Edacious

Real Life Chef Work. "I'm Vivian. And I'm a chef." This is how Chef Vivian Howard starts off every episode of her Peabody award-winning PBS show, A Chef's Life. Being a chef is not glamorous. She wants you to know that. In each episode of the show she presents the real-life triumphs and tragedies behind what it takes to run a successful restaurant. That restaurant being Chef and the Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina which she owns with her husband artist Ben Knight.

Owning a restaurant is hard work. A fire breaks out mere months after opening. A customer leaves a scathing review. A beloved sous chef leaves after being part of the kitchen family for years. Ingredients run out. People call in sick. You're cooking for 500 people and the organizers bring you a fryer the size of a saucepan. This is the "glamorous" life of a chef. Not everybody becomes a celebrity. As she says during the interview, "There are more of us than there are of them." Although lately, after four years of an award-winning television program and 11 years of running a restaurant, she is quickly becoming one of them. What happens then?

For one thing, a cookbook. Her first book Deep Run Roots is only going to increase her spotlight in my opinion. It's a terrific, ingredient-driven, phonebook-sized tome celebrating the many regional ingredients from her home of Deep Run in Eastern North Carolina. Ingredients like field peas and grease-alls a rediscovered heirloom bean. Or tom thumb a type of sausage made from stuffing a pig appendix. Or turnip run-ups a plant similar to broccoli rabe that "runs up" in the spring after the turnip has been harvested. Foods Eastern North Carolinians eat often out of resourcefulness but not always well known outside the region. Vivian celebrates these foodways with old authentic recipes but also tweaks them with other ingredients to create something entirely new and different.

How does she convince locals that "new and different" is just as tasty as the steak and baked potato they crave? That's one of the challenges presented on the show, a theme which relates to the restaurant's origins. Vivian got her start cooking in New York, but when her parents told her they'd help open a restaurant but only if she came back home she couldn't resist. This prevalent theme of "country versus city" makes for compelling viewing and relates so well to the current trend of cityfolk rediscovering old "lost" Southern foodways.

No need to create drama in this show of reality, it's built in. When she presented rabbit as a future food solution in a recent episode people took sides. Some agreed, others not so much. You can't argue the fact it's much easier to raise one rabbit producing multiple litters per year resulting in 315 pounds. of edible meat. Compare that with the cost of raising one cow producing only 175 pounds. So why did the rabbit episode cause so much uproar? Watch and decide for yourself.

Her show and book present the South not as one homogenous region where only fried chicken and barbecue exist but a diverse collection of smaller areas with their own culinary traditions. I learn something with every episode, every chapter. I read the one about rutabagas twice. Finally! Something to do with the behemoths I get in my CSA share!

Vivian is traveling throughout the South promoting Deep Run Roots with a food truck! An overhauled, sometimes ornery Sara Lee truck is bringing Vivian's book and food right to you. Here are tour dates. Get your book signed, then sample some of her delicious food, including mother Scarlett's famous chicken and rice featured on the show. A culinary rock concert complete with posters and tee shirts. Her many fans line up for it all. The day I visited Chapel Hill felt like a foodie version of the Beatles. Vivimaniacs everywhere! Including this one.

It's so much better than those hoity-toity dinners where the ticket is hundreds of dollars and seats are limited to 50 people. Much more down to earth and inclusive and something I hope other chefs will consider. I applaud her courage and tenacity to hit the road and congratulate her road crew, an entire village of "food roadies" making sure this culinary concert hits every venue. And I can't wait for next season to see what road stories she shows us.

Her dedication to her region runs deep. Not only has she single-handedly revitalized Kinston with her restaurants (The Boiler Room opened in 2013), but when Hurricane Matthew put thousands in Eastern North Carolina under water for two weeks, including many hog and chicken farmers, she developed a Fish Stew Rescue while on tour! Although national news wasn't covering this tragedy befalling an already depressed economic region, dozens of restaurants participated by serving up this Eastern North Carolina specialty, including Mas and The Whiskey Jar here in Charlottesville. Of course, there is a recipe in Deep Run Roots as well.

I find it all so inspiring. Just like she is. Vivian Howard is walking the walk, celebrating her region and handing out seasoning meat to confused Brooklynites like she did on her latest episode. I howled at their confusion. Get on board people! That's gold in your hand. Get excited. Because Eastern North Carolina is the next trending foodway.

Chef Howard will be appearing for two events during Fire, Flour, Fork in Richmond next week. Sadly, they're both sold out. But you can get her book right now. Then listen to this episode. I was nervous, giddy, and honored to talk with her in equal measure. And when word got around Charlottesville? Dozens of food folks came forward offering her gifts of gratitude. Thank you SO MUCH to the many folks who brought gifts for Vivian. I honestly can't thank you enough. You should've seen her eyes go big as saucers when I walked in positively LADEN with them. It made me emotional. And so proud to be a part of my own regional food community. Maybe it will convince her to bring Sara Lee to our neck of the woods? I hope so.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen - Harrison and Jennfer Keevil donated a boat-load of gifts! Including items from: Our Local Commons, Albemarle Baking Company, Blanc Creatives, East Bali Cashews, Manakintowne Hot Sauce, Pollak Vineyards, Thibault-Jaisson champagne, Gearharts Fine Chocolates, Little Things shortbread, MV's Best Virginia Peanuts, La Vache Microcreamery, Leslie Boden Jewelry, and even Jennifer's own pepper jelly. Thanks guys!

