Top restaurant Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar in downtown Charleston, SC welcomes new Executive Chef, Ramon Taimanglo. A longtime resident of the Charleston area, Chef Taimanglo brings his love and appreciation of fresh ingredients, sustainable seafood and farm-to-table experience to the popular seafood restaurant.
Chef Taimanglo comes from a long line of great cooks including his grandparents and parents. Raised with an understanding of nurturing fresh ingredients from the garden, he began cooking in his family’s kitchen at a young age. His father was in the military so the family moved around quite a bit which only contributed to educating him on different cuisine from all over the country. As an adult, Chef Taimanglo had the great fortune of living abroad where he was introduced to even more diverse dishes. While living in Europe, he developed an understanding of “cooking for the moment” where he would create dishes from what he found at the market that day. He said, “As a chef, I create seasonally inspired dishes that are simple. I believe in letting the fresh ingredients speak for themselves.”
Chef Taimanglo received his formal culinary training from Johnson & Wales University in Charleston which led to a position at Slightly North of Broad in downtown Charleston where he also met his wife, Kerri. The couple left the Lowcountry for Washington, DC where Chef Taimanglo worked as Executive Sous Chef and studied under award-winning chef Bob Kinkead at Colvin Run Tavern. His love for the South eventually brought him to Roosters Wood Fired Kitchen in Charlotte, North Carolina where he served as Executive Chef.
In 2009, Chef Taimanglo returned to Charleston and became the Executive Chef at popular restaurants High Cotton and then The Meeting Room and Tapas Bar, both in downtown Charleston.
Chef Taimanglo was thrilled to be offered the position at Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar. He said, “I’m excited to be at a restaurant like Amen Street where the specialty is great, fresh seafood. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the abundance of local seafood offered in Charleston.”
When not creating in the kitchen, Chef Taimanglo enjoys spending time with his family. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Kerri, and their two children, Noah and Amelie.
We hope you will join us in welcoming Chef Ramon Taimanglo to Amen Street! We are looking forward to Chef Taimanglo’s inspired cooking and what are sure to be amazing chef specials on Amen Street’s menu.