Identity with Greer Gilchrist: 3.6.20

Chef Greer Gilchrist is co-owner of The Harbinger Cafe & Bakery, in the North Central area of the city, and the newly-opened Harken Cafe, in the French Quarter. A pastry chef, Greer will also be sharing her talents at the 2020 Charleston Wine + Food Festival - which we’re kicking off at our Creative Mornings event!

We can’t wait for you to hear Greer’s story, and learn more about her below:

1. What do you love most about what you do? 

I love interacting with our community and our team every day.

2. What inspired you and how did you become involved in your current career(s)?

I love caring for people and cooking/baking for people is the best way I show it. I spent my whole life expressing my affections through sugar so it was less of an inspiration and more of a natural path

Greer (left) and her business partner Cameron Neal (right). Photo cred: Ruta Smith

3. How do you start your day?

With the promise of coffee after a bike ride up to work.

4. Tell us about your proudest moment or accomplishment.

When we opened The Harbinger. For so long, even all through the build out, it felt like a dream still. No matter how much we worked on it I could never fully visualize what it would become, it never felt real because it was something I had dreamed of my whole life. So that moment when Cam and I flipped the “Open” sign was incredibly special to me and a very proud moment. And it never gets old. I never forget that feeling. These days I’m not often the one to flip the “Open” sign but when I walk in and the cafe is open, bustling, the team is happy and greeting me - it all goes back to that moment when Cam and I did it and accomplished our first dream.

5. Do you have a hidden talent?

No. I am void of talent. I’m willing to do anything but I’m not good at anything. I’m a great participant. But a poor performer.

6. Who or what gives you creative inspiration?

Everything can be an inspiration. My life, my family, books, movies, traveling, the familiar, the unfamiliar…it’s all around. More important I think is giving your mind the access to inspiration - allowing yourself to see it everywhere and dreaming big enough that you think of something creative, exciting and different.

7. Coffee fuels our morning events. If you’re a coffee drinker, what’s your go-to order?

Black coffee at The Harb or Harken -Methodical has my heart. Through the rest of the day, it’s espresso - the team knows the way to my heart is a shot of espresso and they show up sporadically (or by request) on my prep stations throughout the day.

8. What is your favorite place in Charleston?

My bed. The Harb kitchen. The Terrace Theater.

9. How do you unwind or de-stress?

I try to breathe deeply. When I was younger I let stress and other people’s stress get the best of me, I would work myself up, which is so self-destructive. My Mom worked with me a lot on breath and how to use it to calm down, get perspective and to be pro-active. I use my stress or anxiety now to help fuel me and solve problems, rather than get me down.

Rapid Fire:

Morning person or night owl?
Both - I hate waking up early but I’m productive in the morning, I like to stay up late and get a second wind in the pm.

Summer or winter?
WinterWinterWinter.

Mountains or beach?
Mountains

Pancakes or waffles?
My Dad’s Pancakes from The Joy Of Cooking.

Fiction or non-fiction?
Both - I love ALL literature.