• The Spice Diva - Phyllis Hunter came through with Castle Hill Cider Vinegar, Brava Spanish Seasoning, Wil's Bacon Rub, Harissa Paste, Ferret Industries Chutney, Peg's Salt, Melissa's Junction Rub, and Simon's Sunday Morning Spice. Thank so much Phyllis!

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Revival Work. Welcome to Sounds of the Summit, a compilation of stories, music, oral histories, and regional food studies collected during the 2016 Appalachian Food Summit in Berea, Kentucky. Back in 2013 or thereabouts, an interesting discussion developed on Facebook. Did cornbread have sugar in it? Or not? There were enthusiastic supporters on both sides, so much so a few enterprising folks decided to create a Facebook group dedicated to Appalachian Foodways. Then someone, maybe food writer Ronni Lundy, suggested we meet and discuss this important issue. Maybe over food. And fellowship. And bourbon. And more food.

With those words the first Appalachian Food Summit was born. That first year at Hindman Settlement School we had a church potluck, talked about heirloom seed saving, recorded oral histories, and listened to incredible bluegrass music. The following year saw us in Abingdon, Virginia at beautiful Heartwood, where Chef Travis Milton created a gourmet cafeteria-style meal he deemed "The Fancy Ass Picadilly" and Nancy Bruns of JQ Dickinson Salt-Works taught us all about the origins of salt mining in West Virginia. Just to name a few. Because Appalachian lessons? Stories? There were a lot. It must have been quite something because the Southern Foodways Alliance awarded AFS its John Egerton Prize in 2015.

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This year found the summit in Berea, Kentucky where the college has given us a home base in which to explore themes around regional identity, myths, and the culture of extraction for the next few years. The theme was "Routes and Roadways" and over two days dozens of authors, scholars, and foodways enthusiasts presented their findings. Appalachia is a traveled region, whether you're headed up the hill, through the holler, or just a traveler passing through. It's been that way for hundreds of years. What has changed? What hasn't? The 2016 summit attempted to find out.

And find out it did. In this episode I present seven summit speakers intertwined with my own thoughts after attending. It's a unique episode and one I had great joy creating. As they say in the movies I laughed. I cried. And in the end it reminded me why the Appalachian Food Summit remains the food cause closest to my heart. Because although I'm not always sure of my connection to the region, I always know I'm welcome to the table. Thanks so much for your support of this effort. By listening, you donate $1 to ensure the 2017 summit will be the best ever. Cheers.

FABULOUS PRIZES! Listen and win. Starting next Monday, November 14th, I'll choose one winner per week for the next five weeks. Thank you to these local business for donating:

• $50 gift certificate - Splendora's Gelato (Episode 008)
• $50 gift certificate - ThreePenny Café (Episode 051)
• $50 gift certificate - Cicchetti Bar at Tavola (Episode 026)
• 3-month pie club membership - The Pie Chest
• One dozen free apple cider doughnuts - Carpe Donut (Episode 043)

Summit Speakers - There were SO many great ones. Please check out the full lineup here. And thank you to the following musicians, storytellers, and scholars for offering up their art for this episode:

• Matt Parsons, musician.
• Robert Gipe, author of Trampoline.
• Courtney Balestier is a West Virginia writer whose interests focus on Appalachian food and culture, particularly issues of identity, belonging, and class (Episode 52).
• Silas House is a nationally bestselling writer and serves as the NEH Chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College.
• Dr. Alicestyne Turley is the Director of the Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education and is an Assistant Professor of African and African-American Studies at Berea College.
• Toni Tipton-Martin is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist and community activist who is busy building a healthier community through her books, classes, and foundation. Toni is the author of the James Beard Award-winning book, The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks.
• Ronni Lundy has long chronicled the people of the hillbilly diaspora as a journalist and cookbook author. Lundy can currently be found behind the wheel of her trusty Astrovan, touring the country with her newest critically-acclaimed book, Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes.
• Special thank you to Amy Campbell Rochelson of The Tennessee Farm Table podcast, who graciously lent me her recording of Robert Gipe's reading when my own bit the big one. Thank you Amy!
• Special thank you to our head organizer Lora Smith, without whom none of this would have been possible! You're a rockstar Lora. Thank you.

This episode is sponsored by YOU. That is, if you listen. It's only $1 and all proceeds benefit the 2017 Appalachian Food Summit. Thank you.

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Writing Work. Are West Virginia pepperoni rolls "just" bread and pepperoni? Or is it something more? Food as symbol of Appalachian identity, culture, and pride. Meet Courtney Balestier who used the word "just" as the starting point and focus of her talk at this year's Appalachian Food Summit in Berea, Kentucky where this conversation was recorded. Where most people see just a few ingredients, a simple food easy to dismiss, Courtney sees something ingenious and quite meaningful.

Courtney is a James Beard-nominated fantastic new voice in food writing and her thoughts on the devoted followers of the pepperoni roll is a big reason why. Not only did it originate in West Virginia, it's the state food. But unless you grew up there you may not have heard of it. Once you've tasted one? Expect regular cravings.

Like other regional favorites there are heated discussions as to what constitutes the proper roll. Cheese or no cheese? Sticks or medallions? No matter your preference, everyone agrees the bread must come from a handful of small bakeries in West Virginia and nowhere else. What happened when Sheetz tried to source outside the region? Why was the roll created in the first place? We talk about that as well as the interesting source behind Courtney's piece, published in Vice Munchies last year. Hear her presentation in its entirety during next week's BONUS episode, "Sounds of the Summit" to benefit the 2017 Appalachian Food Summit.

