Menu sneak peek! These talented chefs are cooking up an exciting selection of dishes! Menu options being discussed are: zeppole with burrata, smoked trout caviar, chive, local honey and prosciutto; grilled octopus with fava spread; ouzo pot de creme with sweet tomato jelly; burnt end bites with chipotle tamarind puree & blistered tomatoes; local mushroom & ramp croquettes; oysters on the 1/2 shell; crispy NC Lady Edison pork belly with kimchi, apple butter, miso vinaigrette; smoked pork terrine with blue cheese mousse, pickled blackberry & sage crisp; an epic charcuterie spread & live fire cheese station; sliced hamachi with white ponzu & serrano peppers - wow - is your mouth watering yet?!
Come with an appetite for excitement and celebrate the kick-off of the Summer of Chow Chow 2022 with our Opening Party! With 24 events over three weekends, you will savor the season with fun and deliciously distinctive events that celebrate the unique people and foodways of our Southern Appalachia home – including setting the table for change as we serve meaningful dialogue on the current issues impacting our communities. At the Opening Party, delight in all the savory, sweet and downright mind blowing offerings of 15 chefs and 10 beverage producers while perusing the handcrafted wares of our makers market! We’ll laugh together, dance together and celebrate together all of what makes this Southern Appalachian region taste like no other.
Featured Chefs/Restaurants: Ben Hester - The Odd, Hector Diaz - Salsa/Modesto/Bomba, Alex & Ashleigh Baxevanis - Feta Flav, Collyn McDonald - Bears Smokehouse, Erica Beneke & Matt Farr - Red Fiddle Vittles, Mike McCarty - Lobster Trap, Noah Buchanan - Chestnut, Jay Medford - Storm Rhum Bar/Stay Glazed Donuts, Kent Graham & Cristy Caye - Gourmet Foods International, Michael Lewis - Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse
Featured Beverage: Wicked Weed Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Marked Tree Vineyard, The Times Bar, Astral Tequila, Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, Ketel One Vodka, Counter Culture Coffee, George Dickel, Matcha Nude, Tanqueray Gin, Cultivated Cocktails, Devil's Foot Beverage Company, Mountain Valley Spring Water, Sarilla Sparkling Tea, Blue Moon Water
Event Sponsor: Explore Asheville
Venue Sponsor: Atelier Maison
Menu sneak peek! These talented chefs are cooking up an exciting selection of dishes! Menu options being discussed are: zeppole with burrata, smoked trout caviar, chive, local honey and prosciutto; grilled octopus with fava spread; ouzo pot de creme with sweet tomato jelly; burnt end bites with chipotle tamarind puree & blistered tomatoes; local mushroom & ramp croquettes; oysters on the 1/2 shell; crispy NC Lady Edison pork belly with kimchi, apple butter, miso vinaigrette; smoked pork terrine with blue cheese mousse, pickled blackberry & sage crisp; an epic charcuterie spread & live fire cheese station; sliced hamachi with white ponzu & serrano peppers - wow - is your mouth watering yet?!
Come with an appetite for excitement and celebrate the kick-off of the Summer of Chow Chow 2022 with our Opening Party! With 24 events over three weekends, you will savor the season with fun and deliciously distinctive events that celebrate the unique people and foodways of our Southern Appalachia home – including setting the table for change as we serve meaningful dialogue on the current issues impacting our communities. At the Opening Party, delight in all the savory, sweet and downright mind blowing offerings of 15 chefs and 10 beverage producers while perusing the handcrafted wares of our makers market! We’ll laugh together, dance together and celebrate together all of what makes this Southern Appalachian region taste like no other.
