“I always, always, always wanted a restaurant,” says Michael Charles, owner and head chef at Cork & Crust. “I knew that really early.”
Michael Charles is named after his two grandfathers, Michael and Charles, who both had a hand in raising him. His family’s been in the restaurant business for four generations. His father’s side of the family is Creole from Louisiana. Born and raised in San Diego where his grandparents lived, Charles was a military kid who lived in many locations.
“I loved that my grandma, Mama Bessie, was like everybody’s grandma,” he says of the owner of Bessie’s Garrett, her restaurant in La Jolla, California. “Everyone was thrilled to talk with her and thank her for her food.”
Charles began working at Mama Bessie’s next restaurant, Magnolias, in San Diego, at age 12. “I washed dishes, hosted and bussed tables — all the not-so-fun stuff.”
One of nine kids, Charles began cooking for his younger siblings at age six, alongside his eight-year-old sister, with mom giving a quick cooking lesson. “We would both stand at the stove,” he says. “We were allowed to do that because we knew if either of us broke a rule, we were telling on each other.”
Charles credits much of his cooking influence to growing up in San Diego. “It was a mixing pot,” he says. “Lots of Mexican and other cuisines. You could go to a hole-in-the-wall place and eat the best food you’ve ever eaten.”
As for working under many chefs, Charles says if he visited a restaurant and loved the food, he wanted to work there. “I’ve worked for one of my mentors, Chef Kenny Sloan, of Steak and Tonic in City Center,” Charles says. “For 22 years I’ve learned under every chef I could; they were great mentors.” Of his Creole roots, Charles comes back to it every now and then.
“I’ve always loved how food is culture,” Charles says. “I love that people are able to share their culture and I can tap into it authentically. We’ve done a chicken and dumplings special and crafted a gumbo dish we called gumbo and dumplings. People get really excited about that one.”
Cork & Crust classifies itself as contemporary American cuisine. Its pizzas are more New York style, which is uniquely American. “I’ve taken recipes I’ve learned working under an Italian chef and used them in my sauce recipe,” the chef says. “My crust is a New York style which is lower in hydration and a bit crispy.”
“I love some of the specialty pizzas like the wagyu pizza and the tacos,” says diner Diane Dye.
The restaurant offers gluten-free dough and pasta. Charles ensures all meats and fish are kept separate, with the staff wearing gloves when changing everything out.
“Contemporary American is more our vibe because we like to mess with the Italian-American side of things,” he says with a smile. “We also like to serve food that is just American, like jambalaya.” Doing his own twist on American cuisine, he often has a pork belly biscuit on his menu.
“Offering burgers and fries wasn’t our goal but occasionally we do a Bougie Burger night and plan to do so again on Father’s Day since it was well received,” Charles says.
When Charles gets bored with a menu offering, he changes things up. “I love my ingredients to be fresh,” he says, and he finds them at local farmers’ markets.
Cork & Crust stays busy on Friday and Saturday evenings. “We recommend a reservation on those nights,” Charles advises. Two-hour dinners are scheduled at their nine tables. “We don’t want people to feel rushed when they come in,” Charles says.
“I appreciate being appreciated,” says Cooper Setzer, sous chef, who can interact with diners from his workspace.
“It’s really cool working with a staff who appreciate things being right,” Charles says. “The biggest thing you need when dealing with food is consistency.” If a dish isn’t prepared exactly the way it was intended, the chefs begin again to ensure perfection.
“My staff and I agree,” Charles says. “We want each dish to be perfect. We are passionate about accuracy. Cocktails must taste good, salads must be plated correctly. Everybody cares about doing a really good job to make certain whatever they touch comes out exactly the way it’s supposed to.”
“Eventually, I would like to either open a second location or have a bigger one,” Charles says.
Charles and his family often plan vacations around food cities with MICHELIN star restaurants; sometimes they return to Louisiana. When he’s not cooking, he enjoys fishing and Anime.
TO THE POINT:
Cork & Crust
Address: 12715 Warwick Blvd., Ste. C Newport News, VA 23606
Contact: Michael Charles, chef
Phone: 757-643-8000
Email: mykej00@gmail.com