Courtney discovered food writing kind of by accident. After getting her Master's degree in Magazine Journalism from NYU she worked for Everyday with Rachel Ray, freelanced for magazines both in food and music, then came to a crossroads. Music or food? Which one drove her passions? Ultimately food because so many issues can be addressed using it as a starting point. Including Appalachian identity, a focus close to her heart.

"You don't know your identity until you leave a place." - Toni Tipton Martin, author of The Jemima Code

Courtney didn't care about Appalachian cuisine until she graduated from WVU. Although not born in West Virginia, she went to school there and feels an affinity with the region. What is her Appalachian identity? Where does she fit in? One way is through food. Everybody eats after all. I can relate. As a woman from Richmond, with relatives in the Shenandoah Valley and Appalachia, I'm not from there either. But I am. My roots are shallow but my connection to this region is as deep as the gorges I drove through on the way to the summit.

But am I allowed at the table? Or do folks with deep roots have more say in what happens in this region? Are enthusiastic transplants equally welcome? For a long time Appalachia has been a region of extraction, where folks take resources for use somewhere else. With this being the norm for so long, can folks with deep roots welcome newcomers who want to help? We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this as well as the ramifications behind Appalachia becoming the culinary world's newest darling. What happens when folks attempt to interpret Appalachian cuisine in new ways through books like Ronni Lundy's, Victuals? Are these recipes historical artifacts to be preserved or jumping off points for new creations?

Courtney has been published in all the giants: Oxford American, The New Yorker, Lucky Peach, Punch, just to name a few. Her piece "Let Us Now Retire the Whiskey Woman" was nominated for a James Beard award last year and acts as a jumping off point for a terrific discussion on the "Cool Girl" gender stereotype in the world of food. Meet the "Whiskey Woman," a stereotype that came into its own with Gillian Flynn's novel, Gone Girl. The spirits industry followed soon after with commercials starring Mila Kunis and Christina Hendricks embodying a superficial carefree-no-worries-but-can-drink-you-under-the-table woman popping up all over. Why is this bullshit? What's the difference between a Whiskey Woman and a woman who just prefers bourbon? We'll "woman-splain" in this episode. ;)

We also delve a bit into gender studies related to the world of food writing. Is it more celebrated now because more men are tackling it? Women have always excelled in this genre, but more often men win the awards. Why is that? And why isn't food writing more popular? What has been her food writing journey and what tips does she have for new writers? That's here too.

The Appalachian Food Summit is a perfect forum to present these kinds of stories. Stories that preserve history. Stories that teach and dispel long-held myths around regions of our country and its beloved foods. And it doesn't matter where you're from, all are welcome to the table. Find your way in. It's one reason this cause is so dear to me. Hear Courtney's full talk next week, Thursday, November 3rd, during my special episode, "Sounds of the Summit". It's a compilation of talks, stories, and music recorded live at this year's summit in Berea, Kentucky in September. It only costs $1 and all proceeds go towards making next year's summit the best ever. I hope you'll join me. Cheers.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• The Testosterone Takeover of Southern Food Writing - Kathleen Purvis tackles a difficult issue. Why are men winning all the awards when women have been writing in this genre longer and more often?
• Blood, Bones & Butter - Chef Gabrielle Hamilton writes about her life. One of my favorite pieces of food writing ever. She was just made food columnist for the New York Times magazine. Hooray!
• Consider the Fork - Laurie Colwin's magnificent work on this humble instrument.
• John T. Edge - Amazing food writer and one of the founders of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

This episode is sponsored by MarieBette Café and Bakery.

Sustainable Work. How does a newly transplanted chef ingratiate himself in what can be a challenging and certainly competitive market? How do you promote a fairly new restaurant when folks are still missing the one that was there before? Meet Chef Jeff Deloff of Threepenny Café who finds himself in this position. Threepenny has been open two years. So why don't more people know about it? What are the special challenges Charlottesville restaurants encounter when they open and how do they stay open? Further, how do you compete with the behemoth The Downtown Mall has become? West Main has its own special charms, but the fact remains when people visit they go to The Mall.

Never fear, Jeff loves a challenge and has the stamina, passion, and dedication to overcome these obstacles quickly becoming a resounding refrain in a region like Charlottesville with its ever-growing development and parking difficulties. Threepenny has free parking but what about the rest? One solution is to participate in community events which Threepenny does on a regular basis. The other is to have a strong mission, in this case local, fresh, organic, and sustainable food sourcing. Where other restaurants talk the talk but secretly pass items from big corporations through the back door, Jeff uses local producers and purveyors. But he's not a hard-line party activist either. There are some items you just can't get. When your mission is to serve the very best, simplest ingredients possible, you have to strike a balance. For your ideals and the restaurant's bottom line. That's the reality.

We discuss this balance at length. And dig down the rabbit hole of what exactly makes a food sustainable. Threepenny was just awarded the highest honor from Foodwaze, an app rating restaurants based on their level of responsible product sourcing. Foodwaze modeled itself after Chef Nora Pouillon's restaurant, who I interviewed for this very podcast. How hard is that level of environmental consciousness to sustain while still making a profit? We talk about the realities particularly in the area of distribution. How do misconceptions about seasonal produce fit into it all? We discuss that as well.

