Local chef, champion pie baker, share recipes that inspire

For those lamenting the closing of Roastfish and Cornbread, on Hilton Head Island, former owner, Chef David Vincent Young, shared good news. Sitting at the bar of what will be the location of his new restaurant, Chef David revealed he expects his new restaurant to be open “within the next few weeks.” Named for his “Burnin’ Down South: Cherished Low Country Flavors Created in an Iconic Hotspot” cookbook, from where the recipe here for Blueberry Dumplings comes, Burnin’ Down South, the restaurant, will occupy the space once held by Gruby’s New York Deli and Grill (and after that, for a brief time, by Fat Daddy’s Bar & Grill) at Okatie Village Commons, just across from Food Lion, in Okatie. While Chef David is planning to again offer vegan options and also add some new dishes to the menu, such as steaks and ribs, we may expect to see his familiar signature lowcountry dishes, as well as homemade desserts, like pie. Chef David’s graham cracker crust Blueberry Key-Lime Pie is not only luscious, but also a source of award-winning inspiration. It was this pie that captured the interest of Hilton Head Island visitor and pie maker, John Sunvold, of Winter Park, Fla., who sampled Chef David’s layered blueberry Key lime pie during the time when Chef David was the chef at the Sea Shack Restaurant – the Hilton Head Island “iconic hotspot” referred to in the title of Chef David’s cookbook. When the time came for Sunvold to craft his own pie, Sunvold chose a formula similar to Chef David’s for the pie’s creamy Key lime juice, egg and condensed milk layer, but opted to substitute Smucker’s Blueberry Preserves for Chef David’s blueberries and syrup swirls and white chocolate mousse in place of the whipped cream for a spectacular “U.S. Route 1 Pie: Florida Key Lime with Maine Blueberries.” Sunvold must have known he had a winner, and in the 2008 American Pie Council (APC) Crisco National Pie Championship, he earned the Amateur Division First Place Citrus and Best of Show award with his entry. To see the full list of this year’s APC championship winning pies, most with recipes, as well as the awards garnered by Sunvold, visit www.piecouncil.org. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for the opening of Chef David’s new restaurant and opportunities to share new recipes, both created and inspired.