Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Eat, Sip and Be Merry

Third Annual Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival April 10 to 13

Story by Anna Oakes

The third annual Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival is set for Thursday to Sunday, April 10 to 13, in Blowing Rock. Sponsored by the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce, the event features an amateur winemaking competition, cooking classes, vintners’ dinners, wine tastings, seminars and a chef’s challenge.

“It’s just bigger,” said Stephanie Keener, membership services director for the Blowing Rock Chamber, about this year’s festival. “We have a greater variety of wines, but we still feature North Carolina wineries and wines prominently.”

Formerly the Blue Ridge Wine Festival, the event has “Food” added to the name this year.

“We’re trying to really show off our wonderful restaurants that we have here in Blowing Rock,” Keener said.

The Commercial and Amateur Wine Competition starts the festivities off on Thursday, April 10, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Judging will take place at Highlands Blowing Rock and the public is invited to observe. The festival organizers invited wineries and amateur winemakers from across the country to submit their creations for judging by April 1. Any commercial wine entered must use at least 70 percent North Carolina-grown grapes. The winning wines will be displayed at the Grand Tasting event at Chetola on Saturday, April 12, from noon to 4:00 p.m.

Later on Thursday evening, an Uncork the Festival ceremony, hosted by Davis Imports, takes place at Crippen’s Country Inn. Executive Chef James Welch will prepare hors d’oeuvres complemented by Argentinean wines, and rock band Dark Side of the Boone will perform. Tickets are $35.

Closing out Thursday evening is a fundraiser benefiting Wine to Water, a nonprofit organization helping provide clean water to impoverished locations in the world. The 10:00 p.m. event at The Meadowbrook Inn includes a silent auction, DJ, open bar and selection of wines. Admission is $5.

On Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, downtown merchants will join in the festival by hosting silent auctions, book signings, specials and other events.

Cooking classes and seminars are scheduled for Friday, April 11, and will be held at various business and restaurant locations in Blowing Rock. Classes include a sparkling wines seminar at The Inn at Ragged Gardens, food and wine pairing at Maple Lodge, California basics at the Village Inn and Hillwinds Inn, wines of Argentina at the Hillwinds Inn, vintage delights at The Inn at Ragged Gardens and a live, interactive cooking show by Chef James at Crippen’s. Tickets to the Chef James Live event are $35.

A gallery stroll takes place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday evening, featuring the Bob Timberlake Gallery, Bolick Pottery and Traditions Pottery, silversmith Gaines Kiker, Iago, Main Street Gallery, Morning Star Gallery, Rock Gallery, Upstairs Gallery and Lyons Realty. For a free map, visit the Blowing Rock Visitors Center at 7738 Valley Boulevard.

The Vintners’ Dinners begin at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Several fine dining establishments will be paired with specific wines and vineyards. The chefs will prepare five- to seven-course menus with a different wine selected for each course. Complete menus are available at the festival website.

Participating restaurants on Thursday include Dominic’s Table at The Inn at Crestwood, with Yadkin Valley wines by Shelton Vineyards; and the Library at Green Park Inn, with wines from Dionysus Distributors. Friday’s dinners are at The Gamekeeper, with Italian wines from Wilson Daniels Importers and Skyland Distributing; The Manor House at Chetola Resort, with wines by North Carolina’s Childress Vineyards; Crippen’s, with Napa Valley wines from Cult Wine Central; Gideon Ridge, with French-inspired wines from Gruet Winery in New Mexico; and the Library at Green Park Inn, with wines from Dionysus Distributors. Contact the individual restaurants for reservations.

On Saturday, April 12, the day begins with Painting in the Vineyard, a watercolor painting workshop hosted by local artist Norma Suddreth, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The $40 cost includes all supplies, and participants will leave with a painting ready to frame.

At noon on Saturday, the Grand Tasting, the “pinnacle of the Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival,” begins and lasts until 4:00 p.m. at Chetola Resort. More than 100 wines from around the world will be available for tasting. Artists will perform live music in the tasting tent all day. Artist Bob Timberlake will appear from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door and $10 for designated drivers. Shuttles will provide transportation from the Shoppes on the Parkway parking lot to Chetola Resort.

From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday is the Fire on the Rock Chef’s Challenge, an Iron Chef-style cooking competition between some of the area’s best chefs. Tickets to the event at the Hayes Performing Arts Center are $10.

A High Country Writers Book Fair takes place Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m. at the Hayes Performing Arts Center. Enjoy refreshments and book signings with local authors Maggie Bishop, Judith Geary, Bart Bare, Dick Graham, Bill Kaiser, Earl LeClaire, Rose Senehi, Nora Percival and Donna Warmuth.

