Teresa Smithmyer loves the deep South, and it’s not because she was born or raised here. Living in McClellanville, she is outside of but near Charleston, South Carolina. Teresa gets to experience the rural south, but she can head into Charleston for more urban/cultural activities. She often participates in food gatherings and festivals, promoting the line of smoked salts she makes at Bulls Bay Saltworks.
Teresa was born in Papua, New Guinea, to parents working with Catholic missionaries. Her dad is an electrical engineer and her mom is a nurse. Although her early years were spent in New Guinea, most of her childhood was spent in Maryland.
Before harvesting salt from the sea, Teresa spent her professional life working in the tourism industry. She lived in between Florida and Alaska, seasonally for 8 years, and hiked and kayaked through the everglades. In southeast Alaska she worked as a river rafting guide for a company that took cruise ship passengers out for the day and lived in the small town of Haines.
When Teresa and her husband were searching for a place to move, years ago, they felt the southeast offered the best proximity to water and family, and they liked the climate.
“When we first moved here in 2011, I was growing vegetables and selling them to a small CSA and to a couple of restaurants around Charleston. We raised chickens, rabbits, and hogs, just for ourselves. Part of the impetus behind that was to grow as much of our own food as we could. I hadn’t been eating meat for many years because I don’t want to support factory farming. Part of that includes taking them to the slaughterhouse. We decided if we could raise a couple of our own hogs and process them ourselves we would feel good about that meat. Once we had the first hog butchered I wanted to have a gathering of people from the community that bought vegetables from me. In the spring of 2012, we invited everyone we knew and said bring a chair, friends and a dish. We collected some sea water from the bay to brine the hog with, for ten hours. We had some sea water left over. We thought well, why don’t we try to boil this water, and season the hog as it cooks. So we boiled about 5 gallons of water, and got salt. We smoked the hog for about 12 hours. The smoke made its way into the salt, so we took that smoked salt and put it on the table. People were taking spoonfuls of it and asking if they could take some home, and if we would make more and sell it. We thought, that was kind of easy. We should try it again.”
That was the beginning of Bulls Bay Saltworks. [To learn more, read here.]
Business at Bulls Bay is brisk. They sold out of their inventory over Christmas, so they are not encouraging sales right now. However, the business is expanding and very soon they will have plenty of product.
She is a friend of my buddy Jon Jackson at Comfort Farms. “Jon and I met at a boucherie in Wadmalaw last October.” [As you may know, I've written about Comfort Farms. Now I am making a documentary about Comfort Farms .]
Great food, grown and harvested responsibly, is important to Teresa.
It was delightful to talk to Teresa and learn more about her and about her unique business.
What is your full name? Teresa Smithmyer [she just got divorced but her ex is still a part owner of the business]
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world? I’m pretty happy here. I love the southeastern United States. I’ve travelled to every state except Hawaii. The last time I was looking to move, I missed the culture and the heat from this region. Charleston really stuck out in my mind from travelling here years before. I was looking at places close to a city but not one in one, and also as close to the coast as possible. I actually live in McClellanville, which is about 36 miles from downtown. It’s perfect because I can pop into the city really easily any time, but retreat back into country life.
What is your favorite movie and why? I don’t have a TV. I don’t watch a ton of movies. My current favorite is a documentary called The Eagle Huntress. I thought it was wonderful.
What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid? Math.
What was your nickname when you were a kid? My brothers and sisters call me Tee.
Do you believe in God? I don’t believe in a Christian God but I do believe in a higher power.
What sound or noise do you love? I love the sound of the ocean waves crashing. That’s kind of my favorite place, when you need to decompress. That’s where I go to reset. Although I live two miles from the water it is all barrier islands so the closest beach for me is Isle of Palms.
If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be? I would probably be a travel writer.
If heaven exists, what do you think it is like? I don’t believe in heaven or hell, but I do believe that our energy goes somewhere collectively.
Do you have siblings? I have 5 sisters and 2 brothers. One of my sisters was adopted from South Korea.
What is your favorite memory of childhood [something specific]? Going to my uncle’s farm in Pennsylvania every summer and spending time with my cousins – taking care of the farm animals and milking the cows and exercising the pigs…for 4H shows
If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why? I would travel around Europe on a train because that’s not something I’ve done before. I’ve traveled across country in a car more than eight times.
What inspires you? Other people’s passions inspire me, I think. At this age in my life (42) it’s fascinating to me to talk to other people who are really passionate about what they do and to be able to have deep connections around those conversations.
Which holiday do you prefer, Christmas or July 4th? I would say I don’t like the commercialization of Christmas but I would choose Christmas because it’s such a time of wonderful family gatherings.
What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now? I’m consumed with this expansion of the business right now and I wish I had time to pursue small pleasures. That sounds terrible but true. Sometimes you just have to double time it to get on to the next stage. This has been a project for 8 months. We just bought an acre next door and the business is expanding.
Do you know how to cook? I love to cook. I’m okay at it.
What is your favorite thing to cook/eat? I love to cook Asian dishes, particularly Thai or Vietnamese.
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, for 2-4 weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and why? I would go to Papua New Guinea because I was born there, and I’ve never been there as an adult. If all expenses were paid I could have a really good travel guide which is kind of necessary in that region. My parents went as part of a Catholic mission. My Dad worked as a teacher and Mom was a nurse. They lived there a little over 5 years and one of my brothers was also born there. My parents moved there with a 4 and a 5 year old.
What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer? Do you want to run away with me? I just think that that’s a dreamy romantic thing..
