Culinary Arts & Traditions Chef Events

PRE-FESTIVAL KICKOFF EVENTS

WEDNESDAY 7/20

7:30 pm Chef Chat: Broadening the Story We’ve Been Given

Barter Theatre * 127 West Main St. Abingdon For tickets visit https://bit.ly/ChefChat2022

Moderated by Ronni Lundy and featuring Travis Milton & Ian Boden with special guest, Lori Briscoe of Appalachian Teas and Botanicals.

THURSDAY 7/21

7:30 pm An Appalachian Supper: Broadening the Story We’ve Been Given

Hickory at Nicewonder Farms * 22010 Nicewonder Drive Bristol, VA

Prepared by Chefs Travis Milton, Edward Lee and Ian Boden, Narrated by Ronni Lundy.

Join us at 6:30 for a cocktail featuring a custom-blended, bio-regional, tea cocktail by Appalachian Teas & Botanicals and Chef Travis Milton

Travis Milton, the executive chef of Hickory and Taste, two locally-sourced restaurants of the Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards in Bristol, Virginia has wooed three of his food compatriots to join him in offering two events.

A Chef Chat on Wednesday, July 20 at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA will be moderated by Ronni Lundy featuring Travis Milton and Ian Boden. Tickets are $50.

Ronni Lundy, the award-winning author of “Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes” (Clarkson Potter, 2016), has been writing about the food, music, and culture of the southern Appalachians and the American South for more than 30 years. She is a founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and a recipient of that organization’s Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing her work as a writer covering both food and music. Lundy is also a founder of the Appalachian Food Summit.

Chef Ian Boden of The Shack, a restaurant in Staunton, Virginia, has received critical acclaim from publications as wide-ranging as “The Wall Street Journal” to “Garden & Gun.” Ian was also awarded “Starchefs.com Rising Star” for D.C. as well as a two-time “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” for the James Beard Awards.

On Thursday, July 21, Chef Edward Lee will join his friends to present An Appalachian Supper for guests at the brand-new Hickory Restaurant located in the vineyard at Nicewonder Farms in Bristol, VA.

Edward Lee is the Chef/Owner of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, KY and the Culinary Director for Succotash in National Harbor, Maryland and Succotash Prime in Penn Quarter, DC. Chef Lee was the recipient of the 2019 James Beard Foundation Award for Writing for his book “Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine.” In 2018, Chef Lee launched The LEE Initiative, which works to bring more diversity and equality to the restaurant industry. In 2021, Chef Lee won the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for his work with The LEE Initiative.

The July 21 Appalachian Supper allows each chef to present a course for guests. These friends share a commitment to placed-based cuisine which means they highlight Appalachian food and how it absolutely “guides how we cook”. In a recent phone call with the chefs they said, our region is not “sexy like Charleston, or heavy like Texas. We’ve got a certain grit.” Ronni lovingly describes Appalachian food as having a “whang”.

Ronni, who clearly is a sort of mother figure for Milton, Boden, and Lee sees a great connection between what may otherwise look like a diverse group. In fact, she is the connection. She sought out each chef during her research for various projects. All have an appreciation for the same flavor profiles, and for the importance and significance of food preservation represented by Boden’s Eastern European Jewish heritage, Lee’s Korean American perspective, and both Lundi’s and Milton’s distinct Appalachian backgrounds.

Ronni Lundy says “we (and many chefs of this region) are broadening the story we have been given about Appalachia.” Those who want to learn more about this evolving story and the significance of our region in the culinary world will not be disappointed.

Tickets to the Chef Chat at Barter Theatre are $50 each and tickets to An Appalachian Supper at Hickory Fine Dining are $160 each. Those who attend the Supper will receive a signed copy of “Buttermilk Graffiti” by Edward Lee. Those who attend the Chat and the Supper will save $10 on the bundle and additionally receive a signed copy of “Victuals” by Ronni Lundy.

Please check VaHighlandsFestival.com daily as summer events are being added daily.

The Virginia Highlands Festival has been elevating and broadening the story of the Appalachian region with events celebrating creatives and artists of all kinds highlighting craftsmanship, outdoor recreation, local history, fine arts, performing arts, and youth since 1949. This cultural experience like none other in the country has continued to grow in size and scope to become a destination for tourists and a beloved regional cultural resource for the arts, history, and culture of Southwest Virginia and beyond.