The term “hidden gem” was coined for places like Mon Louis Island — a place even locals might not realize is tucked away down the Bay. On this small island, a home perches high above the water, where the wind rustles the palms and pelicans fly overhead. But, once a month, on the deck at the edge of the pier, a long table is elegantly laid with a tablescape for 15 guests. A menu is curated to fit the month’s theme, and guests enjoy a carefully prepared, deliciously executed five-course dining experience led by a husband-and-wife team of professional chefs. This is Chef Amber and Hunter Harris’ Mon Louis Supper Club.
“I’ve loved that view forever,” says Amber, staring out the window of her parents’ home toward the Bay. That love is exactly what prompted Amber and Hunter to establish their supper club here at Amber’s parents’ house, the same place where Amber grew up, and where she and Hunter were married.
Even though the supper club was only developed in recent years, Amber has been cooking and hosting dinners in this same location for much longer. Born and raised on Mon Louis Island, Amber spoke with her mother one summer and expressed a desire to learn more about cooking. Her mother suggested inviting Amber’s grandparents over every Sunday after church, allowing Amber to explore her curiosity in the kitchen and play the part of hostess. “I made it a whole thing,” she recalls. “Made an invitation, explained the menu and set the table the way I wanted.”
Through this experience, she discovered passions for cooking and event planning, which led her to New York, where she attended the Culinary Institute of America. From there, she traveled to China and Italy, spent a semester in Napa Valley learning about farm-to-table dining, interned in Hawaii and worked on private yachts, exploring new foods and cuisines and drawing inspiration from each experience. “I thought I was never going to come back home, but something brings you back,” she explains. “I really did miss the people, the place, the body of water we have here. It’s really special and unique. That’s a big deal, to say I was going anywhere and I chose to come back here. There’s something special about that.”
Hunter, meanwhile, began working in kitchens when he was 14. “I’ve never done anything else. Flirted with other stuff, went right back to it,” he says. “There’s just something about it. It’s different than anything else to me.” Growing up outside New Orleans meant Hunter gained experience in all types of cuisines, including Latin American, Asian, Cajun and French. His roots and his education at the Louisiana Culinary Institute left him with what his father-in-law refers to as “that Louisiana flair,” meaning a love for Cajun cuisine and big, bold flavors. “Everything’s gotta have flavor,” Hunter insists. He and Amber met through the restaurant industry when they were both working in Fairhope, then they began dating and eventually married, all of which led to seeking a creative outlet three years ago and establishing their supper club.
The couple wanted a chance to explore their culinary creativity, and they knew how they wanted to do it: through an intimate gathering where they could serve amazing food and connect with others. “There are not a lot of options out here on Mon Louis Island, because it’s so small,” Amber explains. “I was like, ‘Is this side of the Bay going to support that?’” But they knew the idea was worth exploring, and it seemed only fitting that they set their culinary endeavors on the island that has shaped their lives and relationship.
Amber’s parents graciously agreed to allow the couple to host the supper club on their property. They have been incredibly helpful and supportive of the endeavor, with her father building materials like the sign for the event and her mother helping serve each course. Amber is never afraid to call on them when assistance is required, even if it’s in the middle of dinner. “We keep it formal, but I’m still going to yell out, ‘Dad!’” she laughs.
Both in life and in the kitchen, Hunter is more reserved and Amber is the self-professed talker, but their different approaches and perspectives make them the perfect team. While Hunter expresses his creativity by relying on tried-and-true consistency to develop recipes like his signature gumbo butter, Amber plays with color and elevated presentations to create bold, beautifully plated dishes like blackened scallops with Alabama corn nage. They push one another when needed or, conversely, rein one another in, leading to a balanced approach when they develop menus.
The couple sources locally as much as possible and draws inspiration from everywhere — their travels, unique ingredients, a theme one or the other is eager to explore or even a seasonal delicacy that inspires the whole meal. Their creativity knows no bounds, allowing them to transform the flavors of a dish like cioppino (an Italian-American seafood stew) into their Mobile Bay Cioppino, a redfish dish with a southern and Cajun flair. They always try to introduce ingredients their guests might not have had before, but they include recognizable favorites as well. A perfect example of this is their Ode to Bayou La Batre Crab Claws, which are crab claws flavored with nuoc cham and served with daikon, carrots and fresh herbs. “Bayou La Batre is mostly Vietnamese,” Hunter says, explaining the inspiration behind the dish. “And it’s really cool to eat seafood right on the Bay.”
The location is certainly part of what makes Mon Louis Supper Club such a special experience. Guests enjoy an incredible meal with a breathtaking view, just steps away from the water. Being on the Gulf Coast, the menus tend to be seafood-heavy, naturally, but the couple includes meat and poultry dishes as well. They try to have at least three dinners a year that don’t include seafood for anyone with allergies or for those who might have different preferences. “But you still deserve the view,” Amber says, so those who attend can rest assured that they will still be afforded the same prime location. As for planning each event, that is Amber’s specialty. “I love the details,” she says. “That’s my thing — I get to be crazy and go all out.”
