Ben Adams leaves Piedmont, triggering changes in Durham dining scene

Ben Adams (left) and Wyatt Dickson
(Photo courtesy Jennifer Kelly)

It's been two years since chef Ben Adams took over the kitchen at Piedmont. He and general manager and wine director Crawford Leavoy lifted the Durham eatery from a slump to become a hotspot known for creative seasonal fare and spot-on service. Now, Adams has left to launch his own place.

Set to open this fall in North Durham, it's tentatively named Picnic. The name is a nod to comfort food cuisine that can range from beach blankets and icy Budweiser tall boys to silver trays and mint juleps, as well as the picnic shoulder cut favored over the Boston butt by partner and pitmaster Wyatt Dickson of Pig Whistle. Picnic's third partner is Ryan Butler of Green Button Farm in Bahama, whose pasture-raised heritage pigs could practically walk to the not-quite-finalized location.

Meanwhile, Piedmont is continuing with acting chef de cuisine Lorenzo Leon Guerrero. He will stay on to support the next executive chef, Greg Gettles, current sous chef at Herons at the Umstead Hotel, who takes over June 1. Scott Crawford, former executive chef at Herons, hired Gettles when Ben Barker was closing his legendary Magnolia Grill in 2012.
Adams and Dickson met in 2002 as fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina. Independently, Adams and Dickson moved to New York after graduation, where they worked in “suit jobs” providing legal and financial services.

As they sat in Crook’s Corner last Wednesday, sharing plates of Pig Whistle barbecue and a twist on traditional slaw—red cabbage, green onions and a bright cilantro vinaigrette—Adams and Dickson dressed in the casual, come-as-you-are look they hope customers will wear at Picnic.

"The sides and small plates will be my thing," Adams says, pausing to dip some of chef Bill Smith's Hoppin' John before passing the bowl around the table. "Some will be familiar to Piedmont diners, like my collards with smoked bacon."

The Charleston native, who cooked at Sean Brock's famed McCrady's before being lured to the Triangle, says other dishes under consideration include a mac 'n' cheese starring Chapel Hill Creamery's award-winning Calvander, baked beans with Sea Island red peas, and fresh ceviche served with pork cracklins. A pop-up preview is May 23 at Daisy Cakes.

"This restaurant was always in the back of our minds, but I was glad to wait until [Adams] was ready," Dickson says. "We won't be garnishing dishes with tweezers and micro greens, but the experience he's gained at Piedmont is invaluable. Just wait until they see his rillettes and terrines. It will set us apart from most of barbecue places."

Barbecue figured prominently in Dickson's life while he grew up in Fayetteville. His dad bottled batches of the family's eastern-style sauce as holiday gifts. Dickson, however, says his style weds the best of eastern and western traditions.

"I think of it as the 'Great Carolina Compromise,'" he says with a hearty laugh, referencing Pig Whistle's business motto. "After all, what's a little ketchup between friends?"

Dickson started developing his signature sauce at his UNC fraternity, where he cooked for football games. He didn't barbecue while in New York but started again in 2008 when he returned to Carolina for law school. His focus though became creating a catering business.
Dickson’s first big boost came from chef Andrea Reusing, who invited him in 2012 to cook a whole hog at the 10th anniversary celebration of Lantern in Chapel Hill. It was the first time he used heritage pork (Reusing’s supply is raised by Chapel Hill Creamery on whey, an abundant cheese byproduct). He never went back to commodity meat.

Aside from special restaurant events—Piedmont featured Pig Whistle at a whole hog dinner last July, and Crook's will have it on the menu again June 3—the only way to try Dickson's barbecue is to place a party-size order. Picnic will allow him to serve fresh, affordable portions daily.

Lunches will range from $7-$10, with dinners around $12-$18. Choices other than barbecue will be available. Daily specials will be designed around seasonal availability.

If ribs are your favorite part of the pig, Dickson advises showing up early. “A pig only has so many ribs,” he says. “This isn’t a factory. We’ll serve them one or two at a time to make sure people who really want them can get some.”
 
Pop-Up Events:

● May 23, 7 p.m.: Ben Adams will serve Picnic-style sides and small plates at Daisy Cakes, 401A Foster St., Durham (919-389-4307). Note: 16-seat limit.

● June 3, 5:30 p.m. (until gone): Wyatt Dickson’s Pig Whistle pork barbecue will be featured on the menu at Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill (919-929-7643)

● June 7, 4–7p.m.: Pig Whistle will be paired with Green Button Farms at the annual Farm to Fork Picnic held at WC Breeze Family Farm, Hurdle Mills. Details at farmtoforknc.com

This story first appeared in Indy Week.

TerraVita Food & Drink Event announces 2014 schedule; tickets on sale July 20

The fifth annual TerraVita Food & Drink Event today announced a blockbuster schedule for its Oct. 9-11 run. Among its highlights will be the North Carolina premiere of the second season of A Chef's Life, the award-winning PBS series featuring Vivian Howard of Kinston's Chef and the Farmer restaurant.

