Luxury hotels in many metropolitan tourist destinations are known for restaurant concepts that bank on high-profile celebrity chefs. But Asheville hotels, while pushing the parameters of standard hotel dining, are taking a different approach.

Luxury hotels in many metropolitan tourist destinations are known for restaurant concepts that bank on high-profile celebrity chefs. But Asheville hotels, while pushing the parameters of standard hotel dining, are taking a different approach.
Burnsville resident Ronni Lundy is the author of Victuals, An Appalachian Journey with Recipes, winner of the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards for Best Cookbook and Best American Cookbook. She reflects on what she considered to be some of the most impactful developments in the local food and beverage community in 2019. Benne on Eagle. […]
Local culinary and beverage specialists are teaming up to donate food, funds and holiday gifts to local families in need. Also: Asheville Tea Co. hosts a holiday tea and pastry pairing; Four Sisters Bakery teams up with Black Mountain Recreation and Parks; Mamacita’s Taco Temple holds a tequila dinner; and plenty more in this week’s Small bites.
Some local restaurants push culinary boundaries, with palate-challenging dishes like cricket tacos, mustard ice cream, liver pudding and more.
“For many years, the stereotype was if you were a woman in the kitchen, you would do pastry, and that was seen as a lesser thing. That perception still lingers, but I think it is changing,” says James Beard Foundation Award-winning pastry chef and Asheville native Camille Cogswell.
Chow Chow: An Asheville Culinary Event, runs Sept. 12-15. Also: Girls Gone Wine; Mr. Sushi comes to Merrimon; Monk’s Flask debuts new menu; and more in this week’s Small bites.
July marks peak season for gathering wild edible mushroom in Western North Carolina, and many tasty varieties are already popping up on local restaurant menus.
Food Waste Reduction and Recovery WNC will host its quarterly meeting in Madison County. Also: The Blind Pig presents Black Sheep; Southside Rising hosts Community Spotlight Night; 12 Bones opens its new South location; and more.
On Sunday, Feb. 24, Agya Boakye-Boaten, director of Africana Studies at UNC Asheville, will host his inaugural West African-themed dinner, Mukase, at West End Bakery and Café. Also: Cajun Cook-off returns, tickets for Asheville Bread Festival workshops go on sale and plenty more in this week’s Small Bites.
Landmark restaurants changed hands, established chefs experimented with new concepts and Asheville lost one food festival and gained a new one.
Through restaurant ventures and a nonprofit culinary training program, Asheville is finding fresh ways to celebrate its soul food legacy.