A Culinary Celebration Honoring Knoxville’s Finest Food Artists
Story By Intro by Nathan Sparks | Chef Stories by N. Brooks Clark | Photography by Nathan Sparks & Micha Haas | Food stying by Chelsie Hall
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 3 (May/June 2026)
In 2007, Top Chefs was born from a simple idea: Knoxville’s culinary talent deserved a spotlight. Nearly two decades later, that idea has grown into something far greater than any of us imagined—a celebration of craft, community, and the kind of cooking that makes you close your eyes and forget everything else for a moment.
This year, seven extraordinary chefs answered the call. We opened with a stunning evening at Bistro by the Tracks, where John Bryant set the tone with the kind of hospitality and precision that reminds you why food is its own language. From there, we made our way through some of Knoxville’s most compelling kitchens: Robert McDonald III at the Marlowe, Alex Gass at Fire and Salt, Travis Freundt at Lonesome Dove, Jeff Jorgenson at Farm to Feast, and Jeff Carter at Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro.
Chef Jeff Carter took first place in the appetizer (top) with Appalachian Cioppino and in the entrée (left) with Five Expressions of Duck. He also finished as the returning grand champion.
We wrapped the series with newcomer Eric Rowland at Water into Wine, who made one thing very clear. He belongs in this conversation. The format remains the heart of what makes this competition special. Attendees become the judges, each one receiving a ballot to score the appetizer, entrée, dessert, and overall experience on a scale of one to ten. There is no panel of critics and no industry insiders deciding the outcome. It is the people of Knoxville, voting with their palates. We tally those scores to determine category winners, and from that same data, crown the overall grand champion.
Newcomer Chef Travis Freundt took first place in dessert with his labor-intensive Medovik, a Russian honey layer cake.
But here is what I want you to hold onto as you turn these pages: there are no losers here, and I do not mean that as a platitude. Every single one of these chefs, along with their entire teams, their front-of-house staff, their sous chefs, and their dishwashers, showed up and poured themselves into every plate. They competed to be the best, yes, but they also competed for something bigger: raising funds for Dolly Parton’s Children’s Hospital. That dual purpose is woven into every course, every score, and every vote cast. It is a reminder that great food can do real good in the community it serves. This year’s competition was as fierce as we have seen, with creativity pushing boundaries and each course telling a story of place, technique, and personal expression.
Pastry Chef Tirra Cowan helped secure Dancing Bear’s overall win with her second-place dessert, Buttermilk Cornbread Tiramisu with Elderberry and Limoncello Crème
Two names kept surfacing at the top of the tallies: Jeff Jorgenson of Farm to Feast, a newcomer who turned heads and earned exceptional marks across the board, and Jeff Carter of Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro, who, in a field this talented, once again proved why he has become one of Knoxville’s most decorated culinary voices. When the final votes were counted, Carter claimed the grand champion title for another year, though this time he had to earn every point of it. As your host and emcee across all seven events, I had the privilege of tasting every dish, absorbing every atmosphere, and watching Knoxville’s dining scene shine in real time. Each stop brought its own personality, its own rhythm, and its own unforgettable moments around the table. If you have not visited each of these restaurants, consider this your personal invitation. So without further ado, the 2026 Top Chef contenders, and the champion who rose to the top once again. This is where the stories come to life on the plate. Dig in.
Jeff Carter & Tirra Cowan
Jeff Carter—fresh off his victory in last year’s Top Chefs competition and building on his background at Blackberry Farm, previous time at Dancing Bear, and years at Sunspot— doubled down with his Exploration of Italian Appalachia. The evening began with spring Prosecco cocktails and strolling bites of Benton’s bacon and lamb meatballs glazed with tomato jam, cucumber coins with bagna càuda, whipped goat cheese, and toasted hazelnut, and West Virginia pepperoni rolls. “My mother’s maiden name was Capellino and she came from Bluefield, West Virginia,” said Houston Oldham, VP of operations for Oldham Hospitality and son of the owners of Dancing Bear.
Pastry Chef Tirra Cowan created a heavenly dessert of buttermilk & cornbread tiramisu combined elderberry-soaked cornmeal sponge cake, buttermilk mousse, and sweet cream anglaise—all complemented by Limoncello Crème.
The first course of Appalachian Cioppino (fish stew) came in a bowl of smoked rainbow trout, catfish, crawfish tails, and mussels with Benton’s country ham, smoky tomato broth, soffritto, farro verde, grilled cornmeal sourdough, and chow chow. “I got a little bit of the chow chow,” said Angie Carter, the chef’s wife. “I thought, there’s Appalachia.”
