We’ve officially reached the halfway mark of our Heritage Fire Tour, meaning we have an epic lineup of Heritage Heroes so far. In case you didn’t know, uplifting local chefs at each of our tour stops is one of our main missions. After serving up their unique dishes to hundreds of guests, attendees vote for their favorite dish of the day. At the end of the event, the chef with the most votes is awarded the title of Heritage Hero, a title they can wear proudly for years to come. So far, we’ve had chefs from Tampa, Atlanta, Austin, Twin Cities, Savannah, Nashville, and Asheville take home the gold. Here’s what some of them had to say about their win.
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“My mantra in food is to go back to go forward. We believe preservation and fermentation should be a part of every plate. We believe great food should be relevant but renewed through smoke and fire! That was our mission [at Heritage Fire] — to bring something that people would fall in love with again.”
“Bask Steakhouse chefs Chris Moseley [and I] were asked to participate in Heritage Fire Atlanta, which we were thrilled about. Having the opportunity to do a tasting over live fire really put us to work. We wanted to do something delicious yet simple, which would help us streamline our first time participating in the event go as smooth as possible. When the winner was announced, we were beside ourselves! We never expected to win, but what an awesome honor!”
"As the returning champion from 2023, I knew I had to not only create a culinary experience worthy of the talent of Heritage Fire, but ensure I remained true to my roots. In order to achieve this, I pivoted from trying to create the typical 'never been done before' dish and instead I paused and took a stroll down memory lane, back to my roots in San Francisco, to find those ingredients, flavors and techniques that made me the chef I am today. I channeled my inspiration from one of my mentors, Chef Dennis Lee, to do just that. How to take a simple but beloved dish, such as a hot dog, and elevate it with the right spices, structure and multi dimensional flavors to basically transform it into something new, yet familiar. The result, a dish that marries both a Thai cheddar sausage with a spicy honey mustard salsa on a sweet roll that was usually only meant for lobsters. The icing on that cake, I added kimchi kraut and chicken cracklings for a unique and unforgettable crunch."
“This was our 3rd year at the competition, and each time we like to go above and beyond, even if winning is not the end result. We enjoy and love what we do; for us, it’s all about connecting with people and showcasing what else Sazon can do. Each time, we pick a main focus point; this time it was an Al Pastor trio. We went with a taco al pastor paired with [an] al pastor fat washed margarita, and, because al pastor is not complete without pineapple, for dessert a pineapple upside down cake. We [also partnered] with [The National Bison Association] and brought our staple birria tacos. It’s really wonderful to connect and meet people each year and come together to show what Heritage is really about.”
"Preparing for and competing in Heritage Fire is something the team at Rhett looks forward to every year. It's a team effort, from brainstorming recipes that celebrate Savannah's culinary roots to organizing how we will execute, all working toward perfecting the art of fire cooking. This year we teamed up with Savannah-based Hunter Cattle Farm and created a pork belly and Sea Island red pea dish. Winning the event was a testament to the harmony of tradition, local sourcing, and the artistry of live fire cooking."
“Our approach for the event was to select a protein that people may be slightly reluctant to try in an effort to showcase how delicious it can be. We are blessed to have access to such incredible products from Bear Creek Farms, which makes our job incredibly easy. I’m grateful we were able to display the range and passion of the Conrad Nashville team.”
“For our dish, we wanted to highlight the season's best offerings. Summer is BBQ season, so we felt like ribs were the only play. Having the cucumbers from our garden was a huge advantage as well, since we were able to get them at their absolute freshest. The rest was just taking those high quality ingredients and letting them do the talking.”
Congrats to all our 2024 Heritage Heroes so far. We can’t wait to see who’ll be joining them in the winner’s circle!
