Knoxville Convention Center shows off new focus on “farm to table” dining and sustainability

This beautiful table was set with a farm theme in the front of the Convention Center's huge kitchen.

In addition to adding solar panels to its roof and focusing on recyling (15 tons last year), the Knoxville Convention Center also is bringing sustainability to its dining tables. To demonstrate its growing commitment to locally and sustainably produced food, Mary Bogert, the center’s executive director, hosted a chef’s table Thursday for a few of the Convention Center’s customers, friends and potential new clients.

This is the first chef’s table the Convention Center has hosted in three years, but Bogert said it was the best way to demonstrate some of her kitchen staff’s latest innovations.

Developer Nick Cazana, owner of the Holiday Inn World's Fair Park, chats with Karen Massey of the Convention Center over mimosas as the luncheon got off to a start in the center's board room.

Chef’s tables always are tremendous fun. This one, held in the Convention Center’s massive commercial kitchen, a place the public rarely gets to see, also featured wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle, a Washington state winery. A huge, specially constructed table at the front of the kitchen was the center of the action. Most of the food came from within about 100 miles of the Convention Center and included herbs actually grown on site on the World’s Fair Park side of the center.

The meats came from Laurel Creek Farm, located on the Cumberland Plateau. Executive Chef Christopher Moore said Laurel Creek supplies meat to some of the country’s finest restaurants, including California’s famed French Laundry and Maryville’s Blackberry Farm. And, Moore said, Laurel Creek has recently signed a contract with national gourmet cataloger Harry and David. “I feel like we’ve discovered them right before they explode on the national scene,” Moore said.

The Chateau Ste. Michelle wines paired with the various courses came from B&T Distributing and were selected by Kelly Campbell, who described the wines and why they matched the various foods. (The Knoxville Convention Center selects its various house wines through blind wine tastings, by the way.)

To get to the kitchen, you have to go through many staff-only hallways. Tray stands like these hang on many of those halls.

Once we made it to the kitchen, we were impressed by the beautifully dressed table.

In addition to garden hats on each of the chairs, the centerpiece featured live planted herbs and various kinds of birdhouses.

Linen napkins were tied with raffia and decorated with live daisies.

The place cards were made of seed packets! Great idea.

The first course was an amuse bouche of smoked duck, prepared in-house on the Convention Center’s brand new smoker. The duck was from Laurel Creek Farm. I don’t normally eat duck, but I made an exception — and found it delicious.

The tiny servings of duck prepared to hit the table.

Closer view of the duck. The micro-greens are sunflower sprouts. They were slightly peppery and very tasty.

The appetizer course was a little buffet of small edibles. I loved the wooden service platters. From left: bratwurst and chorizo from Laurel Creek, goat cheese truffle from Noble Springs Dairy, Cambozola cheese, house-smoked lime pepper hickory almonds, Tennessee chow-chow and the coolest appetizer of all: ham from Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams on a skewer to be dunked into a cantaloupe shooter sweetened with local honey. Awesome!

Each person got his or her own little buffet of appetizers.

The wine with this course was a 2008 sauvignon blanc from Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Horse Haven Vineyard. Sauvignon blanc is what Kelly Campbell described as a “patio wine” — an easy-drinking wine that can be enjoyed on a porch or patio even without food.

Next course was trout from North Carolina smoked at the Convention Center and served with a mixed lettuce salad with herbed ranch dressing made from buttermilk from Cruze Farm, a boiled quail egg, paddlefish caviar, a cornichon, capers and red onion along with a sesame crisp. The wine was a 2007 Indian Wells chardonnay from Chateau Ste. Michelle. I don’t usually like chardonnay, but the smokiness of the trout neutralized the oak and butter flavor in the wine. Excellent combination.

Fish course

The intermezzo was lemon basil sorbetto from Coolato Gelato on Gay Street. Chef Moore said the Convention Center is using more and more local vendors to provide products. He said Bogert is encouraging that practice and that, at first, it hurt his ego not to make everything himself, but now he sees how smart it is to use other local artisans.

“If we are going to be the Knoxville Convention Center and fulfill our duty, we need to support the other local producers,” Moore said. Many of the center’s desserts come from Yummy Cakes & More in Morristown and they also bring bread in from local bakers, he said. Coolato Gelato has become a valued partner, as well, he said.

Lemon basil sorbetto from Coolato Gelato was served in a frozen lemon.

The entree took advantage of the new smoker, once again. Lamb lollipops and grass-fed beef tenderloin from Laurel Creek were the stars. But I think my favorite part of the course was the grit cake with cheddar cheese from Sweetwater Valley Farm topped with fresh local vegetables.

Vegetables for the entree course. My mise en place never looks this good, believe me!

Executive Chef Christopher Moore describes the upcoming entree.

Chef Moore and Sous Chef John Morris plate the entree.

The delicious entree

The wine served with the entree was a knock-out: Feather, Columbia Valley, a 2006 cabernet sauvignon.

Although, Kelly Campbell said she really didn’t think wine went very well with dessert, many of us disagreed. We thought the red wine was great with this fantastic three-part dessert.

From left: fresh wild berry trifle with local sourwood raspberry honey, chocolate ganache terrine with local egg pastry cream; strawberry Grand Marnier white peach cobbler with shortbread crust

Isn't this the cutest little cobbler you've ever seen?

Here are pictures of the happy diners:

Convention Center General Manager Mary Bogert with County Commission Chair and radio executive Mike Hammond, center, and Larry Martin, deputy to Mayor Bill Haslam.

Leanna Belew of the Convention Center with Jeff Lee, general manager of WBIR-TV, center, and Patrick Birmingham, president and publisher of the News Sentinel.

Kim Beets, left, of the Convention Center, and Phyllis Nichols, president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League

Alan Carmichael and Monica Flatford of the Convention Center

Kelly Campbell, left, of B&T Distributors, Lynn Armstrong of the Convention Center, and Nick Cazana, owner of the Holiday Inn World's Fair Park

Some words of wisdom about wine from Kelly Campbell:

• “Wine makers are a cross between farmers and artists.”
• Champagne goes with everything.
• In answering the question, “What is your favorite everyday wine?” Campbell said Cordier, a white burgundy.
• Good tip for pairing wine and food: “It goes with what it grows with.” Select wines from the same region as the dish you are serving.
• 90 percent of all wine made today is meant to drink today. “I’m not a big saver of wine,” Campbell said. “I drink it. Life is short!”
• What’s a good wine with a turkey dinner? Gamay, according to Campbell.
• Also this nugget: “Port is liquid dessert.”
• What is the number one selling wine in America today, according to Campbell? Beringer white zinfandel. (Ugh.)

• 

  Here's how our invitations arrived -- with trail mix in a little burlap bag. Very clever.