Chef Ambassadors represent the state

PUBLISHED ON January 19, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster announced chefs from Greenville, Conway, and North Charleston have been selected to represent South Carolina as 2025 Chef Ambassadors. He was joined by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers, and the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Director, Duane Parrish.

Jeanne Koenigsberg, executive chef and kitchen general manager of Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, Greenville
Darren Smith, owner and executive chef of Rivertown Bistro and Bonfire, Conway
Shuai Wang, chef and owner of Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ, North Charleston

Chef Ambassadors represent the state through food festivals and other promotional opportunities, sharing South Carolina’s culinary traditions, agricultural heritage, and undiscovered places with the world. They support our state’s farmers by using Certified South Carolina produce, meats, dairy, seafood, and other farm-fresh foods.

Now in its 11th year, the South Carolina Chef Ambassador program launched in 2014, unifying the major industries of tourism and agriculture, which collectively contribute tens of billions of dollars to the state’s economy and account for hundreds of thousands of jobs statewide.

Chefs are appointed by the Governor, and the program is run through a collaborative effort between the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT) and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA).

QUOTES

“Food is an important part of our state’s history, culture, and economy, and it’s where two of our largest industries – tourism and agriculture – overlap and excel. Our world-class culinary talent is highlighted and celebrated through the Chef Ambassador program, showcasing the best of South Carolina chefs, farmers, and locally grown products. I congratulate the 2025 class on this tremendous culinary honor.” -Gov. Henry McMaster

“Our Chef Ambassadors help people learn about the roots of their food – how it’s grown and who grows it. Food and agriculture are part of who we are in the Palmetto State. On behalf of South Carolina’s farmers, I’m pleased to welcome the 2025 class of Chef Ambassadors to showcase their talents and represent their communities throughout this year and beyond.” -Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers

“Today’s travelers are looking for authentic experiences, and they see food as an essential pathway to getting a true taste of a destination. Countless vacation itineraries are planned around reservations at the destination’s top-rated restaurants, or in some cases, having a meal at the backroad barbecue joint you saw on social media is actually the inspiration for the entire weekend getaway. Chef Ambassadors are an essential ingredient in our state’s recipe for tourism success, helping fuel our tourism industry and boost our economy. The 2025 class will add their own flavors and perspectives to the rich culinary story we share with the world as we invite visitors to discover South Carolina.” -Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Duane Parrish

“I’m humbled to accept this nomination in a non-traditional food service establishment. It reminds us that the work we are doing is important to our community and surrounding communities. I know that this will continue to give us a platform to show the importance of local agriculture here in South Carolina.” -Chef Jeanne Koenigsberg, Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery

“I have been cooking professionally for 36 years and have had the privilege of owning Rivertown Bistro for 30 of those years. Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to showcasing the incredible bounty of South Carolina, from the rich harvests of local farms to the fresh seafood from our coastline just miles away. As someone born and raised in South Carolina, I’ve always believed our state is the most beautiful, with its diverse landscapes and world-class products. To be named a South Carolina Chef Ambassador is an honor beyond anything I ever dreamed of. This opportunity is more than a title. It’s a chance to learn from others, build relationships with fellow chefs and farmers, and share my culinary knowledge and passion for South Carolina’s vibrant food culture. I’m excited to represent our great state and look forward to an unforgettable year ahead.” -Chef Darren Smith, Rivertown Bistro and Bonfire Taqueria

“This opportunity is a great way for me to showcase just how easy it is to support your local farmers and fishermen, and that any cuisine is able to utilize what is locally grown seasonally. I’m looking forward to all the fun events that I get to be a part of this year, representing Charleston and South Carolina. I grew up in New York, and I never thought I would live anywhere in the South when I was young. When I came down to Charleston to visit one year, I completely fell in love. I worked with some local farms in New York, but not nearly as many or with this amount of variety that is available in Charleston. Certain farmers I’ve been buying from since my wife and I’s first business back in 2015, they’ve become family. That’s one of my favorite parts about living in Charleston, it’s a community.” -Chef Shuai Wang, Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ

–Eva Moore, SCDA

Donald Trump made a new, big promise last week about tariffs — the latest in a string of outsized pledges to use tariffs to benefit the United States.

