Blackberry farm

blackberry I was lucky enough to visit blackberry farm a couple of weeks ago.  I have been wanting to go there for some time.  My friend chad liitle is a line cook there and told me about Grant Achatz  coming to do a dinner. I jumped on the chance to spend a couple days to see this place for my self.  Definitely one of the most beautiful places i have ever been.  Blackberry is in walland,tennessee about 30 minutes outside of knoxville. There is a lot of exciting things that go on behind the scenes at blackberry.  There have there own garden where they harvest alot of there vegetables for the restaurant. The barn in the picture above is the brand new restaurant that has been open less than a year.   Peter Glander is the new chef at the barn and has only been there less than a year as well.  Chef Klander was formally the executive sous chef at the modern in NY and also worked at jean George. His style is very simple and one of his own not really reflecting prior restaurants he has worked at.  The first day i spent working with the cooks for dinner service.  The chef writes a new menu everyday.  So the first thing the cooks do is talk about the menu the cooks dont even know what station they are working until the chef decides the menu. the line is composed of a five man line a fish cook, meat, two apetizer stations, one person just to plate amuse.  There is a seperate line for desserts where one pastry chef plates. The Cooks pass all of the food to the chef and the sous chef and they plate everything.  It was a very relaxed service that i was there for about 80 covers the most people they do in the barn is about 130 people.

more on blackberry to come......