Chef Jill (Wasilewski) Heaton‘s decision to close her 7-year-old Arden restaurant in October 2023 wasn’t easy. But the popularity of Ivory Road and several years of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath had taken a toll. “It was too much for one owner,” she says.
Since then, she turned the stone cottage into an events and rental space where she has hosted dinners, pop-ups, brunches and other “little things here and there.” She also married her longtime partner Zach Heaton — they are expecting their first child in October. And this summer, Jill Heaton joined fellow chef and Utopian Seed Project (USP) culinary and development director Terri Terrell in representing Asheville in the eighth annual N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) Chef Showdown grande finale on Aug. 26 in Durham, N.C.
After making it through the event’s preliminary and regional rounds, Heaton was named one of five pastry finalists and won the People’s Choice award for Best Dessert. (She received the same award in 2023.)
“The purpose of the competition is to showcase North Carolina ingredients,” she explains. “It’s the dead of summer, so corn is everywhere. It worked well in my dessert.”
Her dish was a sweet corn crème brûlée on graham cracker cake with basil-marinated peaches and saffron milk crumble. She sourced the corn, cream, eggs, basil and peaches in North Carolina for her 500 grand finale mini brûlées, with her husband helping as sous chef.
In the few weeks before she adds the role of mama to her resume, Heaton will be one of four chefs cooking for USP’s next Trial to Table event on Saturday, Sept. 14 (see next item). Also on the calendar are a wine dinner with Mountain Brook Vineyards on Thursday, Sept. 19, and a bourbon dinner with Two Trees Distilling on Thursday, Sept. 26, all at Ivory Road.
Terrell was one of only two women among the Showdown’s 15 Savory Chef finalists and the only savory chef from Asheville to move on from the pool of 64 competitors at the April preliminary round, where she won Best Dish. “It was a really big deal for me that I got so far,” she says.
Terrell sourced nearly all of her ingredients from USP. Aside from the personal accomplishment, she says, it was exhilarating to spotlight the nonprofit’s mission, products and founder, Chris Smith — as well as heirloom corn from Asheville chef Luis Martinez’s Tequio Foods. “I got to show and tell people that had never heard about Utopian Seed Project all about it. That was the big win,” says Terrell.
The dish that took her to the finals was collard-wrapped North Carolina catfish tamales with tomato gravy. Highlighting USP’s crop diversity work, the creation also included alternative summer greens beurre blanc (made with fig, tomato, sochan and shiso leaves); a succotash featuring tomato aspic, rainbow corn and “promiscuous” peas (genetically diverse Southern peas); corn silk crackling; and okra seed chili crisp.
“I made 500 minitamales for the finals and tied each one,” she says. “I was proud to challenge myself and showcase Utopian Seed Project.”
Ivory Road is at 1854 Brevard Road. For a calendar of Heaton’s events, visit avl.mx/e3z. For more on Terri Terrell, visit avl.mx/e45.
Seed to table
The fourth of the Utopian Seed Project’s five 2024 Trial to Table events produced by Terrell will take place Saturday, Sept. 14, 4:30-7 p.m., at Ivory Road with desserts by Heaton.
Each Trial to Table highlights one of the nonprofit’s trialed crop products, inviting participating chefs to avail themselves of over 50 items in the USP pantry to create two dishes each — resulting in eight tapas-sized plates for attendees.
Chefs Yunanda Wilson (aThoke Lay Burmese pop-ups), Awo Amenumey (Eh’vivi Ghanian pop-ups) and Erica “Shorty” Simhoff (Bun Intended) will use bitter melon to make two savory dishes each; Heaton will incorporate it into two desserts. There will also be a tasting table and bitter melon cooking demo.
Drinks will be available for purchase. Tickets are a suggested $50 per person with a pay-what-you-can option.
Ivory Road is at 1854 Brevard Road. For tickets, visit avl.mx/e44.
Fair food
It’s that time of year when the scent of funnel cakes and corn dogs wafts all across the U.S. At the 30th annual N.C. Mountain State Fair, which kicked off Sept. 6 and continues through Sunday, Sept. 15, attendees will find those tasty treats and more in the food area adjacent to the midway. But N.C. Department of Agriculture spokesperson Ellerslie McCue urges fairgoers to also walk on over to the Got to Be NC Pavilion, which has been supersized this year.
Inside the Chevrolet Davis Arena, guests can sample and purchase nearly 40 value-added, made-in-North Carolina products from companies such as Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Baste sauces and seasonings, Carolina Gold Oils and Light of the Moon baked goods.
