Native
Knoxville with Blackberry Farm
This week on Native, we're joining host Briana Kurtz on a journey through the Eastern Tennessee, Knoxville area guided by guests Jeff Ross of Blackberry Farm and Dustin Busby of Century Harvest Farms. In the first half of the show, Briana speaks with Jeff, who is the Garden Manager at Blackberry Farm about not only the wide breadth of operations happening at Blackberry Farm but also his particular role and what it entails. In charge of growing most of the organic produce used by the kitchen, he also leads cooking classes and demonstrations for guests. Often, he cooks traditional yet elevated Appalachian foods with the guests over an open flame contained in the vast garden area. Local specialities like berries, trout, and venison paint the picture of a local cuisine deeply integrated with the land. Jeff's favorite dish? A German-style pork and beans dish with an interesting history to the area. After the break, Briana speaks with Dustin Busby of Century Harvest Farms whose past includes cooking his way around the world at restaurants such as Woodlands, French Laundry, and Fat Duck. Dustin also spent time as an Executive Sous Chef and Farmstead Manager at Blackberry before moving to Chef and Farm Manager for Century Harvest Farms. Additionally, he is a partner in the Hoof food truck. Knoxville and the surrounding area is an exciting and affordable place to be right now - tune in to find out more! This program has been brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.
"Blackberry Farm is a hotel and resort, culinary destination, and working farm plus about a million other things rolled into one." [2:10]
--Jeff Ross on Native
"Because of the mountains and the lay of the land, there's so many different aspects. You can travel ten miles and the soil and culture there is different and it's really amazing." [21:23]
--Dustin Busby on Native