Tickets for all festival events go on sale July 20 through the TerraVita website

The event is larger and spread among more locations this year. A limited number of three-day passes ($425 each) will provide access to bonus non-tickets events and parties, including: 

• an afternoon event at [ONE] restaurant in Chapel Hill with Chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan and two additional North Carolina chefs – Vivian Howard from Chef and Farmer in Kinston and Scott Crawford of Standard Foods and Nash Tavern in Raleigh
• a hands-on bread baking class led by Lionel Vatinet of La Farm Bakery and author of A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker 
• and a special TerraVita After Party at The Black House at Straw Valley in Durham with Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer and Chef Adam Rose

The Southern Harvest Dinner on Oct. 9, will bring together chefs and producers from across the Southeast for an outdoor feast at Southern Season in Chapel Hill. The meal will be prepared by Weathervane Chef Spencer Carter and Chef Kevin Johnson from The Grocery in Charleston, S.C., in collaboration with Border Spring Farms’ Craig Rogers. Rogers' grass-fed lamb will be featured in a casual dinner paired with craft beers, sustainable wines and live music. Tickets are $85 each.

Following the dinner will be the North Carolina premiere of A Chef's Life. Vivian Howard will be joined by the directors, producers, staff and stars of the show, which recently was awarded a Peabody Award. It also had been nominated for honors by the James Beard Foundation.

Ashley Christensen

The Sustainable Classroom, which sets TerraVita apart from so many other food and drink festivals, will be held on Oct. 10. the program features concurrent culinary workshops, food and beverage tasting, demonstrations and topic-expert panel discussions. Among the presenters will be Raleigh Chef Ashley Christensen, who was named 2104 Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation.  Participants may choose to attend up to three 75-minute sessions, which will start at 9:30am. Each ticket costs $60 and includes 3 classes.

Also on Oct. 10 will be The Carolina Table: East Meets West, TerraVita’s celebration of the rich culinary scene from NC’s coast to mountains. The family-style seated dinner will be prepared by Chef Scott Crawford of the soon-to-open Standard Foods and Nash Tavern in Raleigh, Ben Adams of Piedmont in Durham, Matthew Dawes of The Bull and Beggar in Asheville. Other chefs will be announced later. Guests will dine with local food artisans whose cheeses, meats, artisan breads, brews and spirits will be highlighted in each dish. tickets are $100 each.

TerraVita wraps up on Oct. 11 with the Grand Tasting on the Green. Chef demonstrations will be spotlighted for the first time, alongside tastings from 45 exceptional chefs and artisans from across North Carolina. More than 100 sustainably-produced beverages from around the globe will be served, including organic coffee, biodynamic, organically-grown and natural wines, local microbrews and distilleries. Guests also will enjoy cookbook signings and interaction with chefs, artisans and beverage producers from across the state. The all-inclusive ticket is $75; designated driver tickets are available for $60.

For more information please visit www.TerraVitaEvent.com or email info@TerraVitaEvent.com. For updates, follow @TerraVitaFoodie on Twitter and Instagram, TerraVita Food & Drink Festival on Pinterest, and TerraVita Food & Wine Event on Facebook.

Triangle chefs, restaurateur vie for James Beard Awards

This post first ran in Indy Week.

Giorgios Bakatsias was caught off-guard when a longtime employee called to congratulate him for being a James Beard award nominee.

"It's a great honor and I didn't expect it at all," says Bakatsias, who learned from Vin Rouge General Manager Michael Maller that the James Beard Foundation had nominated him in a national category as Outstanding Restaurateur. "I take the moment to be truly overjoyed and grateful," Bakatsias adds. "At the same time, the credit goes to the people around me. We have a great team."

Giorgios Hospitality Group owns several popular and critically lauded restaurants in the Triangle. The group includes Bin 54, City Kitchen, Kipos and Village Burgers in Chapel Hill; Café at the Nasher Museum of Art, Local 22, Parizäde and Vin Rouge in Durham; Georges Brasserie in Charlotte; and Gatehouse Tavern and Girasole Trattoria in Wake Forest.

Bakatsias hints that more may be in the works. "I don't sleep early so I'm always working on something," he says with a laugh. "Maybe in a couple of weeks there might be something to talk about."

Like Bakatsias, Phoebe Lawless was nominated in a national category, Best Pastry Chef, for Scratch Baking in Durham. It is her second consecutive nomination.

In an omission that recalls past Academy Award conundrums, The Fearrington House Restaurant in Pittsboro was nominated in the national category of Outstanding Restaurant, but Chef Colin Bedford is not listed among the nation's Outstanding Chefs. He is, however, among the semi-finalists named to the Best Chef Southeast category.

