Justin Cherry at Husk

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Justin Cherry is climbing the food chain, so to speak.

The former Butler High School and University of Rhode Island place-kicker/punter was recently promoted to Chef de Cuisine at Husk Restaurant, where’s he been employed for nearly five years.

A 2002 Butler graduate, Cherry was hired as a butcher at Husk in September of 2010, two months before the restaurant opened. He was promoted to sous chef two months afterward.

As Chef de Cuisine, Cherry is now second in line in the authority structure — behind executive chef Travis Grimes — at Husk, considered one of the top restaurants in the South.

“We’re booked up for pretty much two months out,” Cherry said. “We seat anywhere from 160 to 200 people in the restaurant.”

Husk was named Best New Restaurant in the United States in a 2011 edition of Bon Appetite magazine.

The restaurant uses only local ingredients from the Charleston area and part of Cherry’s new duties is creating the menu, which changes daily.

“It’s probably the biggest challenge we have, yet it’s also the most exciting,” Cherry, 31, said. “I work with Travis in determining the menu for the day. Much of it depends on product availability at the time.

“We put our heads together and come up with fresh, unique menu items.”

Cherry suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right kicking leg while playing for Rhode Island in 2004. He was majoring in marine biology at the time.

A change in career direction followed his injury, however.

“I grew up on cooking, really,” Cherry said. “My family has always dabbled in it. My great grandparents had a bakery in Butler. My dad and I always went hunting and fishing together and cooked up wild game.

“I’ve always been interested in the food industry.”

Once the knee injury ended his football career, he decided to act on that interest.

After a journey that included culinary school, a few restaurant stops and an apprenticeship under fabled chef Dario Cecchini in Italy, Cherry wound up in Charleston.

And he’s happy to be there.

“My wife (Michaela) and I got married in 2011. She works for the 911 center in Charleston,” Cherry said. “Husk is located on Queen Street, which is in the middle of the historical part of town. The building itself is historical.”

Cherry works 12 to 14-hour days, five days a week. He loves the challenges that come with being a chef and has gotten away from football.

“Once I stopped playing, I’ve never seemed to have enough time to even sit down and watch a game anymore,” he admitted.

Still, he finds himself using values he picked up from football in the cooking game.

“Some of that stuff goes hand-in-hand with the culinary field,” Cherry said. “There’s definitely a team effort as chefs work together. And the competitive edge has to be there because we want to be the best.

“I was always training and trying to do better as a kicker. That approach never changes no matter what field you wind up in. You always want to keep getting better at what you do in life.”