With The Food Channels Of The South
A crafted collection… Get your taste buds ready for mouth-watering culinary delights in sets of three. Georgia is blessed with talented chefs, both local and beyond, who will tempt us with their favorite, signature dishes. These masterful, talented chefs deliver enduring culinary traditions direct from our table, to yours. Discover how this collection will please any palette. Bon Appetit!
Château Élan Winery & Resort
Cruising down through the picturesque roads of North Georgia, you’ll come across rolling hills of vineyards and stalwart gates that invite you into Château Élan Winery & Resort.
Located just 40 minutes on the northern outskirts of Atlanta, this 16th-century styled luxury destination instantly transports guests to the French countryside.
In January 2020, Château Élan unveiled their $25 million renovation introducing a fresh, yet timeless, modernized design that delivers a unique, distinctly southern concept dressed in French undertones. The transformation includes a complete remodel of 251 guestrooms and 24 suites, new restaurant concepts, brand new lobby, lighting, art, and a number of updated amenities including the pool, winery, terrace, and spa. One of their favorite new additions to the property is a cozy, vintage-inspired library, perfect for curling up with your favorite book and a warm drink or a glass of wine.
Château Élan truly does have something to offer everyone; their endless list of attractions, events, and amenities will satisfy even the most discerning guest. For wine enthusiasts, Château Élan is home to one of the best tours and tastings on the East Coast. For sports fans and athletes, 45 holes of golf beckons to be played. For spa lovers, a tranquil respite like no other awaits.
And for foodies, dining at Château Élan feels limitless. Each of the property’s ten bars and restaurants offer a unique feel and menu. Of those, Louis’ House of Bourbon tops the list with its embodiment of an old-world speakeasy. Their extensive list of bucket-list bourbons can be enjoyed in a low-lit lounge with neon signage and an inviting bar. They offer a variety of classic bourbon cocktails and space also dons a selection of local art.
Marc Bar and Restaurant, located within the iconic winery, is an upscale chophouse that overlooks the property’s signature vineyards. Their selections from a wide variety of steaks and cuts are impressive, to say the very least. Editor’s tip: make your reservation on the patio at sunset, the view is breathtaking and it is one of our favorite times to go.
Fleur-de-Lis, the property’s waterfront restaurant located within the Spa at Château, offers seasonal menus that focus on mindful eating with fresh, local ingredients prepared by Chef Dolby.
With a staff that is ready to please and a welcoming ambiance that never dims, Château Élan Winery and Resort invites you to be their guest and enjoy all the fruits of their labor.
Chef Madeline Medon
Chef Madeline Medon, fell in love with cooking at an early age. Her mother had a number of friends in the food and hospitality industry, including one who led a catering business out of Boston and fed the Kennedys on occasion. She was inspired by all the chefs she met, so much so that she began teaching herself to cook. Currently Winery Chef at Château Élan, Medon has previously held positions ranging from sous-chef to head pastry chef.
Chef Christina Dolby
Chef Christina Dolby, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu’s College of Culinary Arts, has always felt that hospitality runs in her veins. Finding her calling in the kitchen at an early age, Dolby built a name for herself as Sous Chef at Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa before moving to restaurants in-and-throughout the Atlanta area. Today, she serves as the head chef at Château Élan’s Fleur-de-Lis restaurant, where she focuses on crafting mindful, organic cuisine featuring locally sourced products.
Latin Flavors Steakhouse
Executive chef and owner Daniel Barrios, with over 20 years of experience, has created a unique style to celebrate the ingredients and vibrant flavors of every region of Latin America. Elaborated with passion, classic finesse, sparkling with a playful spirit, Latin Flavors Steakhouse is an upscale steakhouse inspired by Latin flavors, offering a list of different cuts and a variety of meat and seafood. With an extensive list of wines and the most classic drinks that represent Latin culture and celebrates the various manifestations of Latin flavors, Barrios exposes an innovative combination in the elaboration of meals and cocktails which display plates and recipes adapted for celebrations inspired by Central and South American cuisines. The menu includes a brief introduction to the Latin Flavors, with special attention to the ingredients that have recently expanded the traditional Latin pantry.
Latin Flavors has thrived under the general management of Carlos Jimenez, who also has over 20 years of experience in the restaurant business. Before his time at Latin Flavors, he helped opening another Latin inspired restaurant in Athens back in 2007 called Casa Mia, where he fell in love with the concept of bringing genuine Latin food to the States. His favorite dishes at LF include all of their steak selections, but the bone-in ribeye stands out among the rest. For more information visit www.latinflavorssteakhouse.com or give us a call at 678.975.7487.
Chef Daniel Barrios
Executive chef Daniel Barrios was born in the Mexican state of Guerrero, and from a very young age, he helped his grandmother, Maria, to create bread in a clay and wooden oven. He became an assistant to his grandmother in the kitchen, and his father taught him to hunt and butcher meat for the best cuts. Daniel’s mother taught him how to create the most classic dishes of her native Mexican region. In the small town where she was raised, she created and cultivated all the spices and ingredients to create a dish out of her love for the Cocina. Barrios went on to become the executive chef at Pampas Steakhouse in Alpharetta, among other places, where he worked hard to build his resume and bring cuisine to guests that never failed to delight.
Brush Creek Farm
Brush Creek Farm was purchased in 1993 by Coleman and David Whitehead. Coleman and David worked to turn timberland into beautiful rolling pastures for their cattle to graze. A few short years later, Brush Creek Farm was home to the Brush Creek Sporting Club for 12 years, which drew large crowds of people to the farm to hunt and shoot. After the hunting club closed, the farm became a full-time cattle farm, which has hosted many events over the years.
A day on the farm starts early, feeding the commercial herd–made up of both Angus and Angus crossbred cattle–and making sure they are healthy and happy. Due to supply and demand, the herd will produce calves all throughout the year. The herd is kept on a rotational grazing schedule to ensure they always have fresh grass (or hay in winter months), but to also ensure the land is never over-grazed and is best conserved for future years.
At Brush Creek, they take pride in preserving their farm for future generations and they have taken steps to ensure the conservation of the land through their practices. The family has grown over the years, and now the fourth generation is growing up to learn how the farm operates, so that they may continue its legacy into the future for years and generations to come.
Finch Creek Farm
Every day is a good day in vegetable farming—so says Farmer Cass, the man behind the premium produce coming out of Finch Creek Farm in Winder, Ga. Farmer Cass grew up in Wisconsin, a place where dairy farming is well-respected, if hard, work. As a young person, he joined his family milking cows twice a day, 365 days a year.
“I knew that dairy farming was not my future,” Farmer Cass says.
Fortunately for him—and us—his grandfather also had a large garden and would take young Cass to the farmers market on Saturdays. “I was so impressed with his mindset to utilize every possible way to make money at the farmers market,” he says.
Farmer Cass tried his hand at skilled trades for many years but always kept a garden. He moved to Georgia in 2001 and kept on working and gardening on the side. One year, he tore up his backyard, built a greenhouse and produced 5,000 plants. “It was good for the neighbors and friends at church,” Farmer Cass said. “The next year, I started tearing up the whole yard to grow more.” His backyard became a maze of tomato plants. Squash and melons grew down both sides of the house. Okra grew wherever there was room, and cucumbers were everywhere. Farmer Cass kept his day job, but in 2010, after several good years of gardening, his wife told him, “You need to be a farmer.”
They started looking for acreage and found the spot on a snowy day in February 2011. “We had a good inspection of the land and saw something aside from this five-acre tract,” he said. “The next tract over showed signs of water coming out of the ground! I went to the seller and asked for an additional two acres.”
A month later, the land was theirs, and he was turning soil that spring. “I resigned from my job in 2013,” Farmer Cass said. “I was officially a full-time farmer.”
Today, as a certified naturally grown farmer, Farmer Cass supplies fresh, organic produce to a select clientele of more than two dozen high-end restaurateurs in Atlanta and the Athens area. He said he has built these relationships by going directly to the chefs.
“I enjoy taking on the responsibility to grow exactly what our customers want… size, shape, color, and supply for their menu, and for how long they will want it,” Farmer Cass said.
His rule of thumb: If Farmer Cass doesn’t like it, Farmer Cass doesn’t sell it.
South Fork Hunting Preserve
I am attaching below a copy of the bio we have prepared for you all to appear in our upcoming Home and Garden issue! Please let me know if you have any notes or changes that need to be made. As always, thank you so much for your contribution!
Now entering its eighth season, South Fork Hunting Preserve has changed a lot from its humble beginnings hunting in former cow pastures and the dirt floor office that they started within 2013. Come experience the welcoming environment and comradery from staff and members alike that will make you not want to leave, and also enjoy the stunning 3 story clubhouse that greets you as you pull into the parking lot. No visit is complete to South Fork without a trip to the “crows nest” which features breathtaking views of dogs on point in the hunting fields below, and also the Appalachian Trail in the nearby Carolina mountains.
The gently rolling hills of their multiple fields are accented on their edges with wood lines that create a perfect habitat for quail and are all planted in a variety of different cover including sorghum, millet, and many other native species of grass. Many of the fields are open and fairly flat for easy walking, and all have manicured lanes cut throughout for ease of hunting. The fields are spacious and the cover is thick, but some of the more experienced hunters prefer the challenging hardwoods courses as a change of pace from field hunting. These wooded courses place a premium on well-timed, quick shots and superior dog work as hunters and dogs work their way through virgin white oak bottoms and into the field.
Owned and operated by Colby Phillips and Jacob Nash, South Fork Hunting Preserve is the perfect escape from your daily routine. It is their passion to share their beautiful property with you and to keep seeing you year after year.
Bear Hug Honey
The Bear Hug Honey Company is a specialty honey and bee-themed shop just past Wuxtry Records and Native America Gallery on East Clayton Street. Although it specializes in honey, the company sells anything from which the bee can proudly claim the credit. This includes soaps, candles, and even shaving creams. These items are dispersed throughout the shop, with memorabilia items such as coffee mugs and t-shirts adorning shelves all around.
It did not take the Athens community long to realize what a gem Bear Hug is in the community. After being created in August of 2017, The Red & Black awarded the company “Best New Business of 2017” in Athens. The man behind all of this buzz is Sam Johnson, a University of Georgia alumnus who graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics. After graduating, Johnson volunteered at farmer markets in Savannah, Georgia, and it was there that he fell in love with honey and bees.
Olive Basket
The Olive Basket is perhaps the only store of its kind in the area, being that they specialize in two very useful products: olive oils and balsamic vinegars. The olive oil industry has been known, since its beginnings in Roman culture, for counterfeiting. More often than not, the olive oils you find on the shelves at your average grocery store are not 100% olive oil like they claim; most are cut or diluted with other oils, cheapening production for suppliers and weakening the product for its consumers. But that isn’t the case for products at the Olive Basket.
All of the oils gracing the shelves in the Olive Basket are ultra-premium certified, which means they are held to the strictest standards in the industry. They are not diluted or cut, so every batch tastes full of freshness and flavor. Their oils come from all over the world, and are imported from the Northern and Southern hemispheres based on which half of the world is in season, guaranteeing that the freshest possible oils are always available. All of the balsamic vinegars are made using traditional methods in Modena, Italy.
Owner Eric Gisler recently purchased his store from the previous owners, and he now runs it with his daughter. Their olive oils, in addition to balsamic vinegars and gourmet food selections, are second to none. Eric’s personal favorite is their Blood Orange olive oil, which he says is delicious when drizzled over vanilla ice cream. Their store is now located in the Epps Bridge Centre shopping center in Athens, just across from University 16 Cinemas. Customers can also shop The Olive Basket’s selection and order online at www.olivebasketonline.com.
Southern Brewing Company
Southern Brewing Company is a product of their heritage, one based in hospitality, front porches, and sweet tea, potlucks, and picnics. They’ve worked hard to bring that same culture into the beer we make and the atmosphere we cultivate. In their work, they try to nurture that heritage every step of the way by cultivating a warm atmosphere and good, cold beer.
The conversation that bred Southern Brewing started with founders Rick Goddard and Brian Roth–who met in Washington, DC. while lobbying for the beer industry– and notes on the back of a napkin. They shared a passion for unique beers with local flavor and wanted to bring something new to Athens. After five years of research and planning, they broke ground in August of 2014. By May 2015, they rolled up the garage doors to the public.
Since their first batch came out of the tank three years ago, they’ve grown from less than ten employees to more than thirty. They have created over fifty unique beers with a variety of local ingredients and done dozens of collaborations with wonderful folks from around the Southeast–and a few from even farther away. Through all of this, they continue to grow and learn. Most importantly, they have enjoyed every minute they’ve shared with Athens.
Hospitality is the cornerstone of the Southern Brewing Company. They are and always will be focused on relationships within the brewing industry and their community. Their door is open, the beer is cold, and you’re always welcome. Visit their website at sobrewco.com for more information.