On Saturday night, a private home in Blowing Rock will be the site of a VIP International Wine Gala from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, The Todd Wright Quartet presents Wine, Women and Sinatra, an evening of jazz at the Hayes Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

The weekend ends on Sunday, April 13, with a Champagne Brunch, fashion show and the finale of the Chef’s Challenge. At Canyons Restaurant and the Blowing Rock Grille, enjoy a champagne brunch from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Call the restaurants for reservations. Ciao Bello at The Meadowbrook Inn hosts a brunch and Couples Fashion Show from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with men’s and women’s fashions by J.W. Tweeds. Tickets are $26. The Chef’s Challenge fourth heat and finale takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Hayes Center.

To purchase tickets to Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival events or for more information, including specific event times and ticket prices, call 828-295-7851 or click to www.blueridgewinefestival.com.

Want To Go?

Date: Thursday to Sunday, April 10 to 13
Time: various times
Location: downtown Blowing Rock
Cost: various tickets prices

Iron Chef of the High Country

Fire on the Rock Chef’s Challenge April 11 and 12

Story by Anna Oakes

The second annual Fire on the Rock Chef’s Challenge—one of the most exciting events of the Blue Ridge Food and Wine Festival—takes place Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, at the Hayes Performing Arts Center in Blowing Rock.

The Chef’s Challenge is an Iron Chef-style cooking competition in which local chefs are pitted against one another, tasked with creating a multi-course meal from a secret ingredient. Three heats are on Saturday and one is on Sunday.

The first contest begins at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, when Chef Will Burrell of Ciao Bello at The Meadowbrook Inn competes against Chef Jordan Allen of Pssghetti’s Homemade Italian Restaurant. At 1:00 p.m., Chef James Welch of Crippens Country Inn & Restaurant—last year’s winner—meets Chef Michael Foreman of Bistro Roca. And at 4:00 p.m., Chef Michael Barbato of The Manor House at Chetola Resort challenges Executive Sous Chef Danny Bock of Jackson’s Dining Room at the Broyhill Inn.

The Sunday heat, beginning at 10:00 a.m., is between Chef Shane Cox of The Best Cellar at the Inn at Ragged Gardens and Chef Chuck Nelson of Storie Street Grille. The chefs with the two highest scores will compete for the title of grand champion during the Fire on the Rock Finale at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The judges are Jane Garvey, an Atlanta-based freelance writer, John Batchelor, food critic for the Greensboro News and Record, and Matt Tunnel from the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Jimmy Crippen, owner of Crippen’s, is the master of ceremonies for the event.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture is a sponsor of the event, and North Carolina farmers will provide all of the food the chefs will use in the competition.

The Blowing Rock Fire and Rescue Departments will facilitate the event and provide fire watch protection during the competition. The fire department will be selling T-shirts with proceeds benefiting local fire and rescue services.

Tickets to the Chef’s Challenge are $10 each day. Shuttles will transfer people from the Grand Tasting at Chetola to the Chef’s Challenge at the Hayes Center. For tickets or more info, call 828-295-7851 or click to www.blueridgewinefestival.com.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center, Blowing Rock
Cost: $10 each day

Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival Schedule

Here’s a schedule of the many events at the Blue Ridge Food & Wine Festival, but be sure to click to www.blueridgewinefestival.com for complete event info, locations and ticket prices.

Thursday, April 10

4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Commercial and Amateur Wine Competition

6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Uncork the Festival Ceremony

7:00 p.m. Vintners’ Dinners: Dominic’s Table, Green Park Inn

10:00 p.m. Wine to Water Fundraiser

Friday, April 11

11:00 a.m. Chef James Live

11:00 a.m. California Basics

12:00 p.m. Basics of Food and Wine Pairing

1:00 p.m. Sparkling Wines of the World

1:30 p.m. Chef James Live

2:00 p.m. California Basics

2:00 p.m. Vintage Delights

3:30 p.m. Wines of Argentina

5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Gallery Stroll

7:00 p.m. Vintners’ Dinners: The Gamekeeper, The Manor House, Green Park Inn, Crippen’s, Gideon Ridge

7:00 p.m. Wine, Dine and Dance

7:30 p.m. Cashore Marionettes

Saturday, April 12

9:30 a.m. to noon Painting in the Vineyard

10:00 a.m. Fire on the Rock Chef’s Challenge

12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Grand Tasting

12:00 to 5:00 p.m. High Country Writers Book Fair

6:00 to 9:00 p.m. VIP International Wine Gala

7:30 p.m. The Todd Wright Quartet

Sunday, April 13

10:00 a.m. Fire on the Rock Chef’s Challenge

11:00 a.m. Champagne Brunch: Canyons, Blowing Rock Grille

11:30 a.m. Brunch and Couples Fashion Show

12:00 to 5:00 p.m. High Country Writers Book Fair