CHEF/OWNER FRED NEUVILLE

Chef Fred Neuville has been the founding Chef / Partner of some of Charleston's favorite restaurants. In 2007 Chef Neuville left to go out on his own with his family and open Fat Hen (Low Country French). Neuville spent his days in the restaurant fast lane making an indelible mark on the Charleston food scene. Ready to fuse his passion for food and family, Neuville opens Fat Hen Catering as an outpost for culinary delights and domestic enjoyment.

A native of Roanoke, VA, Neuville graduated from The Culinary Institute of America. Immediately following graduation, he was recruited to support in the start-up of Linwood’s Café & Grill in Baltimore, MD. With his skills honed after five years in a restaurant kitchen he became Chef Garde Manager for The Willard Intercontinental in Washington DC.

Satisfying his wanderlust, in 1992 Neuville ventured to Colorado to work for Aspen’s Milan’s Greenhouse restaurant. It was there that he was recruited as a senior instructor and, later, assistant director, at the School of Culinary Arts in Denver, CO.

After five successful years in the mountains of Colorado, Neuville longed to return to the Southeast. In 1997, he accepted a job as Executive Chef at the Jasmine Porch Restaurant located within the celebrated Kiawah Island Resort in South Carolina and later moved to serve as Executive Chef for “Events by Stephen Duvall” in Charleston. Along the way, Neuville received several coveted industry awards from the American Culinary Federation, the Southern Bridal Show, the Celebrity Pro/Am competitions and the Western Regional Conference. Neuville was recognized by national publications such as Bon Appetit and National Geographic Traveler. Fred Neuville serves as Chef Chair for the Charleston Food & Wine Festival and Darkeness 2 Light.

Not only has Neuville opened two restaurants and a catering company, but he and his wife, Joan, are parents to four amazing adopted foster children, who each play a role at Fat Hen. “I couldn’t be happier with the diversity of my work and home life,” says Neuville. “Or busier!”

PASTRY CHEF LINDSEY COOKE

Taking inspiration from her family, Lindsey Cooke began her culinary career with an appointment with academic honors to an externship in France during culinary school and through the study of artisan baking with Chef Imondi. Upon graduation, Lindsey worked under Pastry Chef Kerri Scherrer a the Watercolor Resort's Fish Out Of Water in Seagrove, FL, and under Pastry Chefs Dominique Olver and Celine Plano at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta, GA. Lindsey relocated to Charleston, SC to become the Assistant Pastry Chef at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island under Pastry Chef Claire Chapman. Upon starting a family Lindsey joined Chef Fred Neuville at Fat Hen as Pastry Chef.

CATERING DIRECTOR DAYLE HICKMAN

Dayle Hickman has been in the foodservice industry for 27 years. Her passion for the industry has resulted in a diverse career. The highlights of her restaurant management experience include opening a popular steak house in Houston, TX assisting with setting up systems to streamline front of the house management; as well as managing a privately owned popular French bistro in downtown Charleston, SC. While running her Personal Chef Business part time she was Program Director for the Texas Restaurant Association’s ProStart™ program, a Culinary Arts program for Texas High Schools. Dayle’s devotion to this culinary program combined with her enthusiasm for teaching and training led her to become a High School Culinary Arts program developer, curriculum team writer and teacher at a high risk High School in Austin, TX. She is currently finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management at the Art Institute and coordinating Fat Hen Catering.