Born in Athens, Tennessee, Chef Jared Martin set foot in his first commercial kitchen when he was 16, serving in an ice cream shop. Six months later he shifted to cooking food, and it seems he never stopped. Martin spent time perfecting his craft in restaurants across the region, including Kefi in the Old City, connecting with chefs along the way.
General Manager Airlia Pritchett greeted diners at the door with a welcome cocktail she had conceived and named Lavender Haze. “It combines honey-infused Empress 1908 gin with a lavender mint tea syrup and a hint of lemon juice,” she said. Owners Tara and Doug Snover settled in to a corner booth. They are still pleased with their decision to restart Fire + Smoke after the previous owner had unexpectedly shut its doors in late 2023. It was their favorite date-night destination after they had moved from Arizona and it still is.
Cityview Publisher Nathan Sparks introduced Chef Jared Martin, the “earthy chef with the bandanna.” Martin took center stage, introducing a two-tiered appetizer: “We couldn’t decide so we went with both. We’ll start with a 42-day-dried ribeye tartare on rice. Then you’ll get yellowfin tuna, lightly grilled, served with pickled daikon radishes and cucumber salsa made with jalapenos, red onions, and cilantro, and topped with a soy sauce wasabi reduction.”
They were paired with Mio, a festive, sparkling Sake, bright with aromas of peach, ripe persimmon, freesia, and fresh bread. The name Mio refers to light, shallow water.
Waiter Phillip Byrd quickly cleared the appetizers to make way for a palate cleanser of a melon-ball-sized scoop of lime basil sorbet with a little oregano on top. This led to the entrée, a lightly cooked duck breast served with herbed gnocchi, smoked bakers, smoked tomatoes, grilled chestnut mushrooms from Extraterrestrial Fungi out of Powell, hazelnuts, and blackberry gastrique. The pairing of a 2022 Siduri Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir was a perfect counterpoint to the duck’s strong savor.
Matt Schaeffer, CEO of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, was on hand to talk about the great work being done there: 110 children are accommodated at the hospital, who come from 86 of Tennessee’s 95 counties and all 50 states. “The Medicaid population is 60 percent,” said Schaeffer. “It costs $900,000 a day to run the hospital, so we very much appreciate the contributions of everyone here.”
A post-entrée intermezzo of apple sorbet and smoked cinnamon introduced the Appalachian classic of Pecan Hand Pies served with espresso ice cream, raisin touille, and dark chocolate port ganache, paired with Warre’s 10-year Otima Tawny Port.
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