Blooming Mountain Laurel, Protected Galax and a Favorite Friend - Sunday on Celo in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Some life experiences are just too special to keep to oneself.

Today after church, a 3rd generation octogenarian friend from Celo Mountain/ Toe River Valley suggested I drive up to another member's home with her to see the fading mountain laurel blooms that lined the winding, wooded drive up to the house. Last Sunday the blooms were at their prime, the best my friend said she has seen in her 80+ years on this mountain. Working had to take priority last Sunday for me, but today she drove me through this breathtaking beauty and got out of the car and walked the wooded path (these mountain women - and men - are extremely strong, vigorous and capable well into their 80's and 90's!) to get me closer to these wild, native blooming cousins of roses and azaleas. Our mountains are ablaze in this color now with the rhododendrons to soon follow. And all of this is natural - not landscaped, not planted by man!

As beautiful as the blooms are on these tree-sized plants, the bark and limbs are equally beautiful in their unique twistings and shapes. Local artists use these for beautiful fence railings and handcrafted furniture (see inset photo and link below for this particular artist.)

Notice the two photos of the low-growing plant at the bottom left of the collage. This is wild galax. There are outsiders who come in and illegally gather these valuable plants to sell. If caught, these people end up serving time in prison. Galax is used in many floral arrangements and are legally harvested, as well, by a local business here on Celo but with severe restrictions.

House Bill 476 passed the State House 3 days ago to make it "unlawful to uproot, dig, disturb or remove galax plants without a written permit, or to buy galax out of a buying season, among other restrictions...Unsustainable harvesting of galax in Western North Carolina, where the plant grows wild in certain environments, has some land managers concerned the plant will go extinct. The North Carolina mountains are the largest source of galax in the United States. Forest Service researchers have estimated the plant, used in floral arrangements, to have a market value of $10 million." (There are equally tough restrictions on wild, native ginseng, as well.)

Come take the winding, wooded drive blooming with wild mountain laurel and budding with the soon-to-bloom wild rhododenron on the way to THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN. Spring in the Blue Ridge is just too beautiful to miss! Join us for the Rhododendron Festival and Mountain Farm Lavender Festival upcoming June 17 and 18 and June 18 and 19, respectively.

Ahh...the Beauty and Power of Place!

Featured wood railing in photo

Asheville Citizen Times article about galax

The Cove at Celo Mountain

Interview with Knife and Fork's Chef Nate Allen - Final Four WNC Chef Challenge 2011 (so far!)

Clockwise: Chef Nate Allen of Knife and Fork; preparing the dish;

"made from scratch" ingredients; the #1 dish - Tempura ramps topped andouille sausage and a savory waffle;

preparing the Knife & Fork dessert; Team Knife and Fork wins! (All photos from WNC Chef Challenge - WNC magazine.)

Tour THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN during June (866-378-4769), and be our guest at this award-winning ten-table restaurant that serves gourmet farm-to-table cuisine. Chef Nate Allen and his wife, Wendy Gardner, opened up Knife and Fork in historic, small town Spruce Pine, NC, two years ago. This hometown favorite is rapidly gaining kudos from all over Western North Carolina. Nate kindly took a moment for an email interview with us.

(The Cove at Celo Mountain is located between the two historic "small-town America" communities of Burnsville and Spruce Pine. We office in Burnsville but consider both towns "home.")

We hear rumors that you were chef for high-profile clients like Reese Witherspoon, Toby Maguire, maybe Leonardo DiCaprio before you “came back home.” Is this true, and is this home? Someone told us Wendy is from Burnsville. Why did you go to Spruce Pine instead of Burnsville?

I am aware of rumours regarding my past employers. Something that has made me a commodity in the private cooking world is my respect for confidentiality. For five years before moving here I had the great opportunity to work/live/and travel with many of the hollywood elite. Thats as specific as I am willing to get. North Carolina has to me always been my home. My parents were both born in NC. I was born in the nations capitol. But never lived there. Then my list of addresses after birth reads like I was on the run. My father was transferred as often as every 3-5 years to a new state. Wendy and her family moved to Burnsville from Sarasota FL when she was three. I would say that she is from here but that really depends on who you ask around these parts.We moved back to Burnsville in June of 09. Initially we had not planned on opening a restaurant so soon. Instead, I planned to get a decent garden going, meet some other growers and begin a slow planning phase. As you know, Yancey was still a dry county in 09 and Spruce Pine was newly wet as of that previous April. I would not have a business were it not for the ability to have alcohol sales. Some one brought our attention to our current location a few days after our arrival. We met with the landlord and saw the trains (I love trains) and three days later we had our space. We also had a lot of work to do.

