One of America's favorite country inns, Blackberry Farm, in the Smokies of eastern Tennessee, is about to open a lavish culinary center (with cheese, bread, jams, etc., all made on the spot) that will be tied into a real working farm. With new rooms, and a 200-year-old barn as the centerpiece, the FarmStead promises to be as big a regional mecca for sustainable food and agriculture as Stone Barns in New York's Hudson Valley. We jumped on the story when we learned that Blackberry was moving in this direction, and you can now read all about it in the current issue of Gourmet ("Tennessee Waltz," July 2007). There was just one problem: Until last week, the resort hadn't signed up a chef to run its second restaurant, which will be inside the old barn and serve only food that is produced on the FarmStead— not just fruits and vegetables but all meats, poultry, fish, and game. That all changed today with the hiring of Peter Glander, from New York's Modern restaurant, where he had been working under Gabriel Kreuther as executive sous chef. Glander's real job, he says, was "sourcing for Gabriel, which I've been doing for the past eight years. I dealt with local farmers, trying to get them to grow things exclusively for The Modern. I've been a forager. I've even picked things in Central Park." On his new job at Blackberry, he says: "I'm a farmer myself, from Indiana. This job is for me."
Blackberry Finds a 'Country' Chef in the Middle of Manhattan
06.25.07
- Keywords
- william sertl,
- sustainability,
- agriculture,
- chefs
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