Event Details

A local love affair: a Best Friend Cookie, a latte, and a slow morning on the porch at Harken or sister cafe, the Harbinger. In celebration of their first cookbook launch last month – Harbinger & Harken, Stories and Recipes From Our Kitchens to Yours – Greer Gilchrist, the powerhouse behind the recipes at both bakeries, sits down with Kate Boyette, producer, writer, and editor, to talk all things delicious that went into producing the cookbook that resulted from years of baking and cooking in two of the most beloved cafes on the Peninsula. Featuring 40 recipes from Greer, and her favorite memories in the kitchen and the adventurous moments they went through to build both spots, the cookbook relives stories with co-owner, Cameron Neal. A la carte: their famous Best Friend Cookies and coffee, to enjoy during the program.

To purchase a copy of the book, please visit The Harbinger’s website HERE.

About the Book

After nearly a decade in business, the team behind The Harbinger and Harken cafes have decided to curate a cookbook of their most popular recipes, thanks to the overwhelming support from loyal customers and visitors alike. The new Harbinger & Harken Cookbook has 40 of the team’s most popular recipes, such as the Best Friend cookie and the Great Dane coffee cake. Gilchrist is the team’s chef de cuisine and the mastermind behind the company’s unique recipes and thoughtful ingredients. Many recipes are derived from Gilchrist’s childhood favorites and memories, with delightful nostalgic stories, as told in Gilchrist’s dry, quick-witted voice. If readers haven’t had the chance to visit one of the cafés, they can expect recipes that combine unexpected ingredients, vibrant flavors, and savory delights. The cookbook also boasts salads, sandwiches, lattes, cookies, and other homemade favorites, such as their popular dressings, toppings, and frostings. The self-published cookbook is now available directly via the cafe’s website.

About the Author

Greer Gilchrist is the co-owner, alongside Cameron Neal, of Charleston cafe/bakeries, The Harbinger and Harken, opened in June of 2017 and October of 2019, respectively. Here, Greer showcases her knack for creative pastries and baked goods, fresh and unique salads and sandwiches, house-baked breads and delicious coffee. As a lifelong lover of cooking, eating for fun and exploring food culture, Greer created her bakeries as places for eating well, caffeinating and cultivating community. She has lived in Charleston for almost a decade and, alongside her pitbulls, Krya and Rivers, is happy to call it home.

About Kate Boyette

Kate Boyette started in N.Y.C. with independent film production, which led her to L.A. to work at Creative Artist Agency. Underwhelmed teaching celebrities how to drive their Priuses, she left CAA and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu. Since then, her culinary pursuits and events took her from Texas to Park City, Utah, to eventually, Charleston, S.C. as the first editor-in-chief of the culinary publication, The Local Palate. She recently launched her boutique cookbook publishing company, Mise En Place Publishing, which published the female literary magazine, REVISIONIST in 2025, and earned her MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, thus combining her two loves—cooking and storytelling. Currently, she’s seeking representation for her first novel and writing essays about motherhood, divorce, and culinary on her Substack page, “unpublished.”