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Onfor Cast Cast-Iron cooking �with Adam Hayes

SOUTHERN CAST IRON

© HOFFMANAS MEDIA SEEN 2015 IN

by ALICE DETERS When he's not creating the weekly photography by WHITNEY OTT at Canyon , Adam loves to outside over an open fire.

87 southern cast iron winter 2016 winter 2016 southern cast iron 88 n many respects, Chef Adam Hayes is a modern-day cowboy. The executive chef at Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley outside Cashiers, North Carolina, enjoys cooking Iover an open fire with his cast-iron skillets whenever he can. He wears his chef’s in a holster on his hip at all times. Willie Nelson and Sturgill Simpson can often be heard playing in his kitchen. And, above all else, he holds a deep and abiding love for the land. Adam grew up in a very small town in central North Carolina. “I’m from Randolph County, North Carolina,” says Adam. “I say “county” because the town is so small that it’s hard to claim, but it’s called Trinity.” Perhaps this is why he seems to have found his home at Canyon Kitchen, a place where he can get back to his roots and truly be himself. Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lonesome Valley is a community that spans nearly 800 picturesque acres. The area hearkens back to a simpler time, with much of the landscape untouched. Canyon Kitchen, Lonesome Valley’s , sits in a meadow at the base of the mountain, presenting diners with breathtaking views at every turn and breezes from the open doors that surround the . Canyon Kitchen’s menu changes nightly, and dishes are always full of the seasonal that reflect the area’s Southern heritage. “Working at Canyon Kitchen in Lonesome Valley has always been a dream job,” he says. Adam comes from a long line of cooks, and his childhood included weekends in his grandmother’s in downtown Asheboro. His mother regularly cooked family and his father was an avid griller. Following in his father’s footsteps, Adam says SOUTHERN CAST IRON his first true cooking experience came when he started after going off to college. “Any time I would visit home, my mom would send me back with coolers full of

© HOFFMANAS MEDIA SEEN 2015 IN to grill. I had no idea what I was doing, but I started experimenting and really got the hang of things.” Adam’s time at college was short-lived; he couldn’t keep his grades up and returned home. “When I got back home, my dad sat down with me and told me that I really needed to figure something out. I took a job as a fry cook at a sandwich shop in town. It was so high energy and high stress—just the kind of environment I thrive in. I was hooked.”

89 southern cast iron winter 2016 winter 2016 southern cast iron 90 He continued to work as a fry cook that summer and learned as much as he could from the cooks he worked with. “I started dating my now-wife, and she eventually asked me to go to culinary school with her. I agreed, and we both enrolled at Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro. She hated it. I loved it. And the rest is history.” Prior to joining Canyon Kitchen, Adam spent many years working in resorts across the South. He found his greatest success at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, where he served as executive chef for five years. While there, he revamped the hotel’s menu to focus on the farm-to-table movement and won a number of awards, as as an invitation to host a at the James Beard house in 2013. However, in 2014, Adam was ready for something new. “I wanted to get back to what I knew—my roots and traditions—and back into more of the restaurant scene so I could focus on developing my culinary skills and face a new challenge. Lonesome Valley checked all of those boxes.” Adam has quite a few plans for Canyon Kitchen in the coming months. “I want Canyon Kitchen to function like my kitchen would have back in the day. We want to focus on preserving and . We also want to expand the gardens here as well as Adam makes the served amp up the foraging. Other than that, I plan to keep learning as much as I can and trying at Canyon Kitchen using a vintage out new things, while not forgetting the things I know best.” sausage stuffer he inherited from a His words drip with passion, and it’s clear that Adam has found his home at Lonesome SOUTHERN CAST IRON friend (photo on page 94). Valley. He’s a natural preparing the old-fashioned way—letting it cook slowly in cast © HOFFMANAS MEDIA SEEN 2015 IN iron over an open flame. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s living the cowboy dream.

Canyon Kitchen is open Wednesday through Sunday for dinner, mid-May through early November. You can make reservations by calling (828) 743-7967 or visit their website lonesomevalley.com/project/canyon-kitchen. Canyon Kitchen is located at 94 Lonesome Valley Road in Sapphire, North Carolina.

