Motor Supply Chef Wes Fulmer Selected as Featured South Carolina Chef at Media Preview Event in New York City
April 13, 2015
COLUMBIA, SC – Executive Chef Wes Fulmer of Motor Supply Co. Bistro in Columbia, S.C., was honored to be selected to represent our state at the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism’s latest media event in New York City on Monday, March 16, 2015. At the event, tourism partners from across the state met with national editors and writers and shared stories from their regions in a relaxed, cocktail party setting. Chef Fulmer was asked to create a South Carolina-centric menu for the event, and he traveled to Manhattan days in advance with sous chef Nate Park to prepare each dish in collaboration with a New York-based culinary support team.
“It was an honor not only to represent the state of South Carolina, but to represent Columbia as well as Motor Supply,” said Chef Fulmer. “We cooked food that you can find here in our state; food that we’re proud to serve at the restaurant.”
Chef Fulmer said it was also a good opportunity to gauge where Motor Supply stands on a national stage, in terms of culinary exploration. “The staff we worked with was very interested in the thought process behind the cooking. It was described as an ‘elegant rustification’ of homegrown ingredients.”
Sous Chef Nate Park said the menu was a new experience for the media, who were really drawn to the modified Southern staples, like a pig picking station featuring a whole, 35-lb. suckling pig shipped directly from farmer Gra Moore at Carolina Heritage Farms in Pamplico, S.C., and a variation on shrimp and grits, made with crispy, sous vide shrimp medallions and grits made from heirloom Carolina Gold rice instead of cornmeal. “We did Southern food with an elegant twist,” said Park. “We went back to our roots, but we added a trendy aspect. It was a great trip. We worked with a lot of professionals, and it was an honor to be chosen.”
Tapping into the culinary experience he gathered over the years working in France, Colorado, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Charleston, Chef Fulmer pulled from a variety of cuisines to accentuate his South Carolinian ingredients. For example, his take on a French confit crepinette featured Manchester Farms quail, for which the family-owned farm shipped birds directly from Columbia, S.C. to New York City.
“Our menu was a true expression of how we think about food here, not only at Motor Supply, but in the South,” said Chef Fulmer. “We take the things that are available to us, the hands – or ingredients – we’re dealt; take our experience from throughout the years; and combine them to make something that is understandable, yet something that takes it up a notch.”
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Media Preview
Menu by Wesley Fulmer, Executive Chef, Motor Supply Co. Bistro, Columbia, S.C.
New York City, March 16, 2015
Passed Hors D’oeuvres
Motor Supply Pimiento Cheese & Green Tomato Chow Chow Open-Faced Sandwiches
Speckled Butterbean & Chipotle Succotash
Manchester Farms Quail Confit Crepinette with Carolina Duck Sauce
Smoked Shrimp & White Bean Bruschetta with Pancetta Vinaigrette
Seared Deckle of Beef with Cornbread Puree, S.C. Boiled Peanuts & Duck Fat Aioli
Foie Gras Torchon on Housemade Charleston Benne Wafer with S.C. Muscadine Wine Jelly & Vincotto Drizzle
Action Stations
10-hour Roasted Carolina Heritage Farms Suckling Pig, Sharp Cheddar & Chive Biscuits and 4 SC Regional BBQ Sauces (Midlands German Mustard BBQ Sauce; Pee Dee Light Tomato BBQ Sauce; Lowcountry Spicy Chili Vinegar BBQ Sauce and Upstate Roasted Tomato BBQ Sauce). Served with Palmetto Sweet Onion & Brussels Sprout Slaw; House-Pickled Bourbon Jalapenos; House-Pickled S.C. Sunchokes & Palmetto Sweet Onions; House-Pickled Carolina Cucumbers
Lowcountry-Style Red Curry & Poulet Rouge Free-Range Chicken Captain with Carolina Gold Heirloom Rice Pilaf and Crispy Free-Range Chicken Crackling Dust
Crispy Sous Vide Beaufort, S.C., Shrimp Medallions and Carolina Gold Heirloom Rice Grits with Roasted Tomato & Bacon Jus
About Motor Supply
Known for its artisan cocktails, refined yet relaxed atmosphere and daily-changing, chef-driven menu of sustainable, farm-to-table fare, Motor Supply Co. Bistro has been serving New World, made-from-scratch cuisine in the historic Columbia, S.C. Congaree Vista since 1989. A new, temperature-controlled outdoor patio features tables made from reclaimed, N.C. barn wood, roll-up garage doors and original, vintage brick. Reservations can be made by calling (803) 256-6687 or by visiting www.motorsupplycobistro.com.
