Sam and his wife, Mary Celeste, at the Glass Ball celebrating the reopening of the Knoxville Museum of Art in May 2014.
There will be tons of media stories today and tomorrow about the passing of 39-year-old Sam Beall, father of five and proprietor of the world-renowned Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.
Media outlets reported that Beall died late yesterday as the result of a ski accident in Vail, Colorado.
I will leave it to my friends in the news media to chronicle the literally scores of chefs, restaurateurs, interior designers, landscape designers and other artisans who have blossomed in our community as a result of their employment at Blackberry Farm under the leadership of Sam Beall.
We are truly a much better place because of him and the great people he helped attract and develop.
Sam making introductory remarks in downtown Knoxville’s Krutch Park extension during the International Biscuit Festival in 2010.
Sam Beall and Blackberry Farm also have been generous supporters of our artistic and cultural community, in particular the Knoxville Museum of Art, which benefited from Blackberry and Beall’s involvement in the hugely successful annual fundraiser, L’Amour du Vin. For the past several years, Blackberry has been the locale of a fundraising Chamber performance by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, bringing in a substantial chunk of change for KSO’s operations.
And, in a mutually beneficial arrangement, Blackberry has been a major sponsor of the annual International Biscuit Festival and the Southern Food Writing Conference held each year in May in downtown Knoxville and at Blackberry Farm.
Because of all this, Sam Beall has been a frequent presence on this blog and I’d like to share here some of those great memories.
Our condolences and prayers go out to Sam’s family. We also mourn his loss on behalf of the East Tennessee community, as well as the national and international culinary and hospitality families, which will not be the same without him.
Click here for a link to a post a few years back when Sam’s mother described how important her son was to the success of Blackberry Farm.
Sam and his grandmother, Mary Anne Beall, during L’Amour du Vin at the Knoxville Museum of Art in 2014.
Sam introducing award-winning Chef Patrick O’Connell of The Inn at Little Washington during the same event.
Sam and his friend Caesar Stair that evening.
Sam introducing his head brewer, Daniel Heisler, to visitors from the Southern Food Writing Conference during a tour of Blackberry Farm’s new brewery last May.
Sam and Chris Kahn, a food stylist and overall food expert, during that visit.
Sam with Jay and Alison Hicks during a Blackberry Farm lunch for the Knoxville Museum of Art’s Collectors Circle in August of 2014.
Sam making remarks to the group that day.
Sam with Hunter Lewis of Southern Living magazine during the Southern Food Writing Conference attendees’ visit to Blackberry Farm in May 2014.
Sam with his then Executive Chef Joseph Lenn during the Southern Food Writing Conference in 2013.
Sam making remarks to the writers that evening.
Sam with Sarah Chabot, center, Blackberry’s marketing manager, and Jennifer Justus, a food and culture writer for the Nashville Tennessean, during the Southern Food Writing Conference dinner at Blackberry in 2012.
Sam, left, with his friend Jon Lawler at a Blackberry Farm dinner benefiting the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in 2012.
Sam pureeing some squash soup at a Knoxville Museum of Art fundraiser in 2009.
And signing his book, “The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farm,” that same day.
A sweet picture of Sam and Mary Celeste Beall taken at the International Biscuit Festival in 2011.
Sam’s importance to the cuisine and appreciation of fine wine in our region and indeed the whole country is tremendous. And what a lifestyle gem Blackberry Farm created in the foothills of the Smokies. Wine Spectator continuously gives Blackberry Farm’s wine cellar its top awards. I enjoyed every visit for Knoxville Symphony and Southern Food Writers’ events. This is all due to leadership of Sam and his family. He will be missed.
So sad. The photos are a lovely tribute.
What a legacy this young man leaves. My heart aches for his family. This is a wonderful tribute.
Thanks, Alan, Gay and Celeste for your comments. It’s just unbelievable.
Thank you so much, Cynthia, for sharing those wonderful photos and highlighting Sam Beall’s legacy. I knew him only to shake his hand, but his impact and dedication to quality and community were obvious in so many Knoxville and Blount County venues and organizations. My heart breaks for Kreis and all his family. I know, too, from friends who work at Blackberry that they are very much a Family organization, so this is such a tragedy on every level.
What a huge loss for Knoxville and Blackberry. He was way too young and had so much life to live and to give. Thoughts going out to his family.
He was a true supporter of the arts. He will be sorely missed.
Sherri: I agree with you. A tragedy on so many levels.
Sandy: Yes. Much, much too young.
Rachel: Absolutely correct.
Great tribute. Thanks mox
Sharon: Thanks.
I can’t even begin to imagine the terrible loss and heartache his family and friends are experiencing. Very sad and tragic and a huge loss of this quality individual to the community.
I know, Kati. Horrible.
Cynthia, thanks for including so many great memories. Sam was such a great person and an incredible asset to the community.
In the presence of great beauty, in the midst of pure joy, or in the depths of great sadness and sorrow there are no words to ever adequately express our feelings. Such is the case today with the loss of Sam. May Mary Celeste, his children, his family and friends, and all of us have the strength and faith to cope with our loss. May we celebrate Sam’s life and forever remember and be inspired by his devotion, passion, sacrifice, service, and love!
John: He sure was.
Caesar: Very sweet comments.
Impossible to calculate his loss. May his memory be a blessing.
Wonderful guy who made a huge contribution to his industry and all who knew. One of our regions truly great leaders.
A beautiful tribute, Cynthia. Thank you. He will be missed by this community. God bless his family.
A beautiful tribute. I am so sorry for the loss of such a wonderful man. Prayers go out to the family.
What a wonderful tribute to Sam! He was a great friend, personally and of the KMA, an incredible visionary with the highest standards and passion for everything he did. His guidance, leadership, and the many doors he opened for us over the past 12 years at the KMA has been invaluable, and he will be forever missed and remembered for his standard of excellence and taking the L’Amour du Vin auction event to where it is today. I pray for peace and comfort for Mary Celeste, their children, Kreis, and Sam and Squirt.
This is a beautiful tribute. My daughter is friends with his oldest daughter. Through that friendship she has gotten to experience some wonderful times at the farm. Their hospitality and generosity has been so special to my daughter, and I am so grateful to them for letting her share things with them that she normally would never have had the opportunity to do. Such a wonderful family and a tragedy for our community.
Thanks Cynthia. What a great tribute! What a great guy. We’re so sad for his family!
Bernie: Yes.
Mari: Thank you.
Susan: Thank you. This is a very big loss for the KMA, the Symphony and our entire community. He helped make us all better. And it sure was fun, too.
Missy: So sorry for what your daughter and her friend, Sam’s daughter, are going through.
Toni and Jon: Thanks. Agree about the loss.
Jim and Lynne: Thank you for your comments. I totally agree withyou about Sam’s importance.
What a wonderful tribute and such a tragedy. Heaven gained an angel and quite a host, but here on Earth what a sad loss. Prayers and love to his family.
+ just a quick note…the Knoxville Museum of art picture…those are not the Finneys, that is Jay and Alison Hicks from Indianapolis, IN – they are friends of mine and spend a lot of time at Blackberry Farm.
Thank you for that info, Mary. I will change the caption on that photo. (You will have to refresh your browser to see updated version.)
It’s really scary how many skiing deaths they have had there this year. When I was in my 20’s I had a jet ski wreck on the lake and it knocked me unconscious. Fortunately I had a life jacket on that was properly buckled and it saved my life. I realized then, that in the blink of an eye something can happen unexpected.
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