Thought I’d share this recent email and my answer, as it contains some good farm-fresh culinary/agricultural education resources in Charlotte and beyond.
Dear Diane,
My brother is an aspiring chef living in Charlotte. He is very passionate about sustainable farming and farm to table dining. I have already bought him your book as a Christmas gift but was wondering if you knew of any workshops that I could send him too that would enhance his education and passion. Thanks, Justin
Hi Justin,
Thanks for gifting my book!
One option, which is focused on farming as opposed to dining, is here http://farmfreshnorthcarolina.com/2011/12/davidson-county-offers-intro-to-sustainable-farming-program/. The focus is on people who are seriously interested in farming, so I’m not sure that would be right, but maybe?
Other options would be to see if Johnson and Wales has anything that would fit. http://jwu.edu/charlotte/chefschoice/. Also at the Art Institute of Charlotte, http://www.artinstitutes.edu/charlotte/culinary-802.aspx, but I’m not sure if they offer any classes to the non-degree seekers. If you look in the book under Charlotte dining options, they run Artisan, a student-run farm-to-table restaurant. They do A LOT with sustainable cooking. There’s also a phenomenal program at the community college in Chatham County, but that’s probably too far for you. http://www.cccc.edu/naturalchef/
You could also get him involved in Slow Food Charlotte, if he’s not already. http://slowfoodcharlotte.org/
Best of luck, and if these don’t fit the bill let me know and I’ll see what else I can tell you.
Keep it fresh in NC!
Diane
