By Veni Fields
When Gethin DuValle Thomas was 7 years old, he wrote a letter from his home in Northern Virginia to his grandmother, called “Susie” by the family, in Mobile, Alabama:
Dear Susie,
I can cook.
Love, Gethin
The letter and its envelope reside now in a silver frame in his home dining room, with a caption that includes “On the Occasion of Your Graduation” from the Culinary Institute of America in 1987, below another framed black and white photo of an adult Thomas with “Susie” beneath the sign for The Pearl Oyster Bar in Louisiana.
With a father who painted and a mother who sang opera, “I got a lot of support,” Thomas said as he sought further education in his craft and calling. After the Culinary Institute in New York, Thomas studied and worked for years in schools and Michelin-starred restaurants from London to Paris to Amsterdam and Switzerland.
“I’ve never really wanted to do anything else but cook,” Thomas said. He never really has, unless it’s teaching and mentoring others in places like the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star-rated White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine, then as executive chef at Cummins, the engine manufacturer, or in his own Gethin Thomas Catering, on his trajectory to where he is now as the owner of Henry Social Club in Columbus, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.
Nikki Sutton of Blackline Studio designed Henry Social Club with an intimate “dark and sexy” vibe. The restaurant has an open concept where guests can see into the kitchen, seating for 75 inside and 12 outdoors, and a “Clandestine Room” downstairs for private functions for about 20 guests.
It is a dinner-only, fine-dining restaurant highlighting American cuisine with farm-to-table ingredients provided by local growers. All dishes are crafted and baked in-house. Six times a year, Thomas said, the menu will feature a week of special focus: it might be seafood, Southern-themed cooking, or seasonal specialties.
Now 60, Thomas feels Henry Social Club is the culmination of a fulfilling career. “For me, cooking has always been about bringing people together,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what people’s politics are, religion, whatever, people talk over food. People always have stories about food.”
VENI FIELDS is a journalist and freelance writer from Virginia Beach.
HENRY SOCIAL CLUB
423 Washington St., Columbus
812-799-1371
