The Brandon House in York serves what Chef Colin Flynn describes as "simple Southern cuisine with an emphasis on local and housemade products."
"I bake my own bread, smoke my own bacon, churn my ice cream," he said.
"Everything is housemade."
Flynn and his wife, Ashley Flynn, are both natives of York County. She grew up in Clover and earned an art degree at Winthrop University. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked at McCrady's, The Fat Hen and other Charleston restaurants before the couple opened The Brandon House in a historic building in downtown York.
Q: What are you cooking these days that excites you the most?
A: It's summer, so all the fresh veggies are my current inspiration.
Q: What's the one ingredient you'd always splurge on?
A: I love to serve truffles on special occasions like New Years and Valentine's Day.
Q: What five things are always in your refrigerator?
A: At home, baby food that my wife makes for our 8-month-old is the only constant.
Q: What tools would you suggest every home cook invest in?
A: A great chef knife, one that they can keep sharp. I suggest knives that have a high carbon steel make up.
Q: What music plays in your (restaurant) kitchen?
A: None during service since we have an open kitchen, but I listen to my iPod when we're closed and I'm getting ready for the day.
Q: What would your dream meal be?
A: My dream meal would consist of barbecue, cooked by brother-in-law and chopped by my late father-in-law. My wife and daughter would be there, and my daughter could spend some time with her grandfather.
Q: Is there a food you simply refuse to eat?
A: Nope.
Q: If you could cook with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
A: My grandmother on my mom's side. She passed when my mother was very young, so I never got to meet her. It'd be nice to share a meal with her.
Q: If you were not a chef, what would you be doing?
A: I'd go full scale on my bacon production. I'd love to make that a full time job.
