Chef Noah Miller prepares main courses, including pan-roaster halibut, seared sea scallops, eggplant-wrapped swordfish and beef fillet, at Noah’s Restaurant & Lounge in downtown Charleston for its soft opening Tuesday. Craig Hudson, Gazette-Mail photos
By: Maria Young, Features Editor | Posted: Mar. 24, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail (Full Article and Photo Gallery)
Watching Chef Noah Miller whip up a meal for a restaurant full of hungry patrons is like watching a ballet — or maybe a hip-hop performance — that’s been carefully choreographed around searing flames, glistening knives and lots of breakable glass.
It’s a twisting, chaotic show in which the star always seems to be on the verge of catastrophe, but he manages, with a bit grace and luck, to stay on his feet.
“It’s a dance,” said his wife, Shonna Miller. “There’s this confidence, and it’s wonderful. He’s in his element. It’s really hard not to just watch and be amazed.”
Now the dancer-chef, not yet 32 years old, has upgraded to a whole new stage, one that’s bigger and brighter. Noah’s Restaurant & Lounge opened Wednesday at 129 Summers St., on the first floor of the building adjacent to the Capitol Plaza Theatre.
The new space features seating for 75 in the dining section alone. That’s more than double the number in his first place, Noah’s Eclectic Bistro. The tiny hot spot which closed last month was all but hidden on McFarland Street near the Charleston Newspapers building.
“I needed this so I can have some culinary freedom and more space to do things and accommodate people,” Noah said. “We were just constantly turning people down because we didn’t have enough seats. So that alone is enough reason to do this, but there’s also personal reasons. It was just so stagnant, and I don’t do stagnant.”
With the move, the chef fulfills a vision that began in his earliest days. It took passion, hard work and talent, along with the support of his family and many in the city of Charleston, who came together to help a kid with a dream.
Out of mischief
“I cooked with all my kids because I had four of them, and it kind of kept them out of mischief. But Noah really took to it right away,” said his mother, Rebecca Kelley, who flew in from Boston for Tuesday night’s soft opening before Noah’s opened to the public.
By the time he was 8, Rebecca said, they would go to restaurants in town, and then Noah would spend the next few days or weeks trying to figure out how the chefs made his favorite dishes.
“So, I would buy the ingredients, and he would practice putting it all together. Probably three nights a week we had chicken strips until he figured out how to make them to his satisfaction,” she said.
By the time he was in eighth grade at Elkview Middle School, young Noah was focused on cooking, but little else — much to the dismay of his teachers, who saw promise, but no passion.
Joe Gibson taught science and life skills and ran the school’s theater department, in which Noah was active. Joe and the other teachers found him likable enough, but maddening.
“They were just a little frustrated that he wasn’t doing what he should do. Not always turning assignments in, not always answering questions, not completing the reading,” Joe said. “And it didn’t worry him. He was like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I got a C. It’s OK. I’m doing fine.’
“He just seemed to be kind of blowing with the wind, flowing with the stream. Even though he was more than capable, he wasn’t going to shoot for valedictorian … and I was like, ‘We gotta find a direction for this kid.’”
It turned out, Noah already knew exactly what he wanted.
With exasperation one day, Joe finally said to the boy, “Tell me something you’re interested in learning,” and Noah, as they both recalled, said, “I want to learn how to cook. How to really cook.”
The spark of an idea
The surprising response — before The Food Network and Anthony Bourdain became household names — sparked an idea for his teacher.
“I started trying to find him some place to go and see what that was like,” Joe said. “I fully expected him to try it one time and go try something else.”
That was the start of a job-shadowing program at the school that Joe said continues to this day.
As sometimes happens in a mid-sized city, Joe knew someone who knew someone who knew someone else. Thus, Noah ended up working at the West Virginia Governor’s Mansion at 13 years old, under Otis Laury, who was the executive chef for then-Gov. Cecil Underwood. The one-day shadowing experience turned into weeks and then into months.
As with other young workers, a letter was written on his behalf for an exemption that would allow him to be paid under state law. This granted young Noah access to an academy of sorts for culinary training at a level few would-be chefs ever get.
“You might get a notice that in 15 or 20 minutes the governor is coming with four or five people for lunch, you know? You just have to get on the ball and get things thrown together,” said Otis, who was also on hand for Tuesday’s preview.
The expectations were high at the Governor’s Mansion.