Last year's Best Chef Southeast finalist list included just one name from North Carolina, Ashley Christensen of Raleigh's Poole's Diner. She is a semi-finalist again this year, along with Bedford and six colleagues:

• Scott Crawford, Herons at the Umstead Hotel, Cary
• Vivian Howard, Chef & the Farmer, Kinston
• Scott Howell, Nana's, Durham
• Meherwan Irani, Chai Pani, Asheville
• Matt Kelly, Mateo's, Durham
• Aaron Vandemark, Panciuto, Hillsborough

While North Carolina was shut out of several major categories, including Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional, Katie Button of Cúrate in Asheville is one of 25 people nominated as Rising Star Chef of the Year.

Finalists in the restaurant and chef categories—as well as nominations for book, journalism, broadcast and restaurant design awards—will be announced March 19. The 2014 James Beard Awards will be presented in New York City on May 2 and 5.

It’s possible – and even OK – to get decent snapshots of your supper

Maybe it’s because we’re eating out less and pinching our pennies more. Maybe it’s honest admiration of a flavorful if fleeting art form.


Spice-crusted salmon, one of the Triange Restaurant
Week options at G2B Gastro Pub in Durham.

Whatever the reason, it appears that more folks are determined to get everything they can out of their dining experiences. And that includes using their smart phones – discreetly or boldly – to document and share the foods they enjoy in restaurants. 

Whether or not you admit to doing so yourself, it’s hard to imagine that anyone who eats out has never seen someone at the next table pausing in conversation to admire a just delivered dish – and using their camera phone to catapult the still-steaming image forth into global foodiverse.

Many of us don’t feel the slightest hesitation when taking a photo of a chef’s carefully conceived and expertly executed creation. We’ve paid for it, right? We can enjoy it as we see fit.

Well, not at Momofuko, the pricey New York City hotspot which legendary food tyrant David Chang has declared a photo-free zone. According to last week’s New York Times, diners who dare to take a snapshot will be publicly shamed into submission.

Most chefs cited in the report say they don’t mind if customers take and post photos of their famous food, so long as they do not use flash or disturb other diners with antics like standing on their chair for a better angle.

Several top Triangle area chefs agree with the social media savvy Mario Batali, who reassuringly tweeted a humble devotee that it’s fine to take photos in his global empire of eateries – so long as it’s done without flash. In fact, this new-media slice of Southern hospitality abides even at some of the most elegant establishments.  

“We view this as flattery when people do it in Herons,” says Scott Crawford, executive chef at the signature restaurant of the posh Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. “We haven't made any rules because people are usually discreet and respectful of other guests. My only wish,” jokes Crawford, who has a Twitter account (@chefcrawford) but rarely uses it, “is that the lighting was better so the images would be more stunning.”


Even a humble lunch from the Tribune Towers cafeteria
gets the star treatment by food writer Bill Daley. 

Bill Daley, popular food and features writer at the Chicago Tribune, posts photos daily of what he eats and how he gets there. Friends humor him and wait until all meals are properly documented before taking a bite. “It can be a make or break date moment,” he concedes with a playful “LOL.”


Daley, who uses Facebook and Twitter (@BillDaley), thoughtfully silences his phone’s shutter click to minimize disturbance of other diners and always turns off the flash. Well, almost always. 

“Mine went off by mistake last night and I was mortified,” he says. “I try to work fast. I shoot to my phone's camera roll and edit later so the screen isn't always lit. I try to capture the moment as quickly and naturally as possible.”

Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill doesn’t mind a bit when diners take and post photos. After all, he’s doing the same thing in the kitchen, where he often shares images of new creations that will be featured on that night’s menu. A recent example featured tempting carrot pies. One follower, clearly at ease with the collaborative atmosphere, suggested serving it with a sweet curry ice cream.


Chef Bill Smith recently posted
carrot pies being prepped for
dinner at Crook's Corner.

“People take pictures at Crook’s all the time and as far as I know it has never been a cause for complaint,” says Smith, who tweets as @Chulegre and also posts to Facebook. “We have no policy about it. I’ve done it at other restaurants many times, although I try to restrain myself somewhat.”

At G2B Gastro Pub in Durham, cordial servers stand by as if poised to assist when diners try to capture the composed elegance of Chef Carrie Schlieffer’s food (@carrieG2Bpub). Good humored manager Chris Lynch even shares that his wife, who had resisted getting a smart phone, now takes and posts food photos all the time.

So what is the proper etiquette for a photo-minded foodie? Matt Duckor, who writes Bon Appettit’s Consumed column, says customers should not feel cowed by mega-chefs who try to sap the fun out of fine dining. As a direct response to the kerfuffle, Duckor (@mattduckor) this week advises readers how to get the most of their camera phone while (openly or surreptitiously) photographing their suppers.

“It is possible to take decent food photos at the table,” Duckor insists in italics. Rule No. 1: turn off the flash. Take pictures directly above or straight at whatever you’re shooting. No funky filters. And, "Finally, and this is important folks, don't act like a jerk."

"Yes, you're paying for a service," Duckor writes. "No, you don't get to make the rules."