Eve Briggs
One of your first thoughts when walking in the front doors at Legion SouthPark is how much there to look at. You start by being greeted by at three giant beer foeders that are the main focal point of the restaurant, taking up the space behind the bar in the center of the space. Then, you begin to move your attention to the beautiful extended mezzanine that overlooks the large main dining room, accompanied by its very own private dining and bar area. Finally, your eye wonders to the exposed style kitchen, where you can openly see the Legion Back of House staff working like busy bees in the hive. In the midst of the chaos, you may start to notice someone that seems to be out of place - a petite teenage girl working the line. She appears completely in her element - shouting out orders to her co-workers and carefully reading tickets as she moves with experienced speed.
Eighteen-year-old Eve Briggs is not your average teenager, with years of experience already under her belt, finding her passion for the kitchen at an early age. “When I was younger, I was always watching cooking shows,” Briggs says, “One of my favorites is definitely Diners, Drive-in, and Dives with Guy Fieri, which inspires me a lot today.” The idea of finding hole in the wall places that become local destinations based on one or two signature items is something that truly fascinated Eve, lighting up her imagination and passion for being more creative in the kitchen,
Her last name may sound a little familiar. Eve is one of three daughters to Legion’s very own Chef Gene. Born and raised in the Charlotte area, Eve started her cooking career at age 14 learning the ins and outs of a running a kitchen working alongside her dad at Blue Restaurant & Bar, where he worked as Executive Chef for almost 15 years. “Cooking is something that comes really easily to me,” she explained “but I’ve picked up a lot basically growing up in a restaurant and learning a lot from my dad.” Aside from working together with her dad behind the scenes, Eve also assisted with the menu and logistics surrounding Chef Gene’s monthly cooking classes.
Today, you can find Eve running the line at Legion Brewing SouthPark. She has become a pivotal part of the BOH team, coming up with new dishes and ideas regularly featured on the menu.
“Even though I really enjoy cooking, baking is actually my passion.” said Briggs. “My all-time favorite item to make is the molten chocolate cake on SouthPark’s current dessert menu. I grew up eating it and baking it now brings back a lot of great memories from my childhood.”
While helping to create items on Legion’s current summer menu, Eve decided to try her hand at making her own specialty dessert. “I wanted to give a traditional southern dish a summer twist by creating a really cool dessert with blueberries - my favorite fruit!” she exclaimed. “I paired it with a lemon sorbet and the tartness of the sorbet compliments the sweetness of the cornbread really well.”
The Blueberry Cornbread Muffin with Lemon Sorbet is now being served at the Legion SouthPark location on our current released summer menu. This light decadent dessert is sure to curb anyone’s summer sweet tooth. The warm fluffy cornbread baked with fresh local blueberries harmonizes perfectly with the citrus sharpness found in the lemon sorbet, guaranteed to the be the perfect finisher to any meal.
Briggs’ who is just started her freshman year at American University located in Washington D.C., is grateful that her classes were moved online so she can remotely learn in Charlotte while continuing to spend time with her family and working at Legion. Upon opening the Morehead location in Spring 2021, Eve plans to play an essential role in the kitchen there by training our new back of house staff, along with coming up with fresh ideas for the uptown spot.
To see Legion’s menu and to keep up on the latest dishes from Eve, please visit www.legionbrewing.com