Asheville, North Carolina – local, homegrown & handmade
Have you ever dreamt of a place where the soil was lush and fertile? Where the sounds and sights of nature wrap you up in it’s peaceful beauty, and then upon further exploration you find that this magical realm’s people are even more beautiful than it’s landscape. A place where the inspiring beauty of the residents is then exceeded by their charm, warmth, and talent. And this talent is frequently directed towards producing some of the best feasting fare and whistle wetters you have ever had. We had thought that scenario could only be realized in a novel or a myth, then we discovered Asheville.
Dodie Stephens of ashevilletravel, or more properly known as the Public Relations Manager for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, arranged for a Culinary Blogger Bash through their local FoodtopianSociety. She invited Alison of Humble Gourmand, Tami of Running with Tweezers, and Jaden of Steamy Kitchen to experience the culinary wonders of Asheville, North Carolina.
Jaden, being the sexy food goddess that she is, cast off her family from the trip and arranged for a few other lucky bloggers to be thrown into the mix. Helen of Tartelette, Brian of The Food Geek, and of course, lucky us (I finally got to be included on one of Diane’s trips! I promised to be on my best behavior) now had arrangements to explore Asheville, North Carolina.
Dodie had beautifully arranged for a culinary packed few days, however this utopia wasn’t limited to our excursions. She had arranged for us to stay at the incredible Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa. It was here, in their 4-Diamond restaurant Horizons, that for one evening our whole group was treated to a meal that was one of the best of either my or Diane’s life.
Although we arrived a day later than most of the gang and had missed the first day’s feasting and exploring, it felt like you could explore Asheville’s culinary scene for years and still not touch upon everything. It would be easy to rattle on about Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountain’s scenic beauty and local attractions for days, however that is what guidebooks are for. We want to share what completely made us fall in love with Asheville.
What truly was Asheville’s most endearing quality were her people and their love for food and drink. Especially when those crafted belly-goods came from within their own community. Asheville is striving towards becoming that pure ideal where nearly everything is grown, raised, or made locally and with great care and excellence. From the homegrown locals, to the imported residents, Asheville’s food love has garnered an unbelievable range of phenomenally talented people and with a community that supports it, and they are thriving.
We fell in love them them all and their stories and over the next few days we will be sharing the stories of some of the extraordinary people we were lucky enough to meet and hope you will fall in love with them as well.
So over the next week or two, we’ll begin our latest travel series, this time focused on Asheville, North Carolina and her wonderful farmers, artisans, ranchers, food producers and Chefs:
- Steve, Wake Robin Farm Breads – wood burning breads
- Dave, Farm and Sparrow – wood burning pastries
- Jaime Ager, Hickory Nut Gap Farm Meats – grass fed and finished beef, pork
- Belinda & April, Sunny Point Cafe – harvesting from their cafe garden
- Kevin, Grove Park Inn Resort – menu full of ingredients from local farmers
- Jael & Dan Rattigan, French Broad Chocolate Lounge – handmade chocolate highlighting local ingredients
- Cori & family, Spinning Spider Creamery – farmstead goat cheeses
- Local Breweries, French Broad Brewery , Highland Brewery & Brews Cruise
- Biltmore Estates Winery – mixology & wine blending
- Mark Rosenstein, The Market Place – Asheville’s slow food guru
Read our other Asheville stories
- Asheville, NC- local, homegrown and handmade
- Iron Chef Food Blogger Competition
- Wood Burning Oven Bakers – Steve Bardwell of Wake Robin Farms and Dave Bauer of Farm & Sparrow
- Follow us on Twitter
-Todd
Follow us on Twitter- @WhiteOnRice
If you like our little travel adventures and haven’t seen the posts on some of our previous gallivanting, check out our other travel essay series:
[ad]
Todd, I am so glad you were in on the trip! 🙂
Veron- Asheville is an awesome foodie paradise!
Gastronomer- We’ve got lot of stuff for you, thanks for checking back!
Louquin- Sorry to make you homesick, but it’s such a beautiful place to brag about!
Jen Yu- You’re too funny! Working for the Asheville tourism council would not be a bad day job at all!!
Paula- Great to hear that you guys ride tandem too! It’s a gorgeous place to ride, Todd kept talking about that when we were there. Maybe we’ll meet you on the road on day.
Lynn- Hope you do get out there, the food is amazing, and so fresh and healthy too.
Cheffresco- Awesome that you Dad is from there, how lucky he is.
No-L — Yes, Western North Carolina is a green and lovely place. That’s why the beautiful climate and lush valleys are perfect for farming.
Kim- Oh yes! 12 Bones was on our itinerary, but we didn’t have enough time. And of course, we were eating all day long, so no one had much appetite left. Next time!
I love Asheville. I had some of the best ribs and collard greens at a place called 12 Bones Smokehouse in the River Arts District. I wish I could have brought the whole restaurant back to Colorado with me!
Beautiful! I can’t wait to read all about it. I’ve only been to Asheville once, to the Montreat Presbyterian Conference Center, but it was a lovely place. I know they like to keep things local.
I look forward to it!! And, coming from Cali to the green that is Western North Carolina was a LOVELY change!
Noelle
I love this post! My Dad’s from Asheville & I grew up 45 minutes from there, so it’s like my second home. Highland is my favorite brewery and we may get married at Biltmore next year 🙂 I’m glad you guys had such a good time there!
Have heard great things about Asheville! Can’t wait to visit one day.
Todd, I am so glad you got to go this time!! And, what stunning photos, Diane!! 🙂
This is such a lovely and heartfelt post. You and Diane just seem like the sweetest couple. I love your stories, and especially the ones where you join up with fellow bloggers. Your big hearts and warm personalities completely outshine the food in these posts, and it is wonderful to experience.
It is extra cool that you two ride tandem like Tony and I. I now think of you guys whenever Tony and I head out on the bike.
We have been dreaming about a motorcycle trip down the eastern seaboard to experience the various food specialties and fall colors. Now, you guys have us excited about Ashville as a definite must see and do. I am looking forward to reading more about your wonderful North Carolina trip. Thank you for sharing!!
Cheers,
~ Paula
What a trip! And so happy that Todd could go too (did pups stay with D’s bro?). Very glad you got to meet Helen as I consider you three very dear friends. She raves about you both (who wouldn’t?). Asheville is a charming location. I’ve only ever explored the mountains and a local inn, but your trip shows just how deep and rich the culinary culture is over there. They ought to employ you on the tourism council 🙂 xxoo
I used to live just south of there, would go up to Asheville all the time (my mom and sister both later lived in Asheville proper). You’re making me homesick!
The South is so very charming! Can’t wait to see your Asheville culinary journey unfold.
sounds like a wonderful trip! Looks like a foodie paradise alright!
Ravenous Couple – Yes, it was an amazing food adventure for all! We’ll have them up as soon as we can.
Victoria- Thank you. It’s the lovely people of Asheville that really made the post.
The Italian Dish- How lucky you were to live so close by! It is just gorgeous and delicious there.
FoodWoolf- Whatcha waiting for?? Let’s all get tickets and get down to Asheville for another bash!
Gulp. What a delicious trip. The gorgeous photos make me wish I could have gone! The vibrant greenery, beautiful summer-craved faces and delicious plates of artisan food make me want to hop a plane and get down to Ashville sooner than later!
Can’t wait to read more!
Brooke
Boy, what a great trip! I used to live in North Carolina and love that beautiful area. I can’t wait to see your future posts on this.
What a lovely post. And I absolutely adore your new banner.
Adventures of food bloggers…can’t wait to read these as they come out!