Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
A few of the big food events coming up in Asheville:
-Cocktail dinner at Social Lounge: At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, the Social Lounge at 29 Broadway in downtown Asheville will host a cocktail dinner pairing three drinks with three special dishes prepared by Chef Anthony Cerrato of Strada.
Two of the cocktails will feature two special liquors: one is Mystic Bourbon liquer, an elderflower and honey bourbon. It is a sweetened, spiced bourbon created by a Durham lawyer. Here’s a great description by newsobserver.com. A second cocktail will feature Purus vodka, an organic wheat vodka made in Italy.
The food the drinks will be paired with include a Tuscan stuffed fig, a guanciale terrine and a hazelnut panna cotta for dessert.
The kicker: the event will be held on the rooftop of Social Lounge, overlooking downtown Asheville. It’s Asheville’s only rooftop dining venue.
The event costs $35 a person, or $65 per couple. Call 348-8448 for tickets or email [email protected]. Seating is limited.
-Second annual Bacon Fest: Here’s the press release:
After selling out the 2013 inaugural event in less than 2 weeks, 105.9 the Mountain (WTMT) invites all of Western North Carolina to go hog wild again as the Mountain presents the 2nd Annual BaconFest Asheville being held in the outdoor meadow at Highland Brewing on Saturday, August 30th.
This year’s event is sure to excite the taste buds with even more bacon-inspired cuisine from some of Asheville’s best restaurants showcasing unique pork creations from classic BBQ and good old fashioned bacon to bacon sweets, bacon inspired sushi, bacon cotton candy as well as an exclusive bacon-infused beer from Highland Brewing created just for the occasion. Event attendees will vote on their favorite dishes to help crown restaurant victors in the categories of “Best Bacon”, “Most Outrageous Dish”, “Best Sweet” and “Best BBQ”.
Local restaurants taking the BaconFest Asheville culinary challenge include Chop House, The Southern Kitchen & Bar, Bouchon, King James Public House, Lexington Avenue Brewery, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que, Chop Shop Butchery, Dickey’s BBQ, Another Broken Egg, Take Out Riverside Grill at Hot Springs Resort & Spa, Barleycorn, Foggy Mountain Brew Pub, Creekside Taphouse, Strada Italiano, Korean House, the Potato Wedge, the Social and more.
New in 2014, 105.9 the Mountain is creating the BaconFest Asheville mobile app to showcase the festival layout, allow event attendees to vote digitally for their favorite restaurants competing in culinary categories, and get access to exclusive BaconFest Asheville games and offers from event partners.
In addition to the culinary offerings, this family friendly event will feature live music from the Artimus Pyle Band, a climbing wall, “piglet call” for children 9 and under, a “pigskin” football challenge and more. Highland Brewing beer and prepackaged “take home” food items will be available for purchase.
Tickets go on sale Monday, July 28th at www.1059theMountain.com and will sell out quickly. A limited number of “early bird” General Admission tickets will be available for $10. Regular General Admission tickets are $15 and children 9 and under are free but still require a ticket for entry. General Admission access to the festival is from 1pm to 4pm.
In addition to General Admission tickets, a VIP package will be available for $25 and includes guaranteed parking at Highland Brewing, VIP only festival access from 12pm to 1pm, bacon upon arrival from Hormel Black Label Bacon, and a BaconFest Asheville swag bag. Attendance will be capped at just over 2000 people. A portion of the proceeds from BaconFest Asheville ticket sales will benefit Blue Ridge Food Ventures.
Other BaconFest Asheville partners include Paramount Kia of Asheville, Eddie’s Dog House, Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College, Earthfare, the National Guard, Mad Vapes, and Asheville Festivities. For questions on BaconFest Asheville, contact Nikki Mitchell, Events and Promotions Director for 105.9 the Mountain, at (828) 210-8546. All details on this event can be found at www.1059theMountain.com.
-Celebrity Chef Tour coming to Asheville in September: The Celebrity Chef Tour is coming to Asheville on Sept. 10. Chef William Dissen at The Market Place will host the event. More:
Celebrity Chef Ashley Christensen (2014 James Beard Winner), Celebrity Chef Anthony Llamas, Elliott Moss, and Dan Rattigan (French Broad Chocolate Lounge) will all be joining the team for an amazing dinner/cocktail event. In addition, we will be bringing in a celebrity mixologist, Sara Strom.
The event benefits the James Beard Foundation, provides further recognition to Asheville as a “foodie destination”, and honors our local chefs and gives them more exposure nationwide.
There are only 100 ticketed seats to this event, and I hope you will consider in joining us that evening. We have already sold several tickets, I don’t have the number with me, however I can say if you want to attend you should buy them now.
Tickets for the event are $175 – this will not be for everyone, and I understand. Please remember we are supporting our local chefs and the James Beard Foundation.
