Entrée:
Pork Two Ways, with gumbo and traditional potato salad.
Dessert:
Guava Turnover, with cream cheese ice cream and guava sorbet.
Danny Wilhoit grew up on a farm in Campbell County, where at an early age family members were required to be in the gardens and working with animals. “When I was younger,” he says, “I hated the aspect of all that work, but it instilled in me a deeper love of food.” In the past year, Wilhoit has taken advantage of his roots by highlighting Appalachian and Tennessee Valley area food.
He finds the Top Chefs competition exciting, an opportunity both to show off and participate in an event that promotes companionship and camaraderie amongst the competition.
Favorite Food to Eat: “One of our salads. It’s just fresh pea salad with a cream dressing, and what I like about it is that it’s super bright and very crunchy. You’re getting peas and beans that are in season at the peak of their beauty, and with the enzymatic process we’re using for the dressing, you get an almost fermented flavor profile.”
Favorite Food to Prepare: “Though baking pastry isn’t really my realm of things, getting to do any sort of sweet confection or pastry item is fun for me—everyone loves pastries and sweet stuff. I get the fulfillment that comes from giving that to someone else.”