WRITTEN BY Lyndsay Harper
Hailing from the flats of Coral Bay, St. John, Shaun Brian has always been pretty scrappy. At one point, he called a two-person tent his home, which was situated amongst the ruins of a crumbling plantation. Today, he’s an award-winning chef and a bit of a Lowcountry legend, cooking up innovative food concepts that rely heavily on the same scrappy instincts he grew up with.
While the Virgin Islands might conjure up images of cruise ships and all-inclusive vacations for some, Shaun’s experience on St. John was a bit more down to earth (very literally). He grew up with seven brothers, one sister, and a pet barracuda that lived in the shadow of his dad’s sailboat. He foraged for food in the valley and fished off the family boat, gathering ingredients to cook up meals for his many siblings. It was here, amidst these humble beginnings, that Shaun first fell in love with cooking.
“As kids, we would throw on our flip-flops and underwear, and my brother and I would just go out and explore the bush. We got really into foraging, where you might scratch yourself on some kasha, then we'd go find some aloe to put on it. Or we'd find local fruits growing in the wild, or craft slingshots and spears out of tamarind bush. And my dad had a sailboat, so we'd be on it a lot—fishing, grilling, learning how to spearfish, freediving, and swimming. We’d look for lobsters or catch yellowtail snapper and grill them up on the boat.”
Left: M’s Bamboo Lightweight Hoodie in NEW Congaree Camo
Right: M’s Bamboo Lightweight Hoodie in NEW Nutmeg and NEW M’s Passage 5 Pocket Pant in Black Sand
When he wasn’t in school or on his dad’s boat, he was either surfing on the south side of the island—or he was playing soccer. He’d eventually go on to earn a spot on the National Virgin Islands Team, playing in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Haiti and Barbuda. But before he was drafted into the ranks of FIFA’s 2014 video-game lineup (seriously, look it up), he earned his stripes in the kitchen. Cooking is what inspired him most, and what led him to pursue a culinary education in the US.
“I decided that I wanted to go to a culinary arts college where I could travel the world and make money doing something that I loved, because I was always really interested in food from a young age. Especially because my house was sort of low means, in terms of what we had to offer. So I went in with the intention of making the most out of it. I picked the hardest teachers. I worked in between classes and before class.”
Fast forward a couple decades, and all of Shaun’s hard work paid off—earning him a formidable list of culinary accolades. He was named to Zagat’s Top 30 Under 30, co-founded the West Indian Chefs Alliance, has made appearances on the Food Network, and has continuously contributed to James Beard Foundation programs throughout his career.
Today, the award-winning chef is the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of CudaCo., one of our all-time favorite seafood markets in Charleston. One of their staple ingredients? Trash fish. Don’t let the name throw you. When you prepare porgy into a mouth-melting crudo with rosemary back fat oil, preserved kumquats, and a side of house made cajun vinegar chips—the “trash” label becomes very subjective. It’s all in their name: Cuda, short for “barracuda,” is a hat tip to one of the trashiest fish around.
“The trash side of CudaCo. is a little bit of an ode to bycatch and sustainability. Helping people realize that there's a lot of species that are undervalued because they're not dealt with properly. Charlestonians before us did a lot of triggerfish and golden tile, for example, both bycatches that are now considered very highly sought after species.”
Outfitted with M’s Bamboo Lightweight Hoodie in NEW Congaree Camo and M’s Breeze Pant in NEW Sandbar
From Coral Bay to Lowcountry Legend
After culinary school, Shaun’s career took him up and down the East Coast—from working at a luxury hotel in Martha’s Vineyard, to mom and pops down in Florida. Eventually he wound up making his way back to the Caribbean, where he opened up his own restaurant on St. John and planned to settle down with his family.
But in September, 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria swept through the islands, one right after the other, and plans changed. With a daughter on the way, Shaun was motivated to set down new roots—somehwere in the US with ties to the Caribbean. He knew Charleston was a food city, and after getting to know the area and building a network of local chefs, farmers, and fishermen, he realized this place checked all of his boxes.
“A lot of things spoke to me about Charleston. I fell in love with the camaraderie amongst chefs. The history and the charm… Charleston feels like the birthplace of Southern hospitality. I loved the connections to the Caribbean through the Gullah Geechee. I loved the accessibility of farm to table, and the coastal community and surfing.”
Left: Outfitted with NEW M’s Chore Coat in Vintage Camo and Pocket 5 Pocket Pant in Tobacco
Right: NEW M’s Waffle Crew in Green
After a few years working at Parcel 32 on King St., Shaun got the itch to start his own thing. After a serendipitous encounter with local seafood distributor (and purveyor of the best soft shells in town), Chris John, the two got together over a few surf sessions at Folly and the idea of CudaCo. came to life.
A James Island native, Chris John had traveled and studied marine biology all over the world, ending up back in Charleston to harvest, sell, and focus on oysters and their massive impact on the ocean’s ecosystem. They started cooking up plans for CudaCo. as an opportunity to not only provide the best-quality seafood in the Charleston area, but do it in new and innovative ways that protect the fragility of our local aquatic ecosystem.
“When I met Chris through buying his oysters and soft shells, we ended up going surfing together and we sort of realized we had this shared love for all things water. I knew we could partner up and develop a really cool concept: a fish market with a chef’s perspective. It’s sort of our love letter to James Island—by the community for the community.”
Outfitted with NEW M’s Chore Coat in Smokey Olive and NEW Retro Script Flat Brim Hat in Black
The Fall Menu
Whether it’s adding trash fish like porgy or jolthead to the menu, prioritizing local ingredients, or singling out the most reputable farms in the world, sustainability is always at the forefront for CudaCo.’s business. And seasonality is a huge piece of that puzzle.
“We always focus on seasonal fish like wreckfish, golden tile, soft shell crabs, shrimp, and crawfish when they're available. But in the fall, the waters cool down a little bit more, so you start to see black bass become a little bit more abundant, which is really fun. You get fall blue fin tunas from North Carolina, which is really cool because that's like the Wagyu cow of the seafood industry. The fattiness of the blue fin tuna is perfect for rolling into winter because it's sort of like getting your winter coat on.”
Her: Outfitted with W's Bamboo Lightweight Fleece Zip Hoodie in Light Heather Grey and W's Pacifica Twill Pant in Fossil
Him: Outfitted with M’s Bamboo Lightweight Hoodie in NEW Congaree Camo, M’s Breeze Pant in NEW Sandbar, and NEW Retro Script Flat Brim Hat in Black
Shaun also starts looking inland for seasonal ingredients, like wild mushrooms that tend to pop in the fall and spring. Once the weather cools, their soup will transition from a lighter summer gazpacho and they’ll start sourcing local gourds, pumpkin, and kombucha for a heartier pumpkin bisque. As winter approaches, wild oysters become a big focus—from on-site oyster roasts to supplying restaurants, and steaming oysters in small batches. The seasonality combined with all these local ingredients are what keep CudaCo.’s always-evolving menu feeling fresh and exciting—the perfect excuse to drop by often.
“One of the things I really love most about Charleston is the seasonality, especially after being in places like Florida and the Virgin Islands. It creates a lot of diversity in your food and your concepts. That’s huge for me, since I like to take what's around me and build new concepts for the community.”
Visit CudaCo.’s restaurant and fish market on James Island this fall
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11AM — 8PM
765 Folly Road
Charleston, SC
