Dining
at the Inn
Ancient History - origins of our monthly dinners:
Years before we ever thought of building the inn,
Fleming started cooking a monthly gourmet dinner to showcase our goat
cheese. The first few in 1992 were served in her studio - which necessitated
a 300 ft dash across the yard from kitchen to table. After slip-slidin'
over the ice left by a February ice storm, we moved the dinners into
our home. Thus began a monthly furniture removal from the Log Cabin,
and its conversion to seat two dozen guests for Sunday afternoon dinner.
Cooking 4-5 course measl for this many people in
our modest household kitchen (a "2 ass kitchen" by our measure)
proved a challenge, which Fleming overcame by lots of advance preparation
and last minute assembly. The dinners became
something of a local institution, were sometimes booked months in
advance, and brought us guests from all over the world. Southern Living
featured one menu in their March '96 issue - bringing us several minutes
of fame. More importantly, they brought us the company of others who
share our love of the goats the craft of cheesemaking., and the celebration
of seasonal food produced our regions exceptional market farmers.
The dinners ceased as we worked to complete and open
the Inn, but not a week passed without a call asking about them. We
missed them, too, and now with a beautiful commercial kitchen in the
Inn and Brit's retirement in March 2000 - we started the dinners again
in August 2000, and have continued this monthly tradition up to the
present.
Weekend Dining (briefly) at the
Inn:
Having tired of people asking us to serve dinners
at the Inn, we hired Chad Blackwelder to be our resident chef starting
in February 2002. Chad came to us from Magnolia Grill, and previous
head chef positions at Brightleaf 905, The Wicked Smile, and his own
restaurant The Wild Turtle. We've enjoyed his cooking for a long time,
and used to take Brit's mother (or rather she took us) the The Wild
Turtle.
Chad's first impact upon the inn is a fixed menu
evening dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings to inn guests and
the public (yes - we're now a licensed restaurant). Inn guests didn't
have to worry about opening a second bottle of wine and then dodging
the deer on their drive home. Similarly, neighbors didn't need to
drive to Chapel Hill or further for a good meal. Chad continued our
3rd Sunday afternoon dinner tradition, and provided wonderful food
for retreats, weddings, and other group events at the Inn.
Post 9-11 proved a poor time for the hospitality
industry in general, and our offering fine evening dining in an out
of the way location suffered as well. Chad found that an underutilized
chef is also an unhappy one, and left in July for busier work in Durham.
We then ceased offering dinners on Friday & Saturday evenings,
and settled back into our familiar routine of monthly Sunday afternoon
dinners - which continue up to the present time.
2003-2007 - a family transition:
2003 was a transition year in the kitchen: Now 65,
Fleming gave herself a promotion to executive chef. Brit, with six
years as the B&B breakfast cook and Fleming's Sunday dinner assistant,
has gradually taken over the physical work in the kitchen. Fleming
still sets the standards, and applies her artist's touch to sauces
and presentation. So the monthly Celebrity Dairy Sunday dinner tradition
continues as a family affair.
At some future date it may make sense for the inn
to become a restaurant: after all, 30 years ago Fearrington was much
further out in the woods than we are now: however - operating a country
inn restaurant is a full-time passion, and one we'll leave for a younger
generation. Our love for the goats and their cheese comes first.
New - Guest Chefs in the kitchen:
The pleasure of preparing a great meal using our
own goat cheese and the seasonal products from our neighboring farmers
for guests who share our enthusiasm for "slow food" is not
ours alone: We've had several talented sous chefs from Triangle restaurants
take over the Sunday dinners to present their interpretations of "seasonal
and local" cooking. Its fun for us: (we get to be hosts and eat,
too). Its a very special treat for the chef too: a rare opportunity
to create a meal that reflects the season outside the constraints
of their normal restaurant format, and for guests who care enough
about food to devote a whole Sunday afternoon to a meal. Look for
more guest chef appearances in the future.
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