French Master Chef Nico Romo Brings French Charm to Charleston

Nico Romo has directed Patrick Properties Hospitality Group’s celebrated culinary programs across four historic Charleston venues since 2007, reimagining classic French cuisine with delicate Asian touches and locally harvested ingredients.

Chef Romo was most recently named a Monterey Bay Aquarium 2015 Sustainable Seafood Ambassador and member of the Seafood Watch® Blue Ribbon Task Force – recognizing the commitment to ocean-friendly seafood and Lowcountry fishermen that shapes his seasonal menu at Fish Restaurant in Downtown Charleston. He also attended the James Beard Foundation Chefs Boot Camp for Policy & Change with a focus on seafood advocacy, selected from more than 450 applicants nationwide. In 2014 he was a host chef for Charleston’s first-ever Trash Fish dinner in partnership with Chefs Collaborative, and in 2015, joined 25 celebrity chefs and personalities for the Cooking for Solutions World Oceans Day Weekend celebration at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Among other distinctions, Chef Romo hosted both the 2013 JBF Award semifinalist announcements and Chefs Collaborative National Food Summit in Charleston, and cooked alongside celebrity chef Daniel Boulud at Le Taste of France in Bryant Park. Past appearances include the Culinary Vegetable Institute, De Gustibus Cooking School and two sold-out dinners at the James Beard House.

Born in Lyon, France, Chef Romo is the youngest-ever US member of The French Culinary Academy (l’Académie Culinaire de France) and Master Chefs of France (Maîtres Cuisiniers de France) – one of just 65 French Master Chefs nationwide, and the only recipient in South Carolina. Both elite international assemblies comprise the most highly skilled chefs in techniques and traditions of the French culinary art.

Chef Romo graduated from the Helene Boucher Culinary Art School in Vénissieux at age 19 and refined his skill under French Master Chef Patrick Henriroux at the dual-Michelin Starred restaurant La Pyramide in Vienne, France.