45 WWW.CHARLESTONWOMENPODCAST.COM | WWW.READCW.COM | WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CHARLESTONWOMEN Maya Morrill’s relationship with food began with her mother, a chef, and later grew through restaurant work that helped pay for college, where she studied music. Today, those two passions remain the foundation of her life. After college Morrill continued working in restaurants until she slowly transitioned to being a private chef. Morrill opined, “Being a private chef is great because unlike restaurants, we know exactly how many people are coming and you usually get paid in advance.” However, eventually Morrill realized, “I don’t think I’ll ever be content just cooking for one family; I need my community.” Morrill’s community includes farmers, fishermen, musicians and artists of Charleston. Through her private catering business, The Wandering Harvest, Morrill collaborates with farmers and draws on her own gardening and fishing skills to make the most of the abundance Charleston offers. To Morrill, food and music are more than hobbies; they are her love language, enabling her to give back to communities and foster connection. Morrill is bringing communities together through music and food by hosting private dinner parties, reccently holding a dinner at the Charleston Pour House, where she prepared meals sourced entirely from her garden and local produce. As part of the collaboration, musicians improvise tunes that align with the dishes, ceramists create the plates and bowls and they serve and perform for farmers and friends. When it comes to a meal, Morrill mused, “We have to eat every day, why not make it a joyful experience?” These dinner parties, dubbed “Feast for Us,” openly support musicians, farmers, fishermen, artists and chefs. In the past, Morrill battled endometriosis, suffering from severe pain and undergoing three surgeries in the span of five years. Every doctor kept telling her to cut certain things out of her diet but offered few solutions for her pain. Now Morrill, on the other side of that struggle, looks back and recognizes how food and music brought relief and healing to her. This inspired Morrill to create something bigger than a catering service: a way to connect people to where their food comes from. Currently, Morrill is working on her newest project, an endometriosis cookbook. The cookbook shares not only her experience navigating the medical world of an under-researched disease but also the foods that helped her feel nourished and alive amid deep pain. “My book is going to be really helpful to other women who might have issues to feel validated,” she stated. “I’m not an expert or a certified nutritionist, but I’m speaking from experience.” Through every phase of life, every hardship and celebration, food and music remain true to their role in connecting people and building communities, and that is why Morrill chooses to serve others in everything she does. SERVING SOMETHING BIGGER For private chef Maya Morrill, every meal is an opportunity to heal, connect and celebrate community. BY ELLA DUANE
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