Dinners take place rain or shine. A covered area under the raised house provides shelter in the event of rain, but no matter the weather, Amber and Hunter give their guests the same high-end experience at every dinner. For the tablescape, each guest has a place setting, name card, menu and a message in a bottle left by a guest from the previous month’s dinner. The chefs introduce each course and describe the dish, and they follow the traditional practices one would expect from a high-end restaurant. Amber is always adding new details, personal touches and extra surprises, ensuring the guests remember more than just the food — although the food is certainly memorable enough on its own.
Mon Louis Supper Club has taken off in popularity, with tickets always selling out, previous dinner guests frequently returning and new attendees discovering the unique, specialized experience every month. Some guests have even made it their monthly date night. Although Amber and Hunter could probably triple the size of their monthly dinners and still sell out, they prefer to keep the supper club numbers as they are. “I want to keep it intimate, because that’s what’s really cool about it,” Amber says. “It combines everything that we love — not only the cooking but the small community. It’s 15 people at that table. We get to talk to each guest, learn where they’re from, ask what their favorite course of the night was. When they end up leaving, we all really know each other.”
For Amber and Hunter, Mon Louis Supper Club is only the beginning of their culinary aspirations. They have purchased a property only a mile up the road from Amber’s parents’ house. Their house is one with ancient mossy oaks, thriving azaleas and, of course, the same stunning view of the water. There, Amber and Hunter plan to expand their catering and event company, Host the Coast, into a larger space with a commercial kitchen, a venue and more opportunities to continue exploring their creativity.
As for Mon Louis Supper Club, Amber and Hunter intend for it to always remain an intimate culinary experience tucked away on a hidden gem of an island. Here, they will continue to share not only their love of cooking and hosting, but their love of Mobile Bay, Mon Louis Island and the view that reflects who they are as chefs: unique, inspiring and incredibly special.
3 Recipes from the Mon Louis Supper Club
Mobile Bay Cioppino
SERVES 2
Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil, divided
10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and headed
2 3-ounce redfish fillets, skin on
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
3/4 cup diced zucchini
3/4 cup sliced okra
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced bell pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 ounces dry white wine
16 ounces seafood stock
5 oysters
1/4 cup sliced green onions
3 tablespoons cold butter, diced
Chopped parsley for garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a hot saute pan. Cook shrimp until done, then set aside. Season the redfish fillet with Cajun seasoning and sear skin side down until crisp. Cook through and set aside.
2. Toss zucchini and okra with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper, then spread out on a sheet pan and roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until tender and slightly charred. Set aside.
3. In a pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute to toast the tomato paste, then deglaze with white wine, scraping up the fond from bottom of the pot. Add seafood stock, roasted okra and zucchini. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by 1/4. Add cooked shrimp and oysters, then simmer for an additional minute. Stir in green onions and remove from heat. Stir in cold butter a few cubes at a time until fully incorporated.
4. Divide the vegetables and seafood amongst 2 serving bowls, then ladle the broth over the top. Place the redfish fillets on top and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Ode to Bayou La Batre Crab Claws
SERVES 4
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 pound crab claws
1 cup small diced daikon
1 cup small diced carrot
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup sliced chives
Directions
1. Dissolve the sugar in the hot water. Add garlic, lime juice and fish sauce, then stir until fully combined. Allow to cool slightly. Toss the crab claws in the liquid, called nuoc cham, and then add the daikon, carrots and cilantro. Mix well to evenly coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
2. Transfer to a serving dish and finish with sliced chives before serving.
Cooks Note: Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce that is sweet, sour and spicy made with garlic and lime — a nod to the fishing community in Bayou la Batre.
Blackened Scallops with Alabama Corn Nage
SERVES 2
Ingredients
2 slices of day-old cornbread
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons shallots, minced
10 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2/3 small diced cup bell pepper
2/3 small diced cup onion
2/3 small diced cup celery
4 minced tablespoons garlic
4 tablespoons blackening seasoning
6 U10 scallops
Directions
1. For the crumble: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crumble the cornbread by hand and toast on a sheet pan in the oven for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Set aside.
2. For the corn nage: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over low heat and add the shallots and kernels from 8 ears of corn. Cook until softened. Transfer to a blender and add heavy cream and chicken stock. Blend until smooth, then pass through a fine mesh strainer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. For the succotash: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium and add the remaining corn kernels, bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. For the scallops: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat both sides of the scallops with blackening seasoning. Sear for about 30 seconds per side, or until deeply caramelized and just cooked through. Set aside.
5. To plate the dish, spread the corn nage across the bottom of plate, add succotash and arrange the scallops on top. Sprinkle the crumble on top and serve.
Cooks Note: For U10 scallops, “U” stands for “under” and “10” refers to the weight, meaning there are less than 10 scallops per pound. U10 are a jumbo grade of sea scallops.
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