Line Cooks: Dylan
with a y
Writing this, I already anticipate the comments to ensue. The one thing about Dylan is that he always has something to say, and if he doesn’t, you can tell by his toothy grin and the inevitable glint in his eye that he wants to.
Like many of the cooks I interview in this series, I met Dylan on his stage at the beginning of my time at Chubby Fish. He was my age, and had been cooking in town for a bit. Midway through the day he cut his hand and had to go get stitches, never to return...
It wasn’t until a year later, when he made his second debut, that we actually became close friends. Or at least I think we were.
Dylan is smart, sassy, charming, curious, and knows how to give a girl a complement. He has a casual way of delivering information whether it be serious or silly. He is calm and always seems to have some piece of insight regarding any topic.
At a quick glance he looks like any other dude, but look down to his Blundstones and self cropped black jeans, or whatever the hell they are, and you’ll begin to understand that he is so SO much more.
Although he most likely hasn’t spent a moment thinking about me since I left. Dylan is my muse, Dylan is my nemesis, Dylan is my heart. Ok not actually, but he’s pretty special.
Now that I’ve spent time praising, let’s get to business..
Line Cooks: This series will feature personal interviews from line cooks I have had the opportunity to work with and get to know in their careers and personal lives. The interviews explore why they cook, when they began their cooking journey, and where they plan to go. The series is intended to offer a glimpse at restaurant culture as well as the people behind the food we eat and love.
Dylan Jacob Knichel was born in Charleston, South Carolina. “Few and far between, us locals”, he remarks.
He grew up eating his grandma’s food, made from recipes passed down from her mother. Along with fishing and shrimping in the low country, he attributes much of his grandma’s cooking and baking to the start of his food inspiration
I asked him what his comfort meal was, to which he responded, “My grandparents had a shrimp boat and we’d catch blue crabs in our net sometimes and my grandma would always make blue crab pasta. That’s my death row meal and comfort meal, all in one.”
Dylan started working in kitchens when he was a teenager, starting as a dishwasher at 14/15 years old. During college he made the transition to line cook when the restaurant where he was bartending needed a sushi roller.
Dylan attended USC in Columbia, South Carolina, where he graduated with a marketing degree and a minor in journalism. “I didn’t know if I wanted to do that [marketing] or not, so I kind of took some time to think about that after I graduated. It turned out I didn’t want to, so I started working at this place on Isle Palms called Coda del Pesce,” he remembers.
Elaborating on his decision to stay in the industry, Dylan remarks, “I can’t see myself being in an office all day. I don’t really have any interest in it. This is what I like to do, so I’m going to just stick with it for as long as I can.”
I asked him what the greatest growth he saw in himself was since becoming a line cook, to which he responded, “Probably more confidence in my ability; because, whenever I was at that place on Isle of Palms, it was a super old school chef, and it was always super stressful and super tense. I didn’t get much of a chance to show him what I could do...I wasn’t critically thinking about the way that I make food and my style of food.”
***At this point in our interview we were promptly interrupted by Alton Brown and his wife, a celebrity citing which somehow escaped me. Their daughter was having her wedding reception (I believe it was) at Seahorse the following day (I think), and they were checking out the space.
When they left Dylan told me who they were. I was mortified. I had completely ignored the man who, through my father’s Food Network consumption, simultaneously contributed to my childhood culinary subconscious. Oh well.***
Resuming our conversation, I asked Dylan what his next step of improvement/goal would be moving forward? With a completely expected retort of cockiness he responds, “Nothing, I’m just so good.”
Unironically continuing, Dylan remarks, “My biggest pet peeve is an ego in the kitchen. I don’t think that I have one, but I do, in a way. Sometimes I think that there’s a better way to do things which isn’t always necessarily true. I just need to get that [ego] out of the way.”
Providing an example of humility, Dylan makes reference to Alton Brown, “Last night he came to sit and he told me that those are the best oysters he’s ever had, the grilled ones, which is huge coming from him. I told James and I congratulated him because it’s his vision. It’s his genius behind those and it’s just my job to execute it.”