Sommelier and Bar Director Michelle LaBorde introduced the three wines as coming from the same Valpolicella vineyard in Veneto, northern Italy. “They are very special,” said LaBorde. “A perfect match for Chef’s food. Three different styles and alcohol levels—the first at 12 percent, the second at 14.5 and the third at 16 percent.”
The Cioppino was tempered with a 2024 Massaro Norma, Classico DOC. The second course, a braised lamb leg pasta, warranted the notes of sweet spices and red fruit from a 2023 Massaro Norma Ripasso Classico Superiore DOC. It complemented the smoked lamb leg, Benton’s ham hock, local oyster mushrooms, roasted carrots, Italian apron Torchetti pasta, preserved lemon gremolada, and lemon oil.
Then came the third course, Five Expressions of Duck. “Duck broken down into different parts,” explained Carter. “A fun, entertaining dish for us to do.” The plate contained koji-dusted crispy duck breast, duck sausage roulade, duck liver mousse, duck confit, roasted duck with Madeira jus, duck fat parsnip purée, cider-kissed mustard greens, and cherry–sorghum gastrique. This demanded another Massaro Norma, a 2022 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG. “The fat of the duck will break down the high alcohol content,” said LaBorde.
Jeff Jorgensen
Turning off Hickory Creek Road into She Diggs Farm, you pass exotic Kunekune pigs, elegant chickens, mules, horses, and goats. Chef Jeff Jorgenson and his wife, Jessica, show you to a long table under the portico. Bartender Antonio Gutierrez mixes and shakes Chartreuse Liqueur, Rhum JM white rum, a house syrup, real lime juice, and Texas grapefruit shrub to create the cocktail “You Can’t Handle the Treuse.” The welcome hors-d’oeuvre is a quarter-sized homemade bone meal cracker, pimento cheese, paprika, topped with chive and pickled pepper.
“Farm to Feast is all about community and dining at the table with love and all that represents,” said Jorgenson. He started loving food as a child in Pennsylvania, where his mom and aunt made and sold pies with fruit from a nearby farm. After his family moved to Knoxville, he learned the restaurant business from top to bottom in 13 years with Aubrey’s restaurants, along the way getting his BS in food service management from UT in 2005.
Nourishing people’s spiritual sides, Jorgenson earned his master’s in Biblical Studies at Atlanta’s Reformed Theological Seminary in 2015, honing his culinary chops at Muss & Turner’s, Canoe, and Cook Hall. After returning to Knoxville, Jeff’s stint at RT Lodge inspired him and Jessica to launch Farm to Feast at his sister Heather Fulghum’s farm in 2020. Sourcing as much as possible from the farm, Jorgenson creates “elevated” meals—delivered to doors, catered, and served at the farm, like Top Chefs.
The beet-cured salmon appetizer was served with avocado purée, orange segments, cucumber, radish, candied orange peel, herb oil, and smoked trout caviar. The 2024 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé was subtle and apt.
The short rib, braised for three hours, came with a red wine demi-glace, caramelized parsnip purée, brown-butter–glazed parsnips, confit carrot, cipollini onion, and fried leeks. The 2019 Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley balanced the short rib.
The triple citrus goat cheesecake came atop a hazelnut crust, with huckleberry coulis, lemon curd, whipped cream, and edible flowers. The 2024 Vouvray Chenin Blanc from La Maison de Alain De La Treille had the right sweetness to keep up with the cheesecake.
Travis Freundt
“I found my way to the orphanage next door and asked the director if I could live with them,” he recalls. In a way, his cooking began there. “We missed good food,” he says. “We grew our own stuff, cooked our own stuff. Cooking was surviving.” When he was 12, he was adopted by the Freundt family from Franklin, Tennessee. He found himself in Hawaii where he got his associates degree, surfed for a couple of years, then returned to Nashville and cooked at the Sutler Saloon and Nada.
Freundt and his mom, still in Ukraine, connected on Facebook. She stunned him with the news that his biological father lived in Sacramento. “I went to meet him,” said Freundt. “He’s an osteopathic doctor. I met a half-brother.” In Sacramento, Freundt cooked at Camden Spit and Larder and Allora Italian restaurant. After a time, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas where he was a sous-chef at Les Margot and the Press Café, before catching on at Tim Love’s Gemelle. This past January, he asked to be transferred to another of Love’s restaurants, Lonesome Dove here in Knoxville, not knowing that just three days after his arrival he would be approached to compete in the Top Chefs competition. He went on to host a lively evening in the vintage Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon building.
