From Machu Picchu to Charleston, Chef Jason Stanhope has worked in many notable kitchens throughout his culinary career. After playing Division II football at Washburn University, Stanhope decided to pursue his culinary dream, graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco and later working throughout Peru with the Orient Express Hotel group. Stanhope then moved to Kansas, where he worked with James Beard award winning Chefs Michael Smith and Debbie Gold as Chef de Cuisine at 40 Sardines. While on a vacation to Charleston, Stanhope fell for the city and its rich epicurean history, and decided to move East and join the team at Mike Lata’s acclaimed FIG, where he has worked his way through the kitchen, starting as chef-tournant to his current position of executive chef, which earned him the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2015. Stanhope also upholds FIG’s philosophy of serving cuisine that is relevant, approachable, sensible, technically driven, and seasonally inspired. A leader in the farm-to-table movement since opening over ten years ago, FIG pays homage to the bounty of the Lowcountry region by offering a daily changing menu that is honest and straightforward.