We understand you are on the Spruce Pine Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. We have had clients ask if Spruce Pine plans a Riverwalk with restaurants and shops like in San Antonio, TX – or do they plan to do some “sprucing up” with the railroad depot and maybe have train excursions similar to the one in Bryson City?

i am not on the board of the chamber in Mitchell. I am on the board of the Downtown Spruce Pine Mainstreet Assoc.. We have created a master plan for the town and have hopes for implementation. Our Director, Bryan Freeborn, is working diligently to help us chip away at small projects as we attempt to find the funding to reach our goals. I know that we are not using the river walk in TX as a model. The depot is unfortunately the property of CSX and they are not concerned with its appearance. I would like to paint it guerilla style in the middle of the night because it is an eyesore. A passenger train came through for the initial heritage festival here in Spruce Pine a number of years ago. It would be dreamy to have that be a regularity but CSX finds much more profit in the transit of our mountain tops than in half full passenger cars.

Where did you study the culinary arts? What is your approach/philosophy to your menu selection and presentation? We hear you prefer local, organic ingredients but know that you highlight special cheeses and beers from out-of-state as well. Will you try to stay almost exclusively with local, farm-to-table gourmet cuisine? By the way, you got huge kudos from one of our clients, who has a second home in Switzerland, with your tempura ramps (or so she called them.)

I trained at Johnson & Wales in Providence RI. My approach and philosophy are based on the idea of how we might be able to operate 100 years ago. No global economy or mass transit. We source our ingredients locally because it turns the changing seasons and their offerings into a celebration and a ritual of appreciation. I do not believe that I should be buying foreign tomatoes or any other vegetable just because the modern palate has come to expect everything and anything to be available at anytime. Real responsible living and the health and joy that they bring are anything but convenient. Wine and cheese and beer are fantastic and need to be sourced from outside of this specific region because no one is really doing that here. This tends to be an extremely acceptable exception to my general rule.

Would you be willing to share a recipe with us to put in the blog?

sure I would share a recipe. Any request? (This will appear in a future blog.)

We would love to hear your comments about the Chef’s Challenge. We are taking a lot of pride in your success and are so thankful you are here and that we as a local business can be the recipients of your talent.

The challenge has been fantastic. I love getting a chance to meet and work with other creative kitchen artists. i have made some great friends and i cannot wait to compete again on June 6th.

Is there anything you would like us to know in regards to your restaurant or plans for the future – like opening a second location in Burnsville!?

I have one plan for the future. I want to fill my restaurant and feed people great food while continuing to uplift the local agricultural community. i will not open another restaurant unless some benevolent human being pays for my dream space and my dream crew and acts only as a silent partner and I retain ownership and complete creative control.

We so hope you will attend the next round of the WNC Chef Challenge and support Nate and Wendy and Knife & Fork. "They do us proud!"

To order tickets for the Final Four WNC Chef Challenge on June 6

Video by Downtown Spruce Pine

Photos: http://www.wncmagazine.com/photogallery/wnc_chefs_challenge_2011_week_7

Photo/ WNC Interviewhttp://www.wncmagazine.com/wineandfood/allen

It's a Big Deal - Another Collaborative Effort Between Teens and Community

If you have read this blog, you know that we highly regard the community/high school liason that is so strong here. Our beautiful Mountain Heritage High School campus, which resembles a metropolitan community college, is approached on a winding, wooded drive past an old tobacco barn proudly displaying one of the Western North Carolina Quilt Trails Quilt Blocks, past a guard house and on through to what is considered the largest on-campus Habitat for Humanity Warehouse in North Carolina - and surely one of the largest on any public high school campus in America. It is here where community volunteers work alongside our teenagers to build a home for a deserving local family. In the art classes, our young people throw bowls for the Empty Bowl Benefit, whose founders call Burnsville, NC home now. They also paint Quilt Blocks for the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina, also headquartered here. The ecology class invites the community (and visitors) on yearly river tours to learn about our local eco system in this Blue Ridge Mountain area. The thespian teens act right along with very accomplished adults from Western North Carolina in our historic and acclaimed Parkway Playhouse.

The most recent collaborative effort between the community and school is building manicured hiking trails along the campus property. In the photo above, Tim Johnson of NC State Parks teaches "Sustainable Trails" to trail building volunteers (both students and adults) at Mountain Heritage High School. Best of all, this beautiful trail will be available to the community as a whole to enjoy.

It is this same concept of protecting, enhancing, and utilizing natural talent and beauty to share with others that was the genesis of The Cove at Celo Mountain. With our own 3 miles of manicured hiking trails along a rushing creek, beautiful waterfalls, and relaxing trout ponds, lean-to's for contemplation, reading, or photographing, 4 park areas with handcrafted furniture, fire pits and cooking areas, an art-commisioned, hand-forged front entrance gate, and one-of-a-kind Quilt Block (our owners underwrite this award-winning non-profit), The Cove at Celo Mountain brings the tranquility and beauty of nature to your front door - with the luxury and carefree superintendence of gated-community living. This leaves you time for enjoying the great outdoors around us, traveling, or joining in this remarkable cross-age collaborative communal work we do so well here in Burnsville, NC.

Experience our lifestyle and tour The Cove at Celo Mountain - compliments of the owners - during May and June. Call us about our Special Discovery Package. 866-378-4769.