Additionally, there are 20 North Carolina food vendors parked on the food truck alley, including Blunt Pretzels, Umami, Glazed and Infused, and MeMa’s Chick’n & Ribs. “Just follow the wood smoke,” McCue says.
The fair is at the WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher. For information, visit avl.mx/e3u.
All Day Darling plans Oakley eatery
Chef Jacob Sessoms recently announced plans to add an Oakley location to his Montford restaurant, All Day Darling.
The Montford location will celebrate the upcoming launch with a party Saturday, Sept. 14, 5-9 p.m., featuring barbecue and picnic dishes, items prepared in the house pizza oven, wine and cocktails.
Construction on the Oakley eatery will begin in early 2025 with the goal of opening by the end of that year, according to a media statement. The specific location has not yet been disclosed.
All Day Darling is at 102 Montford Ave. Learn more at avl.mx/cbk.
Oktober in September
Fonta Flora Brewery invites you to raise a stein and say “prost!” at its eighth annual Oktoberfest, Saturday, Sept. 14, noon-9 p.m. at Whippoorwill Farm in Nebo. There will be German-inspired dishes from the Fonta Flora kitchen, Bavarian soft brezels by Underground Baking Co., music from the Steubenville Tootlers Polka Band 3-6 p.m., the popular stein-holding contest at 5 p.m. and, of course, plenty of beer. Lederhosen and dirndl finery is encouraged. Admission is free.
Whippoorwill Farm is at 6751 N.C. 126, Nebo. For more information, visit avl.mx/e3n.
Sow & Grow Fest
The Organic Growers School (OGS) will host Sow & Grow Fest on Saturday, Sept. 14, noon-5 p.m. at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. The event includes a plant and seed share, interactive gardening demonstrations, tomato tastings, vendors, music by Laura Blackley and Ashley Chambliss, and family-friendly activities. The festival is free, but preregistration is required.
To raise funds for OGS’ Grow for Good Fund, which supports farmer training programs and scholarships, the festival will include a community potluck 1-2 p.m. featuring farm-fresh dishes made by farm program students, board, staff and partners. Visitors can buy a ticket for the potluck ($20 suggested donation) or bring a shareable dish instead.
Hickory Nut Gap Farm is at 57 Sugar Hollow Road, Fairview. For more information and to register, visit avl.mx/e3l.
Wilson Community Garden offers dinner, show
Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain marks two decades of growing produce for the community and providing space for residents to garden with a 20th-anniversary celebration on Sunday, Sept. 22, 5-8 p.m., at White Horse Black Mountain. The event includes dinner prepared by local restaurants and gardeners, a cash bar, silent auction, raffle, live music and an original play from community theater playwright and director Jerry Pope.
Proceeds will provide financial support for the garden’s interns and seed money for a new structure to replace the current barn. Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Student (college and K-12) tickets are $25. Children 6 years and younger are admitted free.
White Horse Black Mountain is at 105 Montreat Road, Black Mountain. For more information, visit avl.mx/e3p.
Azalea Bar & Kitchen blooms in Kenilworth
Azalea Bar & Kitchen, the two-story lounge and restaurant on the property of The Residences at Biltmore hotel in Kenilworth, has opened its outdoor patio with sunshades and heaters. A new culinary team has refreshed the elevated-casual dinner menu, which will shift seasonally around staples including deviled egg sliders, fried green tomatoes, a tempeh and black bean wrap, and Chef John’s Shogun Burger with pickled apple slaw and shoyu glaze.
Azalea Bar & Kitchen is open for dinner 3-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and brunch 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 5 Caledonia Road. For more information, visit avl.mx/e31.
Botanist & Barrel founder honored
Wine Enthusiast’s Future 40 Tastemakers class of 2024 list is out, and Botanist & Barrel Cidery & Winery co-founder/COO Lyndon Smith is in. The magazine says honorees are recognized for “changing the wine, spirits, beer, cider and cannabis spaces for the better,” describing Smith as “a mad fermentation scientist.”
B&B, which has a farm and production facility in Cedar Grove, was founded in 2017 by Smith; his wife, Amie Fields; and his sister Kether Smith and her husband, Derric McGuffey. They opened their downtown Asheville tasting room and bottle shop in 2021.
The B&B tasting room is at 32 Broadway. Learn more at avl.mx/e46.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sept. 10 to note that All Day Darling’s Saturday, Sept. 14, event will feature items from the restaurant’s pizza oven.
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