Michael Sullivan
Sullivan found passion in this industry through working solely with his hands to combine the most unique spices and flavors with numerous kinds of meats creating an innovative dish. His work as a professional butcher instilled a commitment to state of the art processing, allowing Sullivan to bring high quality pork to the table.
Back for another year is the “RING OF FIRE”….
“The Ring of Fire brings something fun and different to the Grains & Grits event,” said Sullivan, a hand-crafted charcuterie and fresh sausage brand featuring heritage breed pork and locally sourced ingredients. Sullivan, known to friends and colleagues as the ‘Reverend of Fat’, is heading up the culinary aspect of the event. “It’s a unique way for attendees to be satiated while enjoying their spirit samples, but it’s also a great opportunity for chefs and distilleries to collaborate. We’re also really thrilled to have chefs joining us from not just the local area but from Nashville and Columbia and even cities outside the state like Atlanta.”
Hyrant Arakelian
Hrant was born in Lebanon (his father is Armenian and his mother a native of East Tennessee), and raised in Muscat, Oman. At a young age Hrant was invited to share in the passion his parents held for cooking, and he considers those early childhood memories of being in the kitchen, and at the table with his parents to be the primary driving force for his culinary pursuit. His family departed the Middle East for Nashville around the time of his eighth birthday, and since decided to make it his permanent home. As a young man Hrant was inspired to do a fair amount of travel. His backpacking tour through Europe as well as extended stays back in Oman, accompanied by his father, only further spurred his interest in the world’s cuisines. This diverse exposure, both at home and abroad, set the course for his professional life in the kitchen.
Upon his entry to professional kitchens, Hrant found himself working with restauranteur Randy Rayburn at long-time Hillsboro Village staple Sunset Grill. He honed his skills at Flyte World Dining & Wine, and in 2008, Hrant was offered the Sous Chef position at Zola’s. His time spent working under the local legend Deb Paquette led him to management and sous positions at the Amerigo Company and beyond. Hrant has held Sous and Executive Chef positions at Rumours East, Adeles, Butchertown Hall, The Holland House Bar & Refuge, and most recently as Chef de Cuisine at Deb Paquette’s flagship kitchen, Etch.
After almost two decades of honing his skill, Hrant and his wife Liz (industry veteran and long-standing former Beverage Director of East Nashville’s Lockeland Table) finally set out on their own project. Hrant’s passion for the family tradition and food of his childhood matched by Liz’s curious spirit for wine and libations, and their shared dream of bringing modern middle eastern food to their neighbors has delivered Lyra to East Nashville.
Jeff Carter
Carter was the executive chef at Dancing Bear Lodge for 6 years from 2007-2013. He left before the devastating fire and spent 7 years as Corporate Chef for Burleson Brands in Knoxville.
“I’m really excited to be back at Dancing Bear, in Townsend, and working with Oldham Hospitality”, says Carter. “We hit the ground running in July preparing new menu items for Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro, have pioneered the new menu at Peaceful Side Social and introduced new breakfast sandwiches at the Dancing Bean Coffee House. I am thrilled to be concentrating on building the best culinary team in Townsend.”
7140 East Lamar Alexander Pkwy
Townsend, Tennessee 37882
Local // 865.448.6000
International // 800.369.0111
DANCINGBEARLODGE.COM
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
The Old Mill Pottery House Café and Grille offers a picturesque dining experience of the Smoky Mountains. Located in the former home of Pigeon River Pottery’s founding potter, Douglas Ferguson, original stone floors line the dining room and the large stone fireplace provides warmth and atmosphere during chiller months. When weather permits ask for a table outside on the patio beside the small pond lined with cheerful plants. For lunch and dinner, we serve quality steaks, grilled salmon, fresh local trout, and Southern comfort foods. Other menu items include garden salads, made to order sandwiches, burgers, hearty homemade soups and fresh-baked breads made with wholesome grains, stone-ground at our historic Old Mill. Finish your meal with a slice of cake or pie made from scratch on site in our bakery. Come and experience our quality and our heritage and see why we are rated #1 in the Smokies on Trip Advisor.