Featured Chefs/Restaurants: Ben Hester - The Odd, Hector Diaz - Salsa/Modesto/Bomba, Alex & Ashleigh Baxevanis - Feta Flav, Collyn McDonald - Bears Smokehouse, Erica Beneke & Matt Farr - Red Fiddle Vittles, Mike McCarty - Lobster Trap, Noah Buchanan - Chestnut, Jay Medford - Storm Rhum Bar/Stay Glazed Donuts, Kent Graham & Cristy Caye - Gourmet Foods International, Michael Lewis - Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse
Featured Beverage: Wicked Weed Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Marked Tree Vineyard, The Times Bar, Astral Tequila, Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, Ketel One Vodka, Counter Culture Coffee, George Dickel, Matcha Nude, Tanqueray Gin, Cultivated Cocktails, Devil's Foot Beverage Company, Mountain Valley Spring Water, Sarilla Sparkling Tea, Blue Moon Water
Event Sponsor: Explore Asheville
Venue Sponsor: Atelier Maison
Michael (he/him) grew up in Baltimore and NYC, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and trained under culinary geniuses, including Chef David Bouley and Chef Eric Ripert. He made his mark on the industry by playing an important role in earning three Michelin Stars while working as the Chef de Cuisine at Jean-George's restaurant on Central Park West. He led a team at Zuma as the Global Executive chef, working in Hong Kong, Dubai, Istanbul, Bangkok, London and Miami. In 2020 he opened Ukiah, capturing the essence of Japanese street food.
×See Chef Ben. Chef Ben likes to cook food. Cook Ben, Cook! Ben likes to feed people. People like to eat Ben’s food. Eat People, Eat.
×Since the early 1990s Diaz has been an influence and investor in Asheville’s thriving culinary scene. His restaurants showcase a multicultural influence, combining ingredients from local farmers and purveyors with recipes from family and travels. Whether you’re a visitor or an Asheville local, if you love this town’s food scene, you owe a nod and wink to Hector. So many restaurants and avenues lead back to him, and the rims of many of your favorite dishes hold his thumbprints.
×Ashleigh (she/her) grew up in Charleston, SC and attended AB Tech for Baking and Pastry Arts. She has varied her experience from local shops and restaurants to big names like Sierra Nevada. She taught students with special needs and came back into the food scene with her husband, opening a food truck, Feta Flav. After a very successful year, they are working on their second and third truck. She will be premiering Glykalogy: A Study of Sweets close to the end of April.
×Alex (he/him) grew up in the restaurant business. His parents started a chain of seafood restaurants in 1979. After helping in multiple locations and positions, he decided he wanted to stay in the foodservice business. He graduated from Johnson and Wales for Culinary Arts. During the COVID shutdown, he decided to take his love of Greek food and put it to use in his food truck, Feta Flav. Now after a successful year, he is launching two more trucks this year.
×Collyn (he/him) was born in Hartford, CT and from an early age showed a natural talent with cooking. In 2013 his parents Cheryl Antoncic and Jamie 'The Bear' McDonald opened their first Bear's Smokehouse in Windsor, CT at a small local lunch counter. As Bear's grew, so did Collyn into his current position of Pit Master at the Asheville, NC location. He has a passion for all aspects of the culinary world, creating innovative specialty menus that are often a fusion of barbecue and international cuisines.
×Red Fiddle Vittles creates fine food inspired by Appalachian ingredients, farms, and traditions. Created in 2018 as a catering and private chef company, Red Fiddle Vittles recently expanded to include a South Asheville retail storefront featuring house-made provisions, heat-and-eat weekly dinners, and specialty groceries from local producers. Combining more than 30 years of event and kitchen experience, Erica Beneke (she/her) and Matt Farr (he/him) are the mom-and-pop chefs and owners of Red Fiddle Vittles.
×For over 15 years Chef McCarty (he/him) has masterfully captained The Lobster Trap. From the start, Chef McCarty, along with founding owner Amy Beard, had a clear vision of what The Lobster Trap should be: a meeting place for the flavors of Maine, combined with Appalachia's abundance of fresh ingredients. Mike has made sustainability the focus of every dish on his menu. In recent years, The Lobster Trap has been named a Leader in sustainability by the James Beard Foundation's Smart Catch program.
×Over four years at Corner Kitchen & Chestnut, Buchanan (he/him) has moved from making salads to leading other Chefs. He graduated from Culinary School at AB Tech in Asheville, one of the top culinary schools in the country. He never forgets his roots and tries to be true to what his grandmother taught him: Make one thing delicious, then you can build from there. He wants to lead and teach others, and to learn from the people he leads. In this community, you will never learn everything; but he will be the one trying.
