leader through heartbreak, an example when frustrated and arrive with impenetrable excellence. The daily labor as a chef is sobering, humbling and constant self-discipline.

The Tippling House is a 35-seat wine bar on the side of a busy Charleston intersection. During the day, the kitchen doubles as a burrito shop with a single window and a single door. I met owner Matthew Conway through a mutual friend when working as a sous chef. He and I sat in an interview for almost two hours, and we cried and bonded immediately. Matt called his wife out of work to come and meet me, and they offered me the job on the spot.

Having been a part of this industry for close to a decade, I have been privy to a lot of the systematic dysfunction of restaurants, such as chronic burnout, desensitized alcoholism and incorrigible work-life balance with razor thin margins.

As a part of my call to action, I educate myself in my free time. I do weekly wine classes, volunteer at farms and support local purveyors. Dedicating my free time to my passions helps me keep pushing the envelope on what being informed in the industry looks like.

In 2026, identity is more questionable and subjective than it’s ever been. The calculated erasure of the Black experience frustrates me to no end. A millennium of Black history and culture generally gets reduced to slavery. The unprovoked desire to oppress Black people has left me extremely resentful of the world I live in. I have known my entire life that I will be judged by the color of my skin. I can not accept the world for what it is. Hate permeates through every edge of the globe. Out of sheer desire to rage against that system, I’m left with one option: to create.

To cook and create is my rebellion, and food will be my revolution.

Micah Pearson is the executive chef and a partner at The Tippling House.