3341 Old Mill Street, Pigeon Forge TN 37863
For Mail-orders – Toll-free 877.653.6455 (877.OLD.MILL)
For General Information – 865.428.0771
mailorder@old-mill.com
customerservice@old-mill.com
OLD-MILL.COM
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
Robbie Robinson
Pitmaster Robbie Robinson has been cooking with fire since he was a kid. Originally from Lexington, South Carolina, he began his culinary training in earnest in the kitchens of Charleston.
While living in Houston, Texas in the early 2000s, Robbie acquired his first Texas-style offset wood smoker and began his journey to unlock the subtle mysteries of smoking meats. Over the next 15 years he continued to learn and develop his own style and techniques. Robbie’s sights were set on bringing his all-wood smoked, handcrafted Texas and Carolina barbeque and artisan quality sides to the people of Lexington and Columbia.
In 2015 City Limits Barbeque (food truck) was born and service after service, they have been building a growing demand for his style of high quality barbeque and scratch-made sides week after week.
Wesley Fulmer
Born and raised in Prosperity, S.C., Chef Wesley Fulmer took the helm at Motor Supply Co. Bistro in Columbia, S.C., in Spring 2014. Featured in The Local Palate magazine and mentioned by Food & Wine Magazine online and Okra magazine, Fulmer and his culinary team have led Motor Supply to the number five spot in Southern Living’s 2019 readers’ poll of The South’s Best Restaurants. Fulmer and his team have also led Motor Supply to garner all three major local readers’ choice awards for “Best Restaurant” in 2015-2019 (The State, Free Times and Columbia Metropolitan Magazine) along with Chef Fulmer winning Best Chef in 2019’s Free Times Best of Columbia. In Spring 2017, Chef Fulmer was one of the featured chefs at Columbia’s first-ever James Beard Foundation benefit dinner. After honing his craft in the James Beard Award-winning kitchens of celebrity chefs (Restaurant August, New Orleans and Susanna Foo, Philadelphia), with stints in Boulder, CO and education in France, Fulmer served as Sous Chef at the luxe Atlantic Room at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort. In Fall 2019, Chef Fulmer was featured in an episode of the Very Vera show, sharing recipes with viewers across the Southeast.
920 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Phone // 803.256.6687
MOTORSUPPLYCOBISTRO.COM
Puckett’s roots stretch way back to the 1950’s and a little grocery store in the village of Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Ever since then we’ve been focused on providing friends, new and old, with great food and Southern hospitality. Six restaurants later, that aim still rings true. Puckett’s has built a name on hosting live, local musical acts and serving Southern staples. Authentic comfort food classics, like the meat-and-three and our famous slow-smoked BBQ, in a laid-back and down-home atmosphere is what we aim for you to remember. We hope you’ll come visit us soon!
Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson began his culinary pursuits learning country cooking from his grandmother and mother in Asher, OK. After attending OSU, he moved to NYC to work for The Riesse Organization in their new TGIFriday’s division. To further his culinary knowledge he attended Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Following graduation in 1995 he returned to Oklahoma, with his family, to teach at OSU in the Culinary Arts department.
Through his association with OSU he met and began to work for Hal Smith of Hal Smith Restaurant Group as their Executive Chef. He has developed the menus for some of the companies most successful concepts, including Charleston’s Restaurant, Mahogany Prime Steakhouse, Redrock Canyon Grill, Upper Crust, Mama Roja, Louie’s and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill. Recently he developed the menu for the highly popular Neighborhood JAM, a breakfast/lunch concept, as well as, Jimmy B’s Culinary + Krafted. In 2007, Brad purchased the spice company, The Allen Oliver Group, from Allen Oliver, and has successfully built the company to one of the favorites among BBQ restaurants across the country.
Lulu Liquor Cakes are specialty cakes that are alcohol infused. Laura LaRue and her family are an awesome local family who came up with an amazing, unique and special desert that is superbly delicious! Through hard work they are now officially a small business. They take great pride in offering gourmet cake jars made with plenty of classic cocktail combinations and the freshest ingredients.
There are so many fun flavors to check out.
