Chef Conner Hinderks gives TOWN a preview of his new restaurant, Little Secret
A Kansas City native, Conner Hinderks moved to Greenville nearly two years ago from New Orleans with his life and business partner—and talented mixologist—Christina Blackley. Once here, he launched a pop-up called Little Secret to an enthusiastic audience.
“The Greenville community has been incredibly open to the kooky stuff I like to do and our particular brand of weird,” the chef reports. Riding that wave of support, Little Secret will open soon as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the space in West Greenville formerly occupied by Comal 864. The interior will be spiffed up with a built-out bar and new lighting and decor, while the menu, composed primarily of small plates at approachable prices, will play up global flavors.
Chef Conner Hinderks: A Little Secret or Two
TOWN: Your dishes often incorporate a Southeast Asian influence, influenced by your years working at Maypop in NOLA. How would you define your cuisine?
CH: I call it curated chaos. So often we define cuisine by region or ethnic group, and I borrow from so many that it’s hard for me to categorize it. I blame my ADHD mind—I think ‘if this tastes good and this tastes good, what if I put them together?’ And most times it works.
Asian is just one of the things I draw on . . . but it’s the arrow I grab out of my quiver the most as I find it to be surprising yet comforting.
Are there ingredients that you hesitate to put on a menu?
There are some ingredients that even I think are too weird, like durian—nobody needs a fruit that smells like a corpse. I like to hide [unfamiliar] things in [a dish] and have it be a surprise. A fermented duck egg would not be the main component of a dish, but a peak summer tomato salad with a little bit of that fermented duck egg in the dressing might make someone think ‘what is that taste?’
How do you see yourself as an innovator?
I don’t really think of what I do as being innovative on a daily basis. I don’t approach it with the intent to innovate. I just want to further conversations a little bit. As long as I stay excited about something and can convey that excitement through what I’m creating, that’s where the innovation comes in. When I find something that it seems no one has done before . . . I feel like I’ve hit this vein of pure creativity.
It must be a complex process to reach this point.
It feels like stacking all these blocks until they actually make up a shape that you can recognize, and it could fall over at any moment. One wrong element will send it in the wrong direction, and you have to start all over again.
You’ve lived in Greenville for a couple of years now. What’s your impression of the city’s food scene?
I love the direction it’s heading in. When you have euphoria and the MICHELIN Guide, it drives all this movement. One reason we like Greenville so much is we wanted to be in a place right before it got really cool and help push that culture. We feel like there’s a wave here that’s about to crest.
And how does Little Secret fit in?
I hope Little Secret adds a wonderful gathering spot for West Greenville. I want us to be a pillar of growth and a hub for that neighborhood.
What innovation or innovator has inspired you?
“The first thing that comes to mind is cultural innovators like Anthony Bourdain. I remember reading Kitchen Confidential when I was a teenager. And people like Julia Child, who push the culture forward and showcase something that’s not readily seen.”
– Conner Hinderks