Driving his point home he concludes, “I don’t think that people think about that: if you’re not owning the place then it’s your job to do it for James, for example. Make sure that his stuff is coming out correctly. It’s not about you, it’s about him.”
Following up to this take on kitchen egos I pointed out Dylan’s confidence which he attributes to his transition from Coda to being a sous chef at Southbound (where he went after his first stage at Chubby Fish).
He corroborated, “Being able to basically run Southbound and leaving it up to me as far as the menu went, and ordering, and making food, and seeing that people really enjoy it… I know I got what it takes. Being there did so much for me.”
Expanding, he continues, “It gave me a chance to do what I wanted to do. My favorite thing about making food is just being creative and doing my thing. I like making things that people wouldn’t normally think of.”
Having heard many a story regarding his midnight dinners, and meals cooked on the weekends, I asked him what his process was for home cooking.
He replies, “When I go grocery shopping… I always just buy random things I need like protein and some produce, and then I’ll use what I have to make something that’s not a specific dish. I use that as practice, to come up with things and use what I have to make something good.”
He elaborates, “If I want to make something [specific] at home, I always make myself a steak just because I can’t be bothered to go out and order a hundred dollar one when I can make it probably the same, if not better, depending on where you go.”
His steak preparation: “Beef tallow, cast iron, butter baste. That’s it. I let it sit out, come up to room temp before I cook it. Salt. Pepper at the end so it doesn’t burn. Mhmm. That’s it. I’m a purist when it comes to my steak.”
I asked him about his favorite cooking style. He responds, saying,“I think being here [Chubby Fish] is my perfect style. It fits into what I think food should be. I respect all the Michelin Star restaurants where they do the tasting menus and a whole bunch of cool stuff, but that’s not my preferred way to eat. I like things a little bit more rustic and homey and fun.”
Continuing, Dylan speaks to a misconception in the restaurant industry, “I think that everyone, when they’re thinking about food, thinks that it’s a progression up towards being at a noma or French Laundry, like that that’s like the pinnacle of it, but I don’t think that’s for everybody.”
He goes on to mention the style he aspires to, “There’s this really cool guy, his name is Thomas Straker. I found him online, and I love everything that he does. He’ll go out and hunt the animal that he’s looking for, or go forage for the produce that he needs, and he’ll come back and make it. I think that’s what has been lost in food these days.”
Changing course a bit, I asked him about his future. He responds, “My goal is to open up my own restaurant, but it just depends on how the world goes. It’s already hard on restaurants these days: the turnover is crazy, food cost is so high and as things get more expensive people are less likely to go out. I’m gonna try and make it happen, but the only way I’m not is if there’s just no way I can afford it.”
Expanding, he mentions that he would hope to open his restaurant in Charleston saying, “I like everything that South Carolina has to offer. I feel like there’s such a wide range being on the coast, and then you have the upstate region where you have a lot of game. I feel that’s not highlighted enough down in Charleston, everything’s seafood based concepts. There needs to be a place, which is what I want to do, highlighting everything else that we [South Carolina] have to offer.”
As far as vibes go he points to honoring his roots. Speaking to how the restaurant would feel he describes, “Probably like my great grandmother’s house on the farm that she had. Super cozy. Maybe not like this [Seahorse], this is a little too fancy, but farmhouse vibes. Tucked away, third floor of a Charleston house. Super small, 30 seats. Wood…”
As it so happens the restaurant “biz” runs in his family. Dylan mentions, “Both sets of grandparents had their own restaurants and one of them was in Pennsylvania in the middle of nowhere, and it was a diner called Fat Chaps and I have some of the original glasses. I want to name my restaurant Fat Chap’s, not the same logo but it’d be based off that.”
To wrap up our interview per usual, I asked: What’s one thing you’d change about the restaurant industry? He responds with three things, “Ego, transparency and staying true to yourself”.
Beautiful.
__
A special thank you to Dylan for putting up with my hazardous temper and always complementing my pie crusts! He is truly one of the chillest guys I’ve ever met, and I can not wait to see what he’ll do.
Peace and Love,
B.
Dylan upstairs at Seahorse. June 12, 2025. Charleston, SC.