×Chef Jay was born and raised in Asheville NC, but started his career in NYC when he decided to enroll in the Culinary Arts Program at The French Culinary Institute, where he graduated at the top of his class. Jay’s goal is to have fun with food and spread his passion to his crew and the new industry people coming up.
×Deeply rooted in Southern tradition with a contemporary approach to locally sourced ingredients, Chef Kent Graham brings an honest approach to food that is otherwise lost in technique. A Chef, a farmer, a huntsman; Kent introduces diversity to classic southern offerings. With a heavy concentration on locally sourced and crafted foods, he uses naturally raised or grown ingredients to highlight the cornerstone of his culinary philosophy - “Keep it local; Keep it fresh; Keep it simple.”
×Christy (she/her) began her cheese obsession at the tender age of 16 when she discovered a poster called “Cheeses of the World”. She’s worked at cheese counters in the U.S. and abroad, made cheese on a tiny island off the coast of Ireland, carried wheels of cheese through French Quarter alleys to reach New Orleans chefs, competed in the Cheesemonger Invitational, and became one of only 47 people to hold the American Cheese Society’s most advanced cheese certification.
×With four locations in Asheville including three taprooms and a fine dining restaurant, Wicked Weed shows no signs of slowing down. They continue to grow while focusing on innovation, quality, and strong roots in their community of Asheville, North Carolina.
×We have been continuously innovating in the coffee industry for more than two decades—setting the standard for quality and sustainability. We don't just find good coffee, we put in the work and commitment it takes to develop great coffees.
×Farm-To-Can Craft Soda. We pride ourselves on working with Organic Roots & Fruits to create a healthier, more flavorful non-alcoholic experience for everyone in our communities.
×Marked Tree Vineyard is located on the Eastern Continental Divide between Mt. Pisgah and Tryon Peak in Flat Rock, North Carolina, in the AVA Crest of the Blue Ridge, Henderson County. Whether you are sipping wine on the Continental Divide or tasting wines by the ghost house, a marked tree is about finding your path. Marked Tree is a point along the road, a moment to reflect, a marker in life.
×Created by friends, UKIAH was born out of a true passion for Japanese soul food and southern BBQ (with a good cocktail on the side!)
×We were born on a bike. The rest is history. For almost 30 years we have crafted beers while proving that business can be a force for good.
×When you choose Sarilla, you are also making positive change in the world! A fun, healthy and nonalcoholic beverage that is naturally energizing with a base of camellia sinensis tea leaves. We use a whole leaf brewing technology so not only are you getting a great-tasting beverage, but you are also benefiting from the antioxidants, amino acids, omegas and slow-release polyphenol naturally occurring in tea.
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Matcha Nude exists because finding organic, pure matcha that tastes good, is affordable + good for the planet is actually pretty hard to come by. We offer affordable premium grade organic, non-gmo matcha that is ethically sourced from Japan + is packaging in 100% compostable packaging. Our matcha is naturally soft and sweet in flavor and doesn't need additional sweeteners. We are on a mission to show the world the power of this incredible tea + the lifestyle that comes with it.
×Born 40 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, George A. Dickel was an established Nashville merchant when he entered the whisky business. Dickel grew his reputation for selling the smoothest, most mellow spirits in the region. Thus, Geo. A. Dickel & Co. was born and when the Cascade Hollow Distillery opened in 1878 in neighboring Coffee County, George Dickel bought a large share. George Dickel followed in the Scottish tradition of spelling whisky without an “e.”
×Local Bottled Spring Water from the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC
×Since 2015, our family distillery has been crafting award-winning spirits and taking them one step further. Cultivated Cocktails blends legacy with innovation, art with science. We age our spirits with care, choice oaks and unique flavors.
×Astral is made with good energy. It beams down from the sun and stars, seeps gently into the blue Weber agave, and transforms into a bright burst of citrus flavor. Every time you open a bottle of Astral tequila, that vibrancy from the sun and stars is released anew. It flows out into a salt-rimmed rocks glass, into the spaces between us, and brightens every moment.
×Tanqueray is a classic. A smooth, delicious, premium London Dry Gin.
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