Since moving to Aiken two months ago, Joyce and Mark Beck have been on a quest.
“We’ve been visiting as many bars and restaurants in the area as possible,” said Mark Beck, who along with his wife have made more than one trip to Rose Hill Estate and its two restaurants.
On Aug. 23, they tried something different — a cooking demonstration with Jeffrey Hairston, the executive chef for Sheffield’s and The Stables.
Hairston set up a cooking station in one of the dining rooms as he prepared three different dishes with the potato as the star. Many people bake the tuber and throw it along side a steak, but Hairston wants to serve potatoes that make people say “Who needs a steak?”
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The humble starchy vegetable comes in many varieties.
“They differ in color, texture, sugar content,” he said.
He began the night with a potatoes dauphinoise, a baked dish with sliced potatoes in cream and cheese.
The French item is more delicate than potatoes au gratin and was made for royalty, he said.
The next course featured a potato gnocchi, which can be hard to master. One trick to making great gnocchi is to use potato flakes, as in instant mashed potatoes, when preparing the item. He uses three parts potato flakes to one part flour. All purpose flour works fine, he said. Other types of flours such as a cake flour can be too fine.
The final dish on the menu was a potato-crusted salmon.
A secret to great salmon that doesn’t taste like Omega 3 oil is to only cook it to medium, he said. Cooking it too long will cause the fats to break down, and the fishy flavor will take over.
Tyler Long drove from Charleston for a date night with Christine Ruskin, and he said the food was well-worth the ride.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
Ruskin said she has eaten at Sheffield’s and The Stables before and enjoys coming back.
And the Becks said they liked the demonstration and picking up a few tips they plan to implement when they aren’t sampling other restaurants.
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Built in 1898 by Col. and Mrs. Sheffield Phelps, Rose Hill Estate is a former winter colony residence that Elizabeth and Andrew Hobbs purchased in July 2020. The house provides accommodations in addition to the two restaurants on the property.
Elizabeth Hobbs said she tries to make the dining rooms feel warm and inviting, but with as much attention to detail as Claudia Lea Phelps, the Phelps’ daughter who lived in the house until she died in 1984, would’ve provided.
Hobbs has a full slate of events designed to bring in guests.
Potatoes dauphinoise was one of the dishes prepared at Rose Hill Aug. 23. Staff photo by Charmain Z. Brackett Potato crusted salmon at Rose Hill. Staff photo by Charmain Z. Brackett
She said the cooking demonstration would be a regular happening on the third Monday of each month.
Another regular event is the brunch and history which will be Sunday, Aug. 28. A family movie night will be at 8 p.m., Sept. 2, and parents’ night out is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9.
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Area musicians frequently play at The Stables. Wine tastings and other special happenings such as chef’s dinners take place on a regular basis.
To learn more about Rose Hill, visit rosehillinaiken.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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