Mike Lata Charleston Chef and Mentor: A Tribute to a James Beard Winner and Genuine Friend

A personal letter about Mike Lata — Charleston chef, mentor, James Beard Award winner, and one of the most genuinely good people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

Originally wrote December 8. 2012

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Mike Lata’s impact as a Charleston chef and mentor in my life is something I have wanted to put into words for a long time — and it starts with this: the man is just genuinely, uncommplicatedly, remarkably nice. I would be genuinely surprised to learn he had a single real enemy, and if he did, the problem would almost certainly be on the other person’s end. Mike Lata as a Charleston chef and mentor, as a friend, and as a human being is someone I admire completely — and this letter is long overdue.

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What Makes Mike Lata a Charleston Chef and Mentor Unlike Anyone Else

You don’t have to take my word for it. Ask his closest friends — an extraordinary network of chefs and culinary leaders spread across the country who will tell you exactly what I’m telling you. Look at his James Beard Awards, his wall of articles and distinctions, or the billboards and bus wraps featuring that genuinely beaming smile and the now-iconic argyle sweater. Or better yet — go eat at FIG or The Ordinary. They are among the best restaurants in Charleston, and FIG remains one of the hardest reservations to score in the entire city even if all you want is a seat at the bar.

But I’m not writing this to tell you things you might already know about Mike Lata as a Charleston chef. I’m writing it to share what he has meant to me personally — as a friend, as a mentor, and as someone I have genuinely grown up alongside over the past ten-plus years.

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How Mike Lata the Charleston Chef and Mentor Changed Everything for Me

Mike was one of the first truly talented and influential chefs I ever met. I had encountered chefs before him, but when we met I knew almost nothing about food in any serious sense. He changed that quickly and completely. He introduced me to local farmers and producers, got me eating meat despite the fact that I was a committed vegetarian at the time, and taught me in a hands-on way why supporting local food systems matters — not as an abstract principle but as a daily practice with real consequences for real people.

I knew from the very first time we met that Mike Lata would have a major impact on me and on the city I love. That instinct turned out to be an understatement.

Research on the power of mentorship consistently shows that the most meaningful professional growth happens through relationships — through people who challenge you, call you out when you need it, and support you genuinely without agenda. Mike Lata has been exactly that kind of Charleston chef and mentor in my life, whether he has always known it or not.

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Growing Up Together With a Charleston Chef and Mentor

Mike and I like to say we grew up together — not that we were kids when we first met a decade ago, but that we have both fully come into our own over that time. We have become who we were each meant to be, and we’ve done a meaningful part of that becoming in each other’s company. It sounds a little cheesy written out plainly like that, but between the two of us it makes complete sense.

He was one of the very first supporters of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, and his involvement helped shape what the Festival became in its early years. As a Charleston chef and mentor, he has helped me navigate the ins and outs of the culinary industry with honesty and patience — calling out key mistakes directly, offering concrete advice on how to do better, and never once holding a grudge or passing judgment. That combination of honesty and generosity is rarer than it should be, and I have never taken it for granted.

I have had some of the best meals of my life with Mike and because of Mike, and I have genuinely never had a single bad thing to eat of his. He and his partner Adam have built one of the finest service teams in the city at FIG, and some of my favorite people in the entire industry work there. He has done everything right, and watching how much he has grown and everything he has accomplished fills me with genuine pride.

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What Mike Lata the Charleston Chef and Mentor Has Taught Me About Living Well

Beyond the food and the Festival and the industry navigation, what I admire most about Mike Lata as a Charleston chef and mentor is how he lives. He keeps getting better. He surrounds himself with the best people. He has built a balanced life — family, healthy interests, genuine joy outside the kitchen — and he is living out his dream with his eyes open. That is not as common as it sounds in an industry that can consume people whole, and watching him do it has taught me as much as anything he has said directly.

We have also had some wonderfully chaotic times together — too many and too specific to recount here — and I have loved every single one. His ability to not take life too seriously while giving everything to what matters most is one of his greatest qualities. I will say this with complete certainty: I will never get on a golf cart with him again under any circumstances whatsoever. That chapter is closed.

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Thank you, Mike, for being exactly who you are — a remarkable Charleston chef and mentor, a true friend, a dreamer, and one of the people I am most grateful to have grown up alongside. Here’s to the next ten years of good times, great food, and everything still to come.

The world is your oyster — and you would probably prepare it perfectly, Angel

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Learn more about Angel Holmes and everything she’s passionate about at sipindipity.com/angel-holmes.