Memoirs of a food critic
“It’s a bad-ass feeling of peace in knowing the authenticity of that concept,” said Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro Executive Chef Shelley Cooper, talking about her commitment to true farm-to-table Appalachian cuisine with inventive twists. She is faithful to traditions she learned from one set of grandparents in Western Carolina and the other in the Mississippi Delta. “It’s my ancestry. It’s my history,” she says.
I still remember her Appalachian Hot Pot, served in a mini cast-iron skillet. It’s a jambalaya of!-->!-->!-->…