Freundt’s grilled octopus appetizer was tender and flavorful, with Pimentón tomato sauce and bright parsley-caper Salsa Verde, lemon zest, and olive oil, paired with 2020 Henri Costal Vaillons 1er Chablis Cru Vallions. The smoked bison short rib came with a warm French potato salad tossed in a Dijon–champagne vinaigrette with shallot, garlic, chervil, parsley, chives, and fresh tarragon. The 2021 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon balanced well. The Russian honey cake combined delicate layers of thin, honey-scented sponge cake with lightly spiced crème-fraîche and whipped cream filling, with mascarpone frosting and house-made raspberry coulis. “It takes patience and time to make this cake,” said Freundt. “It’s a beautifully balanced, decadent dessert.” The Dandelion Vineyards Legacy of Australia Pedro Ximénez XXXO Sherry was an apt counterpoint.
John Bryant
The elegant surroundings of the new Bistro by the Tracks, with its vintage portraits of what look to be everyone’s great grandparents, continues to inspire memorable evenings. Executive Chef John Bryant was born in Johnson City and trained at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina. He ran a catering business in Johnson City for eight years before joining Bistro by the Tracks three years ago. He is committed to sourcing from local farms. “When we grew up, everything came out of the garden,” says Bryant. “My parents grew everything—corn peaches, beans, grapes, berries.” Cityview Publisher Nathan Sparks brandished the $500 Chef’s Knife from Cosby, Tennessee, that will go to the winner of the Top Chefs competition.
Adam Cook, chief development and public affairs officer for the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital, said the name-change had been announced just one week earlier. “Our hospital has some half a million patient encounters each year in 20 locations across 16 counties,” said Cook. “We serve 88 of Tennessee’s 95 counties and every state in the US. It takes one million dollars a day to keep our doors open. Sixty percent of our patients are on Medicaid or TennCare. We fill a huge need.” The appetizer featured hand-rolled spring agnolotti bathed in house ricotta and North Carolina blue crab with radish, spring peas, radish, and Meyer lemon. The 2023 ZD Chardonnay from Monterey, California, added notes of ripe apple, citrus blossom, and balanced acidity.
The main course was a perfectly pink American Wagyu center-cut Delmonico with Yukon potato pavé, spring greens, beef tallow hollandaise, and black garlic shoyu (soy). It was double-paired with a 2021 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena in Napa Valley, California, balancing the beef with notes of dark cherry, cassis, and refined tannins and a 2021 Spottswoode “Lyndenhurst” Cabernet Sauvignon with hints of red fruit, cocoa, and supple structure.
For dessert, the chocolate peanut butter pie featured Nutella whip, benne peanut brittle, and graham cracker streusel crust. The sweetness was well balanced by the Domaine de Rancy Rivesaltes Ambré, from Languedoc-Roussillon, France, with its suggestion of caramelized nuts, dried fruit, and warm spice.
Robert McDonald III
The large picture window between the dining room and the kitchen of the Marlowe enables patrons to see how elaborate the preparation can be, especially for a Top Chefs dinner. This also plays into Executive Chef Robert McDonald III’s thespian instincts. Born in Fountain City, McDonald was an actor at Central High School, playing Marryin’ Sam in “L’il Abner” his senior year.
In those years he began cooking on his family’s outdoor gas grill, but his first challenge was to tread the boards at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He returned to Fountain City and the Creamery Park Grille, where he met his future wife, Jennifer, breaking down the grill. They moved to LA looking for Robert’s big break, then returned to Knoxville, the Burleson Brands, and now The Marlowe. McDonald did some community theatre—his last role was the butler in Theatre Knoxville’s “A Flea in Her Ear” in 2010— but he is now a showman in the culinary arts. “The acting helps you present your work,” he said. “I enjoy the opportunity to play a little bit and show off.”
Lana Shackelford, Marlowe general manager, greeted guests with a festive Hush Heath Estate “1503” Brut Rosé from the Balfour Winery in Kent, England. A dark honey wheat bread with matcha honey whipped butter, marinated olives and burrata was complemented by a 2022 Martinelli Chardonnay from the Sonoma Valley. Jennifer Lamb, head of charitable giving for Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital, thanked the crowd for their contributions.
The wood-fired tuna appetizer in Carolina gold sauce, nut salsa, and arugula, was paired with a 2023 Martinelli Pinot Noir from Blue Slide Ridge, Fort Ross-Seaview in Sonoma County. Caught between choices for his main dish, McDonald made the showman’s choice and served both. The first was a shaved duck confit with gnocchi, fermented blueberries, mushrooms and smoked egg yolk set off with another 2023 Martinelli Pinot Noir.
Alex Gass
The second was a duck breast, with savory dashi custard, black rice, fire-roasted grapes, fennel, fried basil and a variety of spices. A 2023 Martinelli Zinfandel from the Jackass Vineyard in Sonoma County was picked to pair with these strong flavors.
The cherry, chili Pavlova with habanero syrup and chocolate shavings capped the evening with an appropriate note of decadence.