Threepenny sources its seafood using Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council, a rarity in the restaurant world where the bottom line is king. Did you know seafood is seasonal? Available in limited quantities? Animals are a renewable resource. You raise cattle and pigs. But you can't do that on a similar scale with seafood. Once they're gone, they're gone. Our seas are overfished and we're doing very little about it. Why are "trash fish" like mackerel, sardines, and wahoo underutilized? Pro tip: if you see mackerel on the menu, order it. It's a fragile fish that doesn't last. So if they've got it, it must be fresh. ThreePenny has it. In season of course.

Jeff's food history is long. He grew up in Hannibal, New York where his uncle worked at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House. Watching him operate the flattop, often making 10 omelets at once, ignited a passion for cooking. He began at 16 as a dishwasher, arriving for his interview in a tie. The boss hired him on the spot and became a mentor. After earning a degree from the Culinary Institute of America you'd think he'd trot off to become a celebrity in New York. But Jeff's goals are more meaningful: creating the best food using the freshest ingredients, not overworking them so they sing beautiful solos all by themselves. After tasting his lemon goat cheese gnocchi at this year's Iron Chef competition? He does that and much more.

"Salt enhances flavors, pepper changes it."

Jeff and owner Merope Pavlides work well together, seeing eye to eye on their vision for the restaurant. She gives him freedom in the kitchen to design menus and together they make sure the bottom line is met. Another important factor and potential obstacle to a restaurant's success, one this pair has overcome.

What is the hierarchy in the restaurant world? What can we do about the absurd amount of food waste occurring in restaurants all over the country? Does writing a blog for the restaurant provide as much satisfaction as cooking? How do his partnerships with local producers provide much more than ingredients? And how exactly did he prepare that delicious gnocchi in only 30 minutes? What was his game plan? We cover it all.

My favorite episodes are those where I feel the earnestness and dedication coming off the guest in waves. Ones where I leave knowing more than when I sat down. This was one of those. It was also the last time I recorded at In a Flash Laser Engraving. Thank you Sara Gould for your continuous support. Need a gorgeous office space? Contact her before someone else grabs it! Then enjoy this thoughtful episode. Cheers.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• The Unwanted Job - Chef Chris Hill talks about the importance of the dishwasher.
• The Mind of a Chef - Chef Gabrielle Hamilton discusses food waste in restaurants.
• Global Fishing Watch - An environmental group working tirelessly to eradicate overfishing in our oceans.
• Nothing in the House - Blogger Emily Hilliard profiles "Desperation Pies" and provides me with a winning pie recipe. Thanks Emily!

This episode is sponsored by In a Flash Laser Engraving.

Charlottesville Pie Fest is coming! Are you ready? In this BONUS episode we talk about this beloved competition that has occurred semi-annually in the Fall since 2009 to help area charities. This year's beneficiary is the Crozet United Methodist Church Food Pantry, a feeder for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Meet Brian J. Geiger and Marijean Oldham, Pie Fest founders and aficionados.

Pie Fest began with the Pie Down. Back in 2008 during Twitter's infancy, someone innocently asked who made the best pie in Charlottesville. Marijean, of Jaggers Communications, insisted she did and Brian, The Food Geek, countered his was better. Within minutes judges volunteered and a contest was born. Which morphed into a Charlottesville pie revolution and a true grass-roots community event because the contest happened with only 10 days preparation and almost 100 people attended. Who won? You'll have to listen to find out!

Both founders have deep food and pie backgrounds. Brian's site, sadly in semi-retirement, covers the science behind food and Marijean is well-known around town for holiday pies she makes for friends as well as the classes she teaches for the pie-shy. Her Butterscotch Pecan Pie is insanely good. As a matter of fact, when The Pie Chest opened (owner Rachel Pennington will be a judge) folks called to ask if it was Marijean's new store!

To participate, register your pie at the website and arrive between 10am and noon with TWO pies in hand. One will be for judging, the other will be entered into the silent auction. Not sure of your skills? Bring one exhibition pie for the auction and skip the judging. The best pies receive fabulous prizes! And it's not all sweet pies. Enter your savory pie, quiche, cheesecake or even fried hand pies. All rules and categories are on the website but for the most part this is a pie-inclusive competition. All are welcome at this pie stand! You don't even have to use your own recipe, so go ahead and dig in grandma's stash or grab an old issue of Garden and Gun magazine. Even store-bought crust is okay, although homemade usually rates higher in judging. This contest is all about execution and taste so believe in yourself and put on that apron!

Pie shy? No worries, you can purchase three tastings for $5. Plus live music by The University of Whales! No pie-eating contest here because the founders feel it disrespects the pie and the baker who put forth so much effort to create such a terrific treat. And it's kind of messy.

This is a popular event with folks coming from as far as North Carolina to participate. Attendees often talk for months sometimes years, about special pies they tasted at previous festivals. I still remember the caramel green tomato pie I won at silent auction back in 2010 baked by blogger Elena Brent Rosemond-Hoerr. Yum. Pie contests and pie festivals are quickly becoming extinct with even the Virginia State Fair eliminating their contest. So the one in Charlottesville is it people! Don't miss it! In this episode there's a little trash talk, more pie discussion than you'll ever need, and lots of laughter. Enjoy. See you at pie fest this Sunday!

