MEET THE CHEF: Marc Collins of Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
WRITTEN BY 5 REASONS TO VISIT® EDITORIAL STAFF
PUBLISHED MAY 2022 • 4 min read
5 Reasons to Visit® sat down with Executive Chef Marc Collins of Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina.
Executive Chef Marc Collins of Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
Where did you grow up, and where have you traveled to that has helped inspire and shape your cooking philosophy?
I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. I wouldn’t call it a food town in any respect at the time I was growing up, but it did offer me some great opportunities. I went to vocational school in high school and also worked for a Culinary Olympic Gold Medal Chef who taught me a lot and gave me a great foundation. Beyond that I’ve been to several great food cities like Chicago and New York City, and dined at some pretty incredible places. I’ve been to Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Jamaica, Austria and Anguilla, and they too offered me more great ideas from which to catalog in my culinary journey.
Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
Tell our readers an interesting fact or two about yourself.
My father went to art school and has been an abstract painter for most of his life. He took me to many museums and taught me quite a bit about composition which translated very much to the Culinary Arts.
Tell us about your absolute favorite food and why readers should try it if they haven’t already.
I have a lot of favorite foods, my mom’s roast beef and her chocolate chip cookies come to mind. My wife makes an amazing Italian soup with gnocchi, kale and Italian sausage that I could eat for days. I love eating haricot verts, French green beans, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh, and BBQ, love me some smoked brisket too, plus Tacos. I could live off of tacos for the rest of my life probably.
Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
What are three ingredients that you simply couldn’t live without?
Passion would be the first ingredient. It’s amazing how having that one ingredient makes everything else taste amazing. Past that, good sea salt and great stocks, the backbones to a bunch of amazing dishes.
We love the art behind plating. What do you love about designing the perfect dish?
One of my mentors in this field, a chef by the name of Santiago De La Cruz, taught me to look at plating a dish at least 5 different ways. This way you would work through finding the best layout for the dish in mind. Great words to live by that I teach today.
Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
Tell us about one of the most creative dishes you’ve created?
I have had several dishes in my career, so this is a tough question to answer. One of the more “out” there dishes that was very well received was our Seared Foie Gras and Cherry Coke Float. We made a sundried cherry and almond biscotti crumble with house made cola, and dropped a scoop of Vanilla Sorbet into the soda to make the float. People really went wild for the dish and it’s still mentioned now and again when we talk about old menu items.
Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
Share your most recent awards and accreditations with us!
We recently won “Most Romantic Restaurant” from our local city paper, but some of our other awards have been #4 Best Hotel Restaurant 2021 by USA Today 10Best Awards, #5 Best Hotel Restaurant 2020 by USA Today 10Best Awards, 2020 Local Food Champion by Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Top 20 Best Fine Dining Restaurant in the U.S. TripAdvisor’s 2020 Travelers’ Choice Awards, 2020 Best of Award of Excellence Wine Spectator Award, The Most Romantic Restaurants in the World Architectural Digest, and I was picked as a 2019 South Carolina Chef Ambassador by Discover South Carolina.
What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in top restaurants across the globe?
Covid shut down a lot of travel for all of us and also shrunk our labor pool so it made us extremely busy for the last couple of years. That said, getting out to see and experience other restaurants hasn’t happened much so it’s difficult to see trends. I do plan on doing some traveling this year and hope to reconnect with that world more. The biggest thing I’ve been able to touch base with is that many restaurants are just happy to be open and providing for their guests, so it’s given culinary teams the opportunity to be super creative and start to have fun again.
What’s your favorite cocktail or beverage of choice?
Bourbon and Coke is a good stand by for me but a tasty Margarita or Kentucky Mule is always close behind.
What do you love about being the Executive Chef at Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina?
I have been the Executive Chef of Circa 1886 for 21 years now. It is an amazing place to work at and has given me so much freedom to express my culinary desires and for that I am forever grateful. But the teams that I have worked with over the years is what makes coming to work so enjoyable, both front and back of the house.
Circa 1886 at the Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina
