THE TENNESSEE WHISKEY FESTIVAL AND 4 COURSES AND SUPPER CLUB JOIN FORCES FOR A VIRTUAL EVENT 4 COURSES AND WHISKEY SUPPER BENEFITING THE FUTURE READY INSTITUTE OF HAMILTON COUNTY’S BRAINERD HIGH SCHOOL CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM. For the first time in seven years, like many other events, the Tennessee Whiskey Festival has postponed its annual festival until 2021. Pivoting in an effort to quench the thirst of its attendees, showcase culinary artisans and distilleries, they are excited to announce a partnership with 4 Courses and Supper Club to offer a virtual “ 4 Courses and Whiskey Supper” on Sunday, September 13, 2020, with proceeds benefiting the Future Ready Institute of Hamilton County’s Brainerd High School Culinary Arts Program. “4 Courses and Whiskey Supper” features two Black chefs and a Black chocolatier preparing the 4-course meal alongside the first female Black Master Blender preparing the cocktails/whiskey paired with each course.
To keep all participants safe during COVID-19 this will be a virtual event. The food and cocktail pickup will take place at Proof Bar & Incubator located at 422 East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. from 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm. We are grateful to Proof Bar & Incubator allowing us to utilize their space for preparation and pickup. Participate in the live-streamed conversation with all three chefs, chocolatiers, and master blender starting at 6:00 pm to learn more about their history, culture, southern roots, and how they incorporate it into their craft. Silent Online Auction will be available for additional support.
To register and purchase tickets, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4-courses-and-whiskey-supper-tickets-116241839471
About the chefs, chocolatiers, and master blender...
Mashama Bailey, the Executive Chef, and Partner at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia. James Beard awarded Mashama “2019 Best Chef of the Southeast” Chef Bailey creates dishes using Southern ingredients, African flavors, and European influences. She works with regional seafood, meat, and seasonal produce. Born in the Bronx, studied at the Institute of Culinary Educations’s New York campus, and worked in NYC restaurants for many years, the chef’s roots are in Georgia. One of her greatest influences, Chef Edna Lewis, Bailey serves as chairman of the board of the Edna Lewis Foundation, whose mission, according to its website, is to “revive, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of African American cookery by cultivating a deeper understanding of Southern food and culture in America.
Tannoria Askew, of Tannoria’s Table in Indianapolis, IN is a passionate home cook turned chef. She is the proud owner of Tannoria’s Table where she works as a personal chef and tv personality. Born in Chattanooga, TN, and raised in Indianapolis, IN. A 2016 finalist on Master Chef Season 7 hosted by Gordon Ramsay, Tannoria walked away as 4th best home cook in America. Tannoria was a champion and practitioner for Teachers Credit Union’s (TCU) Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Initiative, leading the charge in winning the Indianapolis Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Award. She blended her passion for cooking and her passion for D&I to create Unity Tables, a safe space for women of different races, cultures, and backgrounds to sit around a dinner table and share their heart as a way to create unity.
Kenyatta Ashford, owner and chef behind Neutral Ground in Chattanooga, TN. Chef Kenyatta Ashford studied at the renowned Culinary Institute of America in New York. Before returning to Chattanooga, he gained experience and inspiration while working in New Orleans, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. He is enthused about the expanding food scene in Chattanooga. He recently was awarded Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Work/Study Grant by the James Beard Foundation that he used to study cuisines of the African American diaspora and West Africa. Chef Ashford recently co-founded a new dinner series called "4 Courses and." He has been featured in Travel Noire, New York Times, and The Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Ella Livingston, chocolatier of Cocoa Asante in Chattanooga, TN. Ella was born in Ghana but moved to the U.S. at the age of 3, where she says although she had strong ties to her culture, she had little connection with the actual land. After studying abroad, she decided to bring a true taste of Ghana to Chattanooga and started, Cocoa Asante, a chocolate truffle company that uses cocoa sourced from Ghana. Ella sells her handmade truffles directly to local businesses for resale and online to customers since 2018. For Livingston, making and selling Ghana-sourced chocolate is about more than just taste. It’s about supporting the farmers there through equitable business practices.
Victoria Eady Butler, the first female Black Master Blender, of the Black Woman-owned, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. Victoria, the great-great-granddaughter of pioneering distiller Nathan” Nearest” Green, is carrying on her family’s legacy. After 31 years in law enforcement, Victoria was approached to be interviewed about her great-great-grandfather and his foundational yet nearly forgotten contributions to American whiskey. An emancipated enslaved man, Nathan “Nearest” Green is credited with perfecting what came to be known as the Lincoln County process of charcoal filtration distinctive ton Tennessee-style whiskey and, in the mid-1800s, teaching a young orphan named Jack Daniel how to distill spirits. When Jack Daniel’s Distillery opened in 1866, Green was its first head distiller and the two remained close friends for life. Generations of the Green family have worked at Jack Daniel’s, including Butler’s two sisters and her youngest brother, and tours of the distillery now detail Green’s role. Fast forward to 2016 when Victoria agreed to meet with Fawn Weaver, Black Author, and Black entrepreneur. It became clear that the best way to perpetuate Green’s legacy was to put his name on a bottle of whiskey with the direct participation of the Green family. That plan has grown to become Nearest Green Distillery, maker of Uncle Nearest, the fastest-growing independent American whiskey brand in history.
Thank you to the following sponsors and partners in helping to make this event a success. Footprint Foundation Benwood Foundation Lodge Cast Iron Sequatchie Cove Farms What Chefs Want Marithyme Seafood Hoff and Pepper Proof Bar & Incubator RISE Chattanooga
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