We're looking for prizes and sponsors! Interested? Tweet me @edaciouspod or send an email. One sponsorship benefit is you get to create your own pie category! Albemarle Cabinet Company is sponsoring a Gluten-Free Pie category for example. So get creative! Be a sponsor today!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival - happening the same day! Visit them first then head over after.
• Dutch Pantry - authentic Mennonite store/bakery serving up delicious pies, including fry pies!
• The Charlottesville 29 - Thank you to Simon Davidson for his piece about pie fest that ran last Friday!
• Virginia Festival of the Book - Are you a restaurant owner willing to donate your space for a food event? Then VA Festival of the Book wants to talk to you! Contact me for more details.

This episode is sponsored by MarieBette Café & Bakery.

Wine Work. Sometimes in my travels, I meet a person whose excitement and passion for what they do is so all-encompassing I decide I must talk with them immediately. Meet Erin Scala, sommelier at Petit Pois and Fleurie restaurants in Charlottesville, Virginia.

I met Erin during an incredible and completely unplanned experience at Fleurie during the Virginia Festival of the Book. Chef Nora Pouillion, Gail Hobbs-Page, and Martha Stafford invited me to dinner, so of course I said yes. When I observed Erin's enthusiasm for pairing wine with food, I asked her to be on the podcast right then and there.

Erin came to the wine world unexpectedly when she started working in restaurants to support a burgeoning career as a drummer. Which ultimately brought her to Fleurie. One day she overheard the chef talking with the distributor about a wine that smelled of olives. This created a spark of interest. After tasting this wine paired with a tapenade, a passion was born. Soon after she was spending all of her extra time and money buying wine, reading about wine, learning and living the world of wine.

Her approach to pairing is unique and fascinating. The Washington Post agrees. As a sommelier, Erin observes her customer closely. What do they order? Is it meats or a light salad? Are they trying to impress a date or client? Do they butter their bread heavily or not at all? Do they drink their water without ice? What cocktail are they enjoying? Only after gathering this information does she make her suggestions to give the diner perfect synergy between food and wine. She keeps records of what wine they ordered last time and whether or not they enjoyed it. This kind of attention to detail ensures excellent customer service.

It's a challenging skill to create a wine list. You must choose ones that taste good, are a good value, but still meet your bottom line. How does she make her selections? By not padding it with popular selling varietals instead choosing carefully, making sure each wine pairs well with the food served in each restaurant. She pulls from her past experience as a musician to "compose" every pairing, using music-related words to describe the wines to folks who might be intimidated by the numerous choices.

It's worth it to put your trust in the sommelier if the wine list looks good. They took the time to create it and know it better than anyone. Pro tip: doing a bit of research on the sommelier and learning what wines they're passionate about prior to visiting can enhance your dining experience. What is Erin's "passion point"? We talk about it. Above all, don't be intimidated by the sommelier. Talk to them frankly about your needs, likes, and dislikes. They are there to guide you, not make you look stupid. Trust them.

Although you don't need certification to work as a sommelier, in the current era of booming demand the profession is becoming more academic by the minute. An entire industry onto itself. New programs are springing up everywhere, a huge change from the past when this knowledge was passed down informally to each succeeding generation. What are the effects of the business becoming credentialed and maybe at times, dogmatic? We talk about that as well as the special challenges with regard to the drinking age in this country. Erin is currently working toward her Master of Wine (MW) degree. There are fewer than 300 of them in existence. Consider it a PhD in wine because as a pre-requisite she completed all three levels in The Wine and Spirits Education Trust and was awarded a Diploma of Wine & Spirits (DWS) degree. No small feat!

We also talk about the Winemaker's Research Exchange in Charlottesville. The first group of its kind in the world! Wine makers, sellers, distributors, and sommeliers getting together to learn from each other doing research on grape varietals, experimenting with all sorts of different kinds of wine and comparing results. That's what I call a community connection!

Why does riesling get a bad rap? Are wine consumers different in New York than they are here? How did the sommelier profession begin? How is the Fleurie name related to wine? What is orange wine and how is it made? Can we ever make grappa here in Virginia? Does she have unique challenges being a female in a male-dominated field? We discuss all of it.

We also head down the rabbit hole and do a live wine tasting because I asked the question, "What is the ultimate good pairing?". Which of course meant we also had to experience the ultimate bad one. Such fun. Plus, I discovered my new favorite wine. What was in both pairings? Listen to find out!

I recently dined at Fleurie again, where Erin's husband Joseph is a co-owner along with chef Brian Helleberg. The experience was extraordinary. I felt completely taken care of in every aspect. It got me thinking. How many restaurants out there are like that? Places where you feel you can totally relax the minute you step in the door because you can confidently put your trust in every person on staff. You don't even have to think, just sit down and say, "Order for me." Fleurie is definitely one of those places, and Erin's wine skills are a huge reason why.

I love wine but don't know much about it. So I learned a ton during this episode and I know you will too. The biggest thing I learned? There are terrific wines in every category. So step outside of your comfort zone, don't order that sauvignon blanc you always do, and put your trust in a great sommelier like Erin Scala. Santé!