91 southern cast iron winter 2016 winter 2016 southern cast iron 92 The star of Adam's cast-iron collection, Big Daddy.

Just a few of the much-used members of Adam's cast-iron arsenal.

Adam’s Cast-Iron Collection The pride and joy in Adam’s cast-iron collection is aptly named “Big Daddy.” At nearly 21 inches in diameter, this skillet is certainly worthy of its name. Capable of holding five whole chickens, 16 steaks, or five pounds of , Big Daddy turned Chef Adam into something of a local legend. After taking over as executive chef at Canyon Kitchen, he began planning his first big event, a cowboy cooked over an open fire. Knowing the event would mean quite a few mouths to feed, a friend jokingly told him to stop by Zoller Hardware in downtown Cashiers and pick up Big Daddy. Adam took him up on it. “When I took the skillet off the wall, there must have been an inch of dust on the thing,” Adam explained. “It had been there forever. Everyone was staring at me when I took it up to the counter. It seemed like everyone in town had always joked about getting the skillet, but they never had, and it threw everyone for a loop.” In addition to Big Daddy, Adam has a few other prized pieces of cast iron that he loves to SOUTHERN CAST IRON use. He inherited from his wife’s grandmother both a large pot and a cornbread pan, which he uses at Canyon Kitchen. A 10-inch Griswold skillet is his go-to at home. © HOFFMANAS MEDIA SEEN 2015 IN One of his most unique pieces is a sausage stuffer that came from his friend Elsbeth’s grandfather. “I was helping them move her grandfather’s house after he passed away, and at the end of the day they asked me if I wanted anything. I had been eyeing the sausage stuffer all day, but I wasn’t sure if it was too much to ask for. I asked, sheepishly, and they agreed. We use it all the time to make sausage at Canyon Kitchen.”

93 southern cast iron winter 2016 winter 2016 southern cast iron 94 The designs on Adam's chef knife and holster reflect his North Carolina heritage.

Tools of the Cowboy Chef In one of his early jobs, Adam’s high energy and attitude earned him the nickname “Johnny the Gunslinger.” To live up to his nickname, Adam vowed that one day he would buy himself a top-of-the-line holster for his knife, so he could wear it on his hip at all times. After winning the regionals at Competition Dining, a cooking competition in North COLLARD GREENS 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar the bottom of the bowl.) Remove collards Carolina, Adam used his winnings to purchase a holster from Jackson’s Western Supply, a courtesy of Adam Hayes, Canyon Kitchen 1 tablespoon kosher from mixture. Let drain. vintage western-wear store near Asheville. 10 cups or chicken stock NEXT Heat a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch “I walked in, and they were kind of confused,” said Adam. “They asked me ‘So, you want Makes about 8 servings 1 cup unsalted butter over medium-high heat. Add onion an old-timey western six-shooter holster, but for your knife?’” 2 tablespoons hot and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until Eventually all parties got on the same page, and the result can only be described as a Here’s a home-kitchen version of Kosher salt to taste mixture begins to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. SOUTHERN CAST IRON work of , full of Adam’s vision. It includes an outline of his home state of North Carolina Adam Hayes’ collard greens. NEXT Stir in brown sugar. Cook until mixture with a star carved over his hometown of Trinity. Also included are images of the Blue Ridge FIRST Discard thick stems from greens; tear is caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining

© HOFFMANAS MEDIA SEEN 2015 IN Mountains and a waterfall scene, speaking to Adam’s love of the outdoors. 5 medium bunches collard greens greens into small pieces. In a large bowl, 2 cups and greens. Stir in salt and When Adam and his team won Competition Dining at the state level, he turned to Athens, 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cider combine greens, water to cover, and stock. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer Georgia-based Bloodroot to a custom knife for his new holster. Adam’s knife vinegar, divided 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Let greens until tender, 3 to 4 hours. is truly one of a kind. The is made from reclaimed metal taken from an old North 2 medium yellow onions, chopped soak, without stirring, at least 10 minutes. LAST Stir in butter, hot sauce, and salt to Carolina sawmill. The knife also features a reclaimed leather strap as well as a large stag 2 pounds slab bacon, diced (Any extra sand on the collards will settle at taste. horn that serves as the top of the handle, complete with a carved “H” for his last name.

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