Our Trial to Table events are a chance for us to showcase crops and varieties from our farm trials via the talented hands of local chefs. We challenge our chefs to be inspired by our farm trials and to be creative with their dishes. The food is always delicious and our hope is that your experience something new and begin to rethink what our regional food system can offer.
Our Trial to Table events are fun and casual events, but arrive early to make sure you get to sample all the dishes.
A beautiful event space in downtown Asheville, North Carolina
We encourage you to bring your own fork and spoon and cup (bamboo and recyclable options will be available).
Michelle Bailey
Appalachian Dolma: Carolina gold rice, sea island red peas, pickled heirloom sweet potatoes and charred green garlic wrapped collard leaves, black garlic yoghurt, sugar rush pepper sauce.
Ceviche: Hibiscus cured trout, sochan chimichurri, pickled dahlia tuber & water chestnut relish, sweet potato crema on bibb lettuce
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Chef Ophus
Boiled Cassava: Mirin and turmeric with Cuban mojo
Creamy Broken Rice & Taro Grits: Green garlic, pickled collards, toasted okra and benne seeds.
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Erin Hughes
Yacon and apricot cake with okra seed coffee cream and hazelnuts
Michelle Bailey is Executive Chef/Co-owner at Smoky Park Supper Club (@smokypark) where the menu showcases her mastery of wood-fired cooking and highlights the abundance of local/sustainable products sourced from our large community of farmers and foragers. Before joining the founding team at Smoky Park Supper Club, Bailey served as Executive Chef at The Highland Lake Inn Resort, The Marketplace Restaurant and The Venue.
This WNC raised chef has been working in restaurants since she was 14 years old. Sher earned her culinary arts degree from AB Tech Community College and was a gold medal recipient in the national ACF student competition. She also won the WNC Fire on the Rock Competition Dining Series and was a Semi-Finalist in the Final Fire Competition Dining Series. Most recently, Bailey competed in the Pig Island NYC whole hog cooking competition where she and her teammates were awarded best dish.
Erin is Pastry Chef of both @leos_houseofthirst and @theadmiralasheville, where she puts whimsical spins on seasonally inspired classic desserts. She grew up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and in 2010 she graduated from the University of Oregon with two B.A. degrees. Although she had always enjoyed baking, it was during her time in college that Hughes realized that baking was her passion and went on to pursue a career in pastry in Portland, Oregon. During her time in Portland, she worked for James Beard winner Gabriel Rucker at Little Bird Bistro for many years, as well as Bakeshop, Coquine, and Andina. In 2019 Erin moved to Asheville with her husband Austin Inselmann, who is the chef at Leo’s House of Thirst. In her free time, Hughes can be found gardening, hiking, seeing live music, and trying new restaurants. Hughes was selected as one of FSR Magazine’s 40 Restaurant Stars on the Rise in 2017.
Cellarest Beer Project: Persimverance – Smoked Harvest Lager – 4.8%
(The Seed Living Beer Project Collab) Made from a base of Southern Select and pecan smoked corn from Riverbend malt house. Fermented with The Seed’s house lager yeast and naturally carbonated on Brazilian Amburana wood and NC foraged persimmons.