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• I'll Drink To That! - A terrific podcast all about the people doing the work of wine. Very similar to Edacious! Erin does the introductions to every podcast, offering up great stories and information about all things grape.
• Thinking-Drinking - Erin's blog, full of news, musings, stories, and tons of information about wine.
• Somm - Sommeliers compete for the ultimate title. Entertaining, but also kind of ridiculous in my opinion. What do you think?
• The Supersizers Go! - British personalities Giles Coren and Sue Perkins eat their way through almost every era in history. Ridiculously funny and entertaining.
• Charlottesville Pie Fest - Do you have what it takes? Register your pie at the link! Can't master pie crust yet? Then show up and eat a slice to benefit the Crozet United Methodist Church Food Pantry. October 9th at Crozet Mudhouse. We need sponsors! We need judges! We need prizes! Contact me for details, and don't miss my BONUS episode about the pie festival this Monday!
• Appalachian Food Summit - In its 3rd year, this summit started over a discussion on Facebook as to whether or not cornbread contains sugar. Its mission is to educate everyone on the valuable contributions Appalachia has made to food culture, and to celebrate its vibrant and thriving foodways. We're not living in the past people! Appalachian food is alive and well, growing and changing all the time. Experience it for yourself!
• Virginia Festival of the Book - Are you a restaurant owner willing to donate your space for a food event? Then VA Festival of the Book wants to talk to you! Contact me for more details.

This episode is sponsored by MarieBette Café & Bakery.

Bread Work. In France, the boulangerie or bakery is the epicenter of any great neighborhood. Folks stop in daily for fresh bread and pastries, sharing news of the day, making small talk, and commiserating over neighborhood issues. Not just a place to pick up simple, delicious food made with yeast, salt, and water but a gathering place. A community space. Meet Jason Becton and Patrick Evans of MarieBette Café & Bakery who are accomplishing the same thing in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Charlottesville, Virginia.

MarieBette just won numerous accolades in the Best of Cville Awards, including "Best Pastry" and "Best Bakery". There's a reason everyone who visits me requests a trip to this great bakery and neighborhood family restaurant serving lunch and brunch. Not dinner because from the moment they started, Jason and husband Patrick made a commitment to be home in time to eat with their children, Marian and Betty, the bakery's namesakes.

Jason started in advertising before heading to culinary school and working in restaurants like The Four Seasons and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Patrick followed a similar route, working at Dan Barber's Blue Hill, then several bakeries throughout Manhattan. Working in all of these different environments taught both what they wanted for their own business. Simple, tasty, ingredient-driven dishes. Fresh herbs. Seasonal, local ingredients with no heavy sauces. Not exclusively French but European inspired.

So they moved from New York to Charlottesville, where Patrick has roots. Neither one had ever owned a business. How did they develop their plan? The answer will surprise you! MarieBette is the result of that plan, a family place in the truest sense of the word. Patrick's father's paintings adorn the walls. His mother upholstered all of the seating. And together Jason and Patrick work to ensure each side of the establishment thrives and complements the other.

Partners in life and terrific partners in business. Don't miss the story of how they met. It's the ultimate chef-related "Meet Cute" if you ask me. Patrick handles the bread while Jason handles the restaurant side. They separate responsibilities to match their working styles and personalities, operating a flourishing business together. If you've ever tried to eat brunch on a Saturday you know what I mean. Does being married offer up special challenges to running a business? What was one major argument involving a popular bakery item? Listen to find out!

Patrick makes each croissant, baguette, and pastry by hand every day. Most places get their croissant dough shipped due to the amount of work. So that's really something. Everything is authentically European, so it's never a bomb of sugar. I've learned so much about French pastry since MarieBette opened. And after tasting their canelés and kouign-amann I'm spoiled for anything else.

Not to mention the brioche feuilletée! What happens to a small bakery when one of their pastries goes viral? A blessing or a curse? This is what happened last year when local food writer C. Simon Davidson ate one, fell in love, coined the term "bronut", and off it went. Lines around the block. Eater, Food & Wine, and other major sites hounded them. Demands came in from around the country. But shipping bronuts? Out of the question because they wouldn't taste as good. They still sell out and the day I was there the platter sat empty, a testament to just how delicious this brioche/croissant hybrid really is.

The restaurant side is equally stellar. Terrific sandwiches and seasonal salads, great mains like Quiche Lorraine. Salad Niçoise that's out of this world. But brunch remains my favorite. Classic Oeufs En Cocotte, eggs baked in a water bath till they are just done and finished with cream, garlic, and fines herbs. Served with toast sticks for dipping. Yum. And it's not all bread and brunch. MarieBette also hosts a monthly wine and cheese tasting as part of the Charlottesville Alliance Française, part of a national nonprofit organization promoting French and French culture. Check out their Facebook page for updates on these great events.

Is Charlottesville a utopia of acceptance for LGBT-owned businesses? We discuss this important issue and the triumphs and challenges it can bring to a family considered nontraditional by some. Love is love folks. And family restaurants, no matter what form they take, help make a community stronger. Speaking of community, what about development in Rose Hill? Should we be excited? Worried? How does MarieBette fit in and what do the neighbors think? We talk about the growing pains Charlottesville is experiencing, including the growing parking problem in and around Preston Avenue.

You can find MarieBette bread at the Charlottesville City Market, Foods of All Nations, Threepenny Café, and JM Stock and Provisions. The energy in the space is so happy and positive, so much so after the interview I asked Jason if I could record future conversation there. I'm thrilled to say he said yes and I'm so grateful for this new partnership.