William Carithers
Although he was born and raised in Atlanta, William has been a proud Knoxvillian for 15 years. William grew up in a family that loved and valued food. Instead of eating to live, William and his familied lived to eat. Saturday mornings always included a trip to the local butcher shop- memories that would later influence William’s decision to earn a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales Culinary School of Charleston, SC. He also studied under a French Master Butcher with 45 years of experience. In 2002, William opened his first butcher shop on Bearden Hill. Then, after a brief hiatus, he continued his passion by opening Willy’s Butcher Shop in the heart of Bearden. Deeply passionate about his craft, William’s mission is providing quality meats to serve as a canvas for professional chefs and discerning home cooks as they create their own culinary masterpieces. When he’s not busy at the shop, William serves on the UT Culinary Board and participates in the Creekstone Meats’ “Cure Camp,” sharing his expertise with students, professional chefs and future butchers.
5115 Homberg Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone // 865.200.4118
WILLYSBUTCHERSHOP.COM
Jeremy Waybright
Jeremy Waybright serves as the Executive Chef for Butcher & Bee in Charleston, SC. Waybright, who describes himself as an inquisitive chef through-and-through, has traveled within the domestic cooking scene for almost 25+ years, before landing in Charleston.
He found inspiration in mentors such as Alain Jacqmin at Le Chambord, Chef Donna Chriszt of OZ Bar & Bistro and in D.C. restaurateur Bryan Voltaggio at Range and Voltaggio Brothers Steak House, whose American-influenced styles encouraged him to not be bound by the rules of cooking, and served as a reminder of how incorporative, playful and diverse cooking can be – a style he embodies still today. Waybright made his way to the Washington, DC area, working in several roles before serving as the opening executive chef at Boss Shepherd’s where he received high accolades. To Waybright, what defines his cuisine is its blend of outside influences paired with an abundance of domestically available ingredients. He admits to a special affinity for coastal and southern cooking.
Kevn Minnick
Originally from Dayton Ohio, The culinary arts have always interested him. Even at a young age he recalls watching Julia child and the Galloping Gourmet quite regularly.
Starting as a dishwasher, at the age of 16. Kevn has held almost every back of house position. Along the way he has also served and bartended in the restaurant industry. But, quickly realized his passion and talents are best suited in the kitchen.
After relocating in ‘97 to Quincy, IL (The Gem City) to attend college and play football at Quincy University. Kevn finished up his undergraduate education at Oklahoma state University with an BFA and a concentration in ceramics.
For Kevn his strengths in art are expressed and represented best, similarly to how artists and sculptors encapsulate their values into their pieces.
After college he worked in various corporately owned, as well as some individually owned restaurants.
Kevn took the “leap of faith” in 2011 and opened the doors to his own restaurant, The Maine Course. A small, quaint, 11 table restaurant in downtown Quincy, IL. The Maine Course is rated as one of the top 11 whiskey bar /restaurants in the state of Illinois and has a menu that is forever changing but focuses on New American style cooking.
626 Maine Street, Quincy, IL
Phone // 217.222.6244
MAINECOURSEQUINCY.COM
Azul Cantina puts a flavorful twist on traditional Tex-Mex dining using wood-fire grilling methods in traditional Mexican cooking styles with roots from South America to Texas. Our recipes are made from scratch with authentic ingredients and pair well with our homemade cerveza-style lager and handcrafted cocktails featuring top-shelf tequilas and our own Agave distilled spirits. The welcoming atmosphere is felt through bright decor, friendly staff, and beautiful views from the first rooftop bar in Pigeon Forge, TN.
2655 Teaster Ln, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Phone // 865.409.5852
Koltan Swadley
The Swadley’s story begins with my Grandfathers, two tenacious Texas feed salesmen and hay hustlers. My paternal grandfather, “Pop”, traveled across Texas hawking Swift Feed. My maternal grandfather, Sig, was in the same business, and that’s how the two of them met – making deals with farmers and ranchers, bargaining for boxcars full of hay, and doing their part to fatten Texas cattle (or tomorrow’s burgers, brisket and steak, depending how you look at it).
Can you guess what these two were eating in their long travels across Texan frontiers? Burgers, pie, and – you guessed it – great BBQ.
As a young country boy, I got to see my grandmothers’ diners in action. I saw the same people come in, day after day, not just for the patty melt or the pie, but for the conversation, the friendliness and the familiar faces. And let me tell you, I absorbed that southern hospitality down into my bones!