“There were things that popped up. Maybe the first lady’s gonna have a luncheon for some women, and there’s no indication of who’s coming, what they want, who’s allergic to what or whatever,” Laury said. “So he saw the daily routine of things that were happening there at the mansion.
“There might be 60, 80 people for a reception and dinner … reception for all the guests that had come and then dinner for special guests afterwards. So it was tear up the place and re-set up the place. … It was a pretty trying thing. It was very demanding.”
Not only did Noah have a front-row seat, he was an important part of such occasions, despite his age.
“He had knife skills, and his eye for presentations and stuff was incredible,” Laury recalled. “You really didn’t have to tell him a whole lot. You’d tell him what to do, and he did it.”
A turning point
For his proud father, Scott Miller, the experience at the Governor’s Mansion was a turning point for Noah.
“It was really when he started with Otis Laury at the Capitol,” Scott said. “As soon as he got a taste of that, it made the difference. … He had his sights set. He still amazes me to this day.”
The chef is well aware of the early breaks he got.
“That’s all it took was just tinkering in the kitchen with my mom and then that day with Otis,” Noah said. “And just from there it really quickly escalated to, ‘Hey, people are acknowledging that I have a knack for this, and I have certain skills for it.’
“I wanted to delve further and further into it and discover how good I could be.”
There was a stint at the old Tarragon Room at the Charleston Marriott Town Center, then an even briefer stint at the exclusive Culinary Institute of America. He then spent some time at top restaurants, including The Greenbrier Sporting Club, Morgantown’s Sargasso and the five-star Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida.
Then, it was time to come home. By the time he was 21, Noah was the chef at Bridge Road Bistro, where he met Shonna. He opened Noah’s Eclectic Bistro when he was 25.
Taking such a bold move in his hometown had long been a part of the dream, but it was important to take the right steps at the right time.
“That’s why I started so small, and I made sure that we were gonna be able to be full and not have to worry about having an empty restaurant,” he said.
Along the way, he developed a reputation for being a bit particular about things like salt and pepper. Or bread baskets.
These are standard table accessories for many restaurants, but not at Noah’s. And that’s by design.
“It’s like an automatic thing for some people,” he said. “The salt and pepper are there, and as soon as they get their plate, they just reach for it. And if it’s not there, they can’t do that. You can ask for salt and pepper, and we’ll bring you a side of salt and pepper, no problem.”
But, he insisted, you should try it his way first.
“I’ve taken the attention of detail to season your food not just at the end, but throughout the entire cooking process,” he said. “I’ve made it a point to season it and layer it, and it should taste how it should taste.
“We’ve broken a lot of people out of a lot of habits and broadened their horizons with food just at the old Noah’s. They’re almost forced, ‘cause they’ve got to at least wait a minute to get the salt, so they’re gonna at least taste it. And if I accomplish that, that’s it. Just breaking that automatic habit.”
The old and the new
The style of food is, appropriately enough, eclectic. In a land-locked state, Noah’s consistently features seafood. And he pairs items not often put together: fried green tomatoes with pork belly, Dijon and tomato jam; spiced ground lamb with apricot jam; swordfish wrapped in eggplant; duck leg and pork shoulder with white beans and kale.
Diners are encouraged to make reservations online. As of opening night, there were no prices listed, though it is one of the more expensive restaurants in town. Long-time patrons, Noah said, will find many similarities between the old place and the new one.
“People who’ve eaten my food know my style of food and what I offer,” he said. “The only difference will be, on average, we did three entrees. There’ll be at least four now, and we’ll run it for two weeks instead of just one.
“The amount of appetizers, starters, will increase by four, and then at least four entrees and three or four desserts.”
As much of the food as possible, he said, will be local, whether it comes from the farmers market, nearby Gritt’s Farm or his own garden, where he grows kale, spinach and other staples.
Barely in his 30s, he’s doing what he wants to do — exactly where he wants to do it.
“I knew there were enough people here who would appreciate what I do and the passion I put behind it and the quality of food that I deliver,” he said. “The thing that changed for me was coming back to Charleston. The decision to come back — it was, ‘Why not Charleston?’”
For more information, visit eatatnoahs.com, email noah@noahseclectic.com or call 304-343-6558.
Reach Maria Young at 304-348-5115, maria.young@wvgazettemail.com or follow @mariapyoung on Twitter.