This was one fantastic conversation, both for the topics and because Jason has such a great laugh! Even though Patrick couldn't join us, he was hard at work downstairs developing the next delicious creation. I can't wait to devour it! Now go listen guys. I'm headed downstairs to inhale an olive baguette. Yum.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Taste This! - Jason is on the board of Meals on Wheels and helped organize this year's event to benefit that important organization. More than 25 area restaurants offer up their best morsels for your enjoyment. September 20th at the Boar's Head Inn!
• Charlottesville Pie Fest - Do you have what it takes? Register your pie at the link! Can't master pie crust yet? Then show up and eat a slice to benefit the Crozet United Methodist Church Food Pantry. October 9th at Crozet Mudhouse.
• Appalachian Food Summit - In its 3rd year, this summit started over a discussion on Facebook as to whether or not cornbread contains sugar. Its mission is to educate everyone on the valuable contributions Appalachia has made to food culture, and to celebrate its vibrant and thriving foodways. We're not living in the past people! Appalachian food is alive and well, growing and changing all the time. Experience it for yourself!
• Virginia Festival of the Book - Are you a restaurant owner willing to donate your space for a food event? Then VA Festival of the Book wants to talk to you! Contact me for more details.

This episode is sponsored by MarieBette Café & Bakery.

Community Work. Meet Juliet Wiebe-King, head of marketing and social media for East Bali Cashews, a division of Red River Foods. An entirely new type of company with a community-centric business model. Completely sustainable with zero waste and a tiny carbon footprint. The ultimate in buy local. Gourmet cashew snacks as an economic savior? It's possible. Just ask founder Aaron Fishman. Bali? I'll admit, given my mission and region, when Juliet emailed I wasn't sure. I get a lot of emails from folks selling a lot of products. But then I looked at the website and watched this video. I knew I had to talk with her. Because it's an amazing story.

A graduate of UVA, Juliet studied marketing and management and majored in anthropology. Hooray for humanities majors! She is now in charge of sales and marketing for East Bali and a perfect spokesperson to spread their mission of social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Red River Foods is a leading importer of cashew nuts in the United States. All of their other dried fruits and nuts are in bulk, and East Bali is their first branded retail product. Lucky for us, they've selected Charlottesville and Richmond as their first North American distribution areas. East Bali Cashews is an Indonesian startup, a social enterprise started specifically to make a difference in the community - the first large-scale, modern cashew processing facility in all of Indonesia. Founded by Aaron Fishman, a philosophy major. There's that humanities degree at work again! While on a medical mission trip to Bali, Aaron saw a need. This isn't the Bali of Eat, Pray, Love, all beaches, yoga, and smiling gurus. In the Desa Ban collection of villages there is poverty and very little opportunity. The climate is arid so little grows there. But it's perfect for growing cashew trees.

Aaron arrived at the height of cashew season and noticed everything being shipped to Vietnam and India for processing. Why not keep production in the village? Provide a sustainable economic boost to help heal this region? He set things in motion. Partnering with Indonesian businessmen, East Bali is now 4 years old with 350 employees. Ninety-five percent of the employees are women and 100% of the benefit stays in East Bali. In 2015 the Secretary of State awarded East Bali Cashews the Award for Corporate Excellence.

Juliet found out about the company from the UVA Career Center and two weeks after graduation, she was on a plane. She fell in love with the country, the people, and the product. It just so happens she arrived when the company was considering a distributor based in Richmond, Virginia, her hometown. It was kismet. She knew she had to help, so she flew back and talked to Red River. They hired her immediately. A match made in heaven.

These aren't your average gourmet cashews. The factory is HACCP-certified and all of the processing machinery is powered by cashew shells so it's completely carbon neutral. The cashews are harvested from old-growth trees on local farms without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. Every flavor, including chocolate, garlic pepper and chili crunch, uses no artificial flavorings or preservatives and all are shipped fresh within five days of picking.

Cashews are not nuts, but seeds. They can be expensive because processing takes several steps. First, the cashew apple is picked. These are edible with the texture and taste of a green banana. The seed is then dried in community drying centers and steamed to remove the caustic resin within the shell. Oddly enough this resin is used in brake fluid! Then the cashews are roasted and peeled by hand. So every cashew in the bag is whole. By far the best tasting cashews I've ever had.

But East Bali Cashews isn't resting on its laurels. Cashew seasons are short so Aaron and his team are working to develop other products to help the economy stay solvent, including growing hibiscus for tea. Developing schools, community centers, farmer improvement programs, and a type of eco-lodge where tourists and community groups and visit and learn.

Cashews are a healthy part of any diet, full of the good fats you'd find in avocados or olive oil. They have a high rate of satiety. So stock up! You can find East Bali Cashews at The Fresh Market, Timbercreek Market, Feast!, Salt, Take It Away, Calvino Café, Rebecca's Natural, Blue Ridge Country Store, My Chocolate Shoppe, Greenberry's, Revolutionary Soup, Foods of All Nations, Ellwood Thompson's, Little House Green Grocery, Good Foods Grocery, Saison, Coleman's, Union Market, and Home Goods across the United States.

Juliet and Aaron are living proof a humanities major can take such a degree and succeed in business. Both have taken on huge responsibility. After talking with Juliet I've no doubt Red River has selected a young woman passionate about the product and the community's mission. I'm so glad I talked with her. Now, every time I open a bag, not only am I chomping on something scrumptious, but continuing to fulfill my podcast's mission. Community. Enjoy.

