Charleston's First Top Chefs

Continuing the Legacy: After Eliza took over her mother Sally Seymour’s shop and married free mulatto tailor John Lee, the couple expanded the business, catering for such associations and events as the Society of the Cincinnati meetings and the Jockey Club Banquet during Race Week, as well as owning and operating four boarding houses.

Fare Game: Nat Fuller was the most popular banquet provisioner in the 1850s, overseeing meetings and meals by the Phoenix Fire Company, the Charleston Light Dragoons, the St. Andrew’s Society, and the Chamber of Commerce. By autumn of 1860, the “renowned” “prince of caterers” announced the opening of his establishment, The Bachelor’s Retreat, at 77 Church Street.