For Executive Chef Alex Gass, it always seems to be a family get-together at Fire & Salt. An Oak Ridge native, Gass started cooking with his mom, aunt, and grandmother at the Kern United Methodist Church and learned to smoke meats from his Uncle Jim. His first job was at the iconic Big Ed’s Pizza. The family vibe extends to the band Entente, with Gass on guitar, Associate Chef Billy Krebs on bass, and Assistant Manager Gabe Krebs on drums. “We express ourselves as people in music the same way we do in our cooking,” said Gass. “Real food is unity, bringing people together.”
Gass’s wife, Jessica, sat at a lively table that sang to Nancy King for her 78th birthday, and the evening was enhanced by the violin accompaniment of Sarah Jean Cammisano. The Honey Bee welcome cocktail combined Wheatley Vodka, St. Germain, honeydew purée, honeydew and cucumber syrup, honey syrup, lemon juice and grapefruit bitters. Attendees included Bella Executive Chef Cory Giaquinta, Sommelier Aileen Carroll of the Raven, and Lonesome Dove Executive Chef Travis Freundt.
Eric Rowland
Cityview Publisher Nathan Sparks introduced Gass from his former life as a personal chef on the road with Elton John, Van Halen, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, and Widespread Panic.
The appetizer of cured and smoked red deer backstrap was a tasty square of rare venison. “Not gamey,” noted diner Allison Sousa. It was presented well with the Extraterrestrial Fungi mushrooms, roasted heirloom carrots, braised garlic, pommes maxim (thin-sliced potato slow-cooked in clarified butter), chives, volcanic sea salt, and whipped beef bone marrow crème fraiche. Sommelier Kelly Campbell introduced the Holus Bolus 2023 Syrah from Santa Barbara County, subtle with its notes of black pepper, plum, and blackberry. The entrée was a pan-seared Chilean sea bass—firm, flaky, and tasty—with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf risotto, garlic confit cherry tomatoes, balsamic reduction, parsley, and toasted hazelnut.
The Chateau de la Font du Loup Côtes du Rhône signature rouge “was the mirror of the complexity of the dish,” said Campbell, “with notes of apple, pear, and lemon.” The dessert of peanut butter mousse with chocolate mirror glaze, peanut “Star Crunch” crust (chocolate, peanut butter, hazelnut, dehydrated crêpe), cacao nib coulis, chocolate pudding, brûléed bananas, peanut sable cookie, banana mousse, ornamented with circular banana tuile. The Dacosta Tawny Port from the Douro region of Portugal balanced the sweetness with notes of dried fruit, nuts, caramel, and coffee.
Chef Eric Rowland started at 18 as a dishwasher then fry cook at Calhoun’s on Bearden Hill then Puleo’s Grill on Cedar Bluff. In 2007 he moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Longhorn Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill. Two years later he transferred to the Turkey Creek Bonefish Grill. He helped open up the Turkey Creek Buffalo Wild Wings, then moved to the Northshore Brasserie. During the COVID lockdown, Rowland turned to outside sources, seeking out new ideas and refining his technique before bringing those skills to the Tellico Village Yacht Club. He first started at Water Into Wine in 2022, when he started dating Events Coordinator Rachel Simerly. After cheffing at the downtown Hilton for a year, he returned to W2W last April where he said “We’ve just been having a great time.”
Candace Viox started Farragut’s Water Into Wine Bistro and Lounge in 2016 as “a ladies’ bar”—for starters, no TVs and “a bar that forces people to have conversation.” Starting a new chapter, she added a Pellissippi culinary arts degree to her UT business degree and honed her skills for a year and a half at Seasons, a restaurant not foreign to Knoxville’s Top Chefs. Today, Viox proudly offers jazz nights, a selection of 290 wines, and a community spirit rooted in her youth, she says, on the “non-bougie” side of Huntington Beach, California. The evening began with an amuse bouche of a roasted quail leg in a thick, buttery pistachio crust, paired with a French Les Alliés Sauvignon Blanc. Rowland introduced an Anthony Bourdain-inspired appetizer, Escargot aux Noix. Five large snails were served with fresh sorrel, Swiss chard, spinach, bacon, and walnuts, and paired with “our spin on a classic French 75,” said Viox, Zephyr gin from Manchester, England, lemon juice, Agave, and Prosecco.
The main course of roasted veal short ribs came on parsnip purée with roasted leeks, shiitake mushrooms, and black garlic, paired with a Hess Collection Cabernet from the Maverick Ranch in Napa, California. For dessert, Chef Eric took three profiteroles choux pastries and filled them with blueberry lavender ice cream and lavender-infused honey. “Just the right amount of lavender,” said diner Julia Young. