by Kristen Wile

A group of Charlotte chefs travel to New York this week to cook at the James Beard Foundation’s Platform. Platform offers a pop-up restaurant space to showcase upcoming culinary talents from across the country.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, local chefs will serve a selection of dishes meant to show off Charlotte’s culinary scene, as well as a few cocktails using North Carolina spirits. 

Taking part are chefs Chayil Johnson of Community Matters Cafe, Andres Kaifer of Customshop, Callan Backles of Rada, Brittany Cochran of Stagioni, Joe Kindred of Albertine/Kindred, Chris Coleman of Built on Hospitality, and pastry chefs Faith Morley of Counter- and Manolo Betancur of Manolo’s Latin Bakery. Also participating are mixologists Colleen Hughes of Supperland and Justin Hazelton of Lorem Ipsum.

“We haven’t done it in recent years but really felt like this was such a great time — especially a month out from Top Chef premiering and on the heels of the Michelin nods — to take a group up and show a lot of the great talent that’s making headlines on a number of fronts,” says Laura White, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA) Chief Brand and Strategy Officer. “They may not be James Beard nominated, but we’ve gotten so many great mentions whether it’s in the New York Times or Garden & Gun or USA Today. We want to take all that buzz and really package it together and show these chefs off in New York to some premier journalists in the food world.”

CRVA is covering the costs of travel and ingredients for the participating talent. The organization funded a similar trip to the James Beard House in 2016, which I attended and covered for Charlotte magazine, and another in 2019. Coleman, then at The Asbury, was one of the chefs attending the 2016 trip; Joe Kindred and Colleen Hughes were part of the 2019 dinner.

“I’m excited to once again travel to New York to cook with some talented Charlotte chefs in a James Beard Foundation space,” Coleman says. “The menu is amazing, truly representing the breadth and depth of our local region, and will be a great showcase of Charlotte as the dining destination that it is.”

White says the menu is inspired by some of the themes we’ll see as Top Chef Carolinas airs this spring, with focuses on pork and poultry as well as seasonal produce. Menu items include a passed appetizer of andouille with preserved ramps, cured egg, and Verdant Bread baguette (Chayil Johnson); W8 Ranch wagyu beef tartar with sea urchin and pickle-brined sunchokes (Joe Kindred); and Carolina Flounder with sumac beurre blanc and celeriac (Callan Buckles). Local spirits Southern Star out of Statesville and Sutler’s Gin out of Winston-Salem will be used in the cocktails, with craft beer from Pilot Brewing.

White says CRVA hopes events like these bring more attention to Charlotte as a culinary destination. 

“We also want this to be an opportunity to spotlight Charlotte collectively but also them individually, and we just know this type of awareness is what helps enhance our destination perception overall, whether it’s through media relations or great content that influencers are creating or just word of mouth through some of the great foodies up in New York.”