Mike Lata

The Climb

The sequence matters: instruction, then service pressure, then a kitchen in step with Charleston’s changing dining identity. Since 2003, he has been owner/chef of FIG, and since 2012, chef/co-owner of The Ordinary, two roles that map a career built on range without losing a fixed standard.

Today

At The Ordinary in Charleston, United States, Mike Lata works from a seafood program defined by discipline rather than display. The point of the cooking is clarity: fish handled with attention to what it offers beyond the fillet, and with enough restraint to let that structure read on the plate. The Ordinary’s seafood follows a nose-to-tail approach, using cheeks, collars, skin, bones, and ribs. That choice changes the terms of the kitchen: less trimming for convenience, more use of the whole animal, and a closer reading of where flavor sits. A fish head terrine has been cited as a strong example of that whole-fish approach, making the method legible in a named dish rather than a talking point. “For me, personally, I want it to be based on good sensibility and strong technique.” Mike Lata’s own description of the work lands as a practical standard for the kitchen. Set against the fish head terrine, it points to a style organized around judgment, use, and structure. The result is a cookery that favors steady craft over flourish.

Signature

Mike's signature dishes include chicken liver pâté, fish head terrine, Sweet Onion Agnolotti with Pistachio Sauce, and Country Pork Pate with Pistachios. Taken together, these dishes sketch a chef interested in texture, richness, and detail, moving comfortably between the familiar and the exacting. Chicken liver pâté at FIG, for instance, appears not as a throwaway staple but as a defining touchstone, while the other dishes signal the same attention to balance and composition.

In Their Words “For me, personally, I want it to be based on good sensibility and strong technique.” “At FIG, it’s a chicken liver pâté.”

Recognition

Mike's honors include James Beard Foundation Award, Best Chef: Southeast (2009). The award sits alongside the rest of his work as a marker of consistency, technique, and a clearly stated point of view.