I also was blessed to have a grandfather with an insatiable hunger for great BBQ, and he’d load me in his pickup and drive me across Texas, hunting down the world’s best smoked meats in the most remote spots. I’ve seen just about every roadside pit and hand-built smokehouse in Texas, and that’s where I first learned how real BBQ was done.
Many Locations- Check them out on their website
Jared Wolfe
Here at Wolfepack BBQ, we strive for our guests to get the best bbq Kansas City can offer. We offer some of the top rated BBQ slow smoked on old school offset smokers using Oak and Hickory wood.
“Everything but the bun” as we like to say, is made in-house to ensure the best meat, sides, appetizers and desserts are delivered to your table. Our idea is to keep a traditional menu for our guests but also provide daily specials that are constantly changing.
Mike Behmoiras
Chef Mike brings with him a love of food and enthusiasm for creativity in the kitchen that has been fostered from time all over the south cooking various types of cuisine. In recent years he has spent his time learning about making charcuterie and won a Good Food Award for one the products he helped create. Best Chefs America selected Chef Mike as one of the featured chefs in 2013. He has also been featured at various food shows across the south. Currently Mike is the Director of Operations for Satterfield’s BBQ in Macon, Ga.
Bobby Benjermin
Chef Bobby Benjamin recently joined forces with
Herban Market in Franklin, Tennessee as Executive
Chef. A natural pairing given their shared food philosophy
and attention to the highest quality sourcing and
craft.
Benjamin’s culinary philosophy is simple, like his food;
respect ingredients, cook with integrity and be honest
on the plate. Benjamin’s award-winning career is
marked by the common thread of creating restaurants,
approachable food, elegant in its texture and taste – all
in an inviting atmosphere.
Benjamin’s Chef career embodies a wide range of
knowledge and passion for foods; paying homage to
classic traditions, while using humble recipes and
techniques for soul-satisfying flavor.
Benjamin studied at Sullivan University’s National Center
for Hospitality Studies in Louisville, KY, where he refined
and expanded his skills by working with renowned chefs
Sean Brock, Todd Richards and Gino Angelini.
Moving to Tennessee feels like “coming home” for Chef
Bobby and his wife, Hannah (who grew up in Franklin),
and their four daughters. With the shared vision and
mission at Herban Market, his personal beliefs are taking
root in his professional world.
C Herban Market’s mission has been steadfast for the more
than seven years since it’s conception: to serve real,
honest food through organic and organically-grown
ingredients, giving keen attention to sourcing, delicately
handling each ingredient, and crafting nourishing
creations for every meal.
Herban Market was founded in 2015 by husband and
wife, Matt and Ashlea Hogancamp, to be a health food
market with fresh organic produce, grocery items, olive
oils and balsamic vinegars, health supplements, and drip
coffee. The company is still committed to the original
core mission, plus more. Now, with a booming organic
restaurant, wine bar, and coffee bar, Herban Market
continues to be led by owners plus award-winning Chef
Bobby Benjamin. It’s a one-of-a-kind place offering a
variety of the highest-quality ingredients and products in
a casual and convenient setting – now with the elevated
culinary techniques for every single menu item. This is
an exciting partnership and huge step forward for the
next chapter of how Herban Market can serve its
ever-growing organic community!
Alex Gass
I was born and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Food has always been a big part of my life. Some of my best memories are as a child helping my aunt, late mother, and grandmother prepare food for hundreds within our church and exploring the art of smoking meats with my Uncle Jim. I have been honored to be able to work through the trade of food. The journey began as a young boy working at a grass-fed organic farm all the way to making some of the most expensive plates in the area.
As a traveling chef, I was able to blend my love of food and music by catering for bands like Widespread Panic, Van Halen, and Elton John. As an Executive Chef, I have the opportunity to work with local farmers and reinvent some of my favorite meals with fresh ingredients that always make me think of home.
Food has become a way to honor those that I have lost, be creative, and connect with people. With the support of my wife, Jessica, and our kids Trinity and Jasper I have created a place to do just that every day. To me, food is joy. I am honored to be able to share this with my guests as the founding chef of Fire & Salt.
Towns End Coffee
See participation information below and contact Kim Mitchell for details.
(865) 983-2241 • kmitchell@blountpartnership.com