This episode is sponsored by In A Flash Laser Engraving. Special shout-out to Ace Biscuit & Barbecue for letting us record at their picnic tables. Cheers guys!

Healing Work. It's pretty fashionable to be a chef these days. But it's not always about the $40 plate. It's also about the $5 plate and the hard-working chefs toiling to create fresh, healthy, and yes, DELICIOUS food in America's hospitals. Meet Chef Otis Sims and Executive Chef Denis Callinan of UVA Hospital Nutrition Services. Classically trained culinary professionals making sure patients, staff, visitors, and folks in our community are getting the very best, most flavorful, and healthy dishes possible. This is high-level cooking. Have you eaten at UVA Hospital lately? This isn't mushy potatoes, greasy pizza, and Jell-O squares. I'm talking made-to-order shrimp and grits, fried chicken, and barbecue smoked for 18-20 hours on-site!

Chef Otis Sims and I talk about how he learned to cook from his grandmother before heading to Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte. "Chef O" as he's known to fans has cooked at Westwood Racquet Club and the Country Club of Virginia before arriving at UVA. He loves putting his own twist on classic French cuisine and cites Thomas Keller as a personal favorite, hoping to one day eat at The French Laundry. He experiments often with his home sous-vide machine, although his son would rather be eating chicken tenders. No wonder his pork loin with honey-thyme glaze and goat cheese/chive mashed potatoes took top honors at this year's Iron Chef competition at the Tom Tom Founder's Festival!

We're joined by Executive Chef Denis Callinan, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and previously worked at William & Mary as well as several restaurants and resorts in Florida. Chef Denis doesn't just run the kitchen, but acts as a mentor, allowing Chef O and his colleagues to create menus, develop recipes, and experiment with flavors, often using the Escoffier Cookbook as a reference. Because as long as you can "Cook Outside the Box But Inside the Budget" you ensure your customers, in this case, patients, receive the best the kitchen has to offer. Because if you're a hospital patient the meal is the highlight of your day. Your first path to healing. If it tastes awful, your stay becomes that much worse. And if it does taste bad? No worries. You can expect Chefs Sims and Callinan to visit your room IN THEIR TOQUES. They make these visits regularly to gather comments, criticism, but most of the time, accolades. What other hospital does that?

These chefs are breaking preconceived notions about hospital food and pride themselves on creating the best patient menus in America. Despite producing thousands of meals per day, they are committed to local sourcing. A recent acquisition of 7,000 pounds of Polyface sausage through the help of Local Food Hub (a past podcast guest), means guests can now enjoy locally-produced meats in breakfast sandwiches and dinner entrées. That's not all. Sunday nights mean 20-hour braised Texas pot roast. Grilled salmon happens on Tuesday nights. There are gyros with pickled jalapeños. Beef stroganoff made with filet mignon. You heard right, FILET MIGNON.

In addition to cooking and working alongside dietitians to develop individual nutrition plans for patients, these chefs also cook for staff, visitors, and do all the catering for large hospital events. Last year's holiday party required 10,000 meals. They also provide meals for a local childcare center and Meals on Wheels. Phew! That's a TON of food!

We also discuss big changes in the works for UVA Hospital Café. When it's this good you can't call it a cafeteria. When renovations are finished this December, you'll find a vertical rotisserie, new made-to-order stations, a larger dining room, and many other expanded options and choices for dining whether you're visiting a patient or just grabbing lunch.

What do "Essential Employee" chefs do when there's a huge snowstorm? What produce are they not allowed to use because of extreme sanitation guidelines the hospital requires? What is the hospital doing to lower their carbon footprint? Listen to find out. After talking with Chefs Sims and Callinan, I've decided two things. I need to have lunch at the hospital way more often because it's the best-kept secret in Charlottesville. And some smart investor needs to snap up Chef O for their next restaurant. Because he's the real deal.

This episode is sponsored by In A Flash Laser Engraving.

Bee Work Bonus! Experience an apiary through your ears! Last week in Episode 44, we met Amanda Welch of Grubby Girl. Bee farmer and charmer. This week, we're donning our suits and heading out into the field to check on the hives. Because beekeeping is not a weekend hobby. Bees live precarious and fragile lives these days. It takes a lot of work to keep the immune systems of bees thriving and the hives healthy.

So if you've ever wondered what an apiary sounds like, join us! Follow along on our journey by using the photographs below. Or if you're listening in your car or on the treadmill, just enjoy the sounds of bees, birds, doggies and the occasional Spring breeze. Trust me, it's good for whatever ails you. I walked away from this experience feeling like I'd just taken a 2-hour meditation class.

Favorite parts? I learned what a bee "traffic jam" sounds like. Whether bees are calm or agitated, you can really hear the difference. Did you know each queen has a name? Beatrix was my personal favorite. After taking Amanda's class in March, having this 360-degree experience was a field trip for the mind and soul.

Interested in learning more? Contact Amanda to find out more about the bee classes she teaches at the Jefferson School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Then go buy some honey or bath products to round out your apiary experience. Grubby Girl products are sold at the Saturday City Market, the Thursday UVA market, and on her website.

This is meant as a companion piece to Episode 44, which I'm posting as an experimental, experiential "bonus". Because I've got big dreams about expanding Edacious. Finding a dedicated podcast space. Getting better equipment. Maybe even renovating a food truck or "Canned Ham" to take to festivals for live events. Would you pay $.99 for an episode like this? Buzz at me in the comments. Cheers!