(calm music) - Hey, y'all, welcome to Ridge Spring where we are just an hour outside the capital city of Columbia.

It is summer here in South Carolina and while there's so much to love about this season, for me, at the top of the list, peaches and that's why we're here in Ridge Spring today at Titan Farms.

We're gonna get some fresh South Carolina peaches and then a local chef is gonna teach me how to make this summer fruit really shine.

Let's go for it.

(calm music) This is Chef Brandon Velie.

He was one of our very first South Carolina Chef Ambassadors and he is a local owner and chef at Juniper, his restaurant right here in Ridge Spring, South Carolina.

Brandon, can you tell me a little bit about what it's like to be a South Carolina chef and a little bit about your restaurant, Juniper?

- Yeah, certainly.

So I love being a a chef in South Carolina.

The amount of produce that we can get available year round here is unbelievable.

I grew up in New York so for me to have 12 months out of the year that I can get fresh local produce is awesome and it's great for Juniper 'cause that's what we do.

We feature farm to table.

So we try to source as much of our products within 100 mile radius of the restaurant.

This farm, Titan Farms, where we're at today being one of those great farms that we use.

- For those who may not know, can you just talk a little bit about the Chef Ambassador program and why it's so important?

- The South Carolina Chef Ambassador program is a collaboration between South Carolina Parks, Recreation & Tourism, South Carolina Department of Agriculture and it's our job as Chef Ambassadors to just promote South Carolina all the wonderful food that is available here.

We've got it all going on in South Carolina.

- We do have it all going on.

We're here today to talk about peaches.

What is so special about South Carolina peaches and specifically here at Titan Farms?

- It's the state fruit.

South Carolina is now known, they're the number two state in the country for peach production.

So outside of California, South Carolina is it and this farm that we're on today, Titan Farms, is the biggest peach producer not only in the state but outside the state of California, Titan is it.

- All right, so what are we making today?

- So I'm really excited today to be doing some grilled peaches and then we're gonna pair those Titan Farms peaches up with some Manchester Farms quail 'cause I'm all about South Carolina grown products.

- Absolutely.

- So then we're gonna put that over some Adluh grits with some country ham and some fresh basil chiffonade over the top.

It's gonna be awesome.

- It sounds so good.

I'm so excited.

Let's go for it.

(calm music) - So we've got our Titan Farms peaches all ready for grilling right here.

I've got a little olive oil and a little salt and pepper on them.

These are in the peak of the season, I mean, it's the middle of the summer, these are perfect and that's one of the things at Juniper that we really like to do is to not just cook seasonally but really when everything is in its prime is to really kinda capture those flavors.

And then we've got our quail here, Manchester Farms quail.

I marinated this in basically like a mojo marinade with a little lime and orange juice and some cilantro.

And then we're gonna put a little bit of country ham on there.

- Country ham.

What is more southern than country ham?

- I know and that the thing about this is that saltiness is really gonna go well with the peaches and the quail.

- Yes.

I feel like people don't often use peaches in a savory sense.

- I would totally agree.

I think the go-to tends to just be people think sweet so they tend to do desserts with it but it is awesome in savory.

I mean, it really brings out those savory flavors especially with herbs, basil and tarragon and thyme and all that stuff goes so well with peaches.

- And it's summer so you've gotta be grilling, right?

You gotta be using a grill if you're cooking in the south in the summer.

- So we're gonna do a little salt and pepper and I'm gonna let you do the salt on there.

- Ooh, thank you.

All right.

Is there a method to this?

- There is.

You got it, that's the method.

Just evenly coated, you got it, perfect.

- There we go.

- So we are now at about the halfway point.

We're ready to flip everything over.

- Okay.

- I peeked a little bit.

It's got some great grill lines going on here so I'm actually gonna hand it over to you and let you take over.

- We're gonna flip so I can flip.

Ooh, that looks so good.

Look at that char.

That's a fun food word.

- We've got the country ham.

We do have our grits on right back there too that are nice and, nice and hot.

- Oh man.

I'm so excited.

Country ham, grits, peaches, quail.

That's a South Carolina lunch coming, y'all.

- Oh yeah.

- It looks so good.

- So we're gonna start by putting our sauce down.

This is a fun play that I did on like a salsa verde but it's made with local green tomatoes.

So we're just gonna brush a little bit of this down on our plate.

- You even worked in local tomatoes into this dish.

- I did.

- I mean, it is the most South Carolina local.

- And then we've got our Adluh grits.

- Oh my gosh.

- Another thing at Juniper that we really like to promote is family owned.

So Adluh is family owned by the Allen family.

Titan is a family owned farm.

We really love to promote that.

- So special.

- And then we've got our quail and our peaches.

And then we're gonna top it with a little bit of a basil chiffonade.

And that's it, that's it.

- So pretty.

- Summertime.

South Carolina on a plate right there.

- Summer in South Carolina on a plate, I love it.

Well, can we take a bite?

- Certainly, yeah.

- All right, now what's the best way 'cause I love the perfect bite, right, so a little bit of everything.

Do you have a method?

- So yeah, I just cut off a little bit of everything and dip it in the grits.

There's really not science behind it.

I just try to get a little bit of everything into a bite.

- Let's get us a little bit of country ham.

- Little bit of country ham.

You'll get that saltiness from that.

- [Devyn] Little bit of the quail.

- [Brandon] Definitely.

- And then obviously the star of the show.

- The peach for sure.

- The peach, the Titan Farms peach.

And the moment of truth, y'all.

Some of those tomatoes too.

Got a little bit of everything.

The perfect bite as I like to say.

I'm happy dancing.

The first thing I get is actually that tomato.

- Yeah, yeah, it comes through nicely.

- Everything on this plate is local and those peaches really shine.

They really are the star of the dish but the saltiness of the ham, ah, and the creamy grits.

So good.

I gotta go back in for another bite.

- You gotta go for it?

- I gotta go for it.

(calm music) What a fantastic day here at Titan Farms.

You know, I didn't think that I could love peaches any more than I already do but Chef Brandon proved me wrong today.

That was South Carolina's summer on a plate and I can't wait to share that recipe with my family and you can too by utilizing local South Carolina ingredients or by visiting restaurants that use them.

So if you're looking to taste something new, just go for it.

(calm music)