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Mike Lata

Ask a Chef
Mike Lata, what are your favorite summer ingredients?

by JBF Editors

2009 JBF Award winner Mike Lata is the chef of the celebrated FIG (Food Is Good) restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. We recently asked him about his favorite summertime foods.

South Carolina wild roe shrimp
“The local shrimp season usually kicks off around Memorial Day, and the first shrimp of the year are plump, fatty, and-oh-so tender white shrimp laden with sweet roe.”

Heirloom tomatoes
“We don’t use tomatoes out of season, so when the first tomatoes arrive, we can’t help but flood the menu with them.”

Succotash—in every incarnation
“It’s tough to narrow the list of summer ingredients down, but I get to cover a few bases with succotash: butter beans, corn, sweet and hot peppers.”

Boiled green (fresh-dug) peanuts
“Being a damn Yankee, I was probably 25 years old before I had a boiled peanut, but the first time I had a fresh-dug, boiled green peanut, I decided there was no better way to 
eat peanuts.”

Peaches
“I’m sure I’m in good company regarding these luscious, fleshy jewels of the South.”


This article originally appeared in the June/July 2009 issue of JBF Notes, the James Beard Foundation member newsletter. Don't miss out on future articles; become a member today!
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