On his social media platform, he declared that he wants to create what he’s calling the “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign sources.

To be clear, that name itself is misleading: the overwhelming number of tariffs are paid by American businesses importing goods, not by external foreign sources.

The post is the latest in a long line of promises Trump has made about tariffs, which are at the center of his economic strategy. Those promises on tariffs will be hard to keep, economists say — and some even work against each other.

The goals for tariffs: revenues, jobs, and the war on drugs

One of Trump’s big tariff promises is bigger revenue. On the campaign trail, he told a Georgia crowd that “we will take in hundreds of billions of dollars into our treasury and use that money to benefit the American citizens.”

He also has repeatedly said tariffs would boost U.S. manufacturing. In that same Georgia speech, Trump said he would impose tariffs on cars made in Mexico. “We will put a 100% tariff on every single car coming across the Mexican border and tell them, the only way they’ll get rid of that tariff is if they want to build a plant right here in the United States with you people operating that plant.”

At a recent press conference, he also said tariffs could stem illegal immigration and drugs.

“Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country,” he said. “We’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers.”

These tariff goals are at cross-purposes

It sounds great — one simple trick to tackle drugs, debt, and jobs. But it’s hard to see how it could all happen at once.

“You can have a tariff for revenue or you can have a tariff for restriction, but you can’t have both,” says Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning economic think tank.

Since a tariff is a tax that American importers pay for goods from other countries, tariffs do bring in some revenue.

But Trump also wants tariffs to boost manufacturing. The idea here is to make, say, foreign cars more expensive, meaning Americans would buy fewer foreign cars.

This is where a big contradiction comes in: if Americans buy fewer foreign cars, tariff revenue goes down.

And that’s not the only contradiction York sees in Trump’s policy. If Trump threatens tariffs on Mexico or Canada and succeeds in getting them to crack down on immigration or drugs — that is, if Mexico or Canada changed their policies in order to get Trump not to tariff them — that would mean no additional revenue, and also no additional protection for American workers.

“The way the incoming Trump administration is talking about it is that they can have their cake and eat it, too. But that is just not the case,” York said.

NPR asked the Trump team to explain how tariffs can accomplish all of Trump’s stated goals. They didn’t answer specifically, saying instead that tariffs will “protect the American manufacturers and working men and women from the unfair practices of foreign companies and foreign markets.”

Higher prices and uncertain revenues

Trump’s tariff proposals go way beyond what he imposed in his first term. He has floated tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese goods, plus a proposed 25% on Canada and Mexico. He has even suggested a blanket 10% to 20% on all imports.

But even new, high tariffs wouldn’t raise the kind of revenue Trump seems to want. Trump has often pointed to the 19th century, a time before the federal income tax, as an era he admires.

“It’ll make our country rich,” he said at a December press conference, speaking with admiration about the days of former President William McKinley. “That was when we were at our proportionately the richest,” Trump said.

During the campaign, Trump even suggested he wanted to replace the income tax with tariffs.

Experts have said that would be impossible. Last year, tariffs accounted for just 2% of government income.

According to one analysis from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the maximum revenue that Trump’s threatened tariffs could generate would be $780 billion. That’s around a third of the total revenue from income and corporate taxes, and also doesn’t account for the economic effects of higher tariffs, like higher prices and slower growth, not to mention retaliation from foreign countries.

Kimberly Clausing co-wrote that analysis and also worked in the Biden Treasury Department. She emphasized the tariff hikes would hurt lower-income Americans the most through higher prices — while at the same time, helping higher-income people receiving Trump’s proposed tax cuts.

“I think a cynical reading of what the Trump administration is suggesting is a bunch of regressive tax cuts that help those at the top of the distribution, that are paid for with the regressive consumption tax that’s going to hit the poor the hardest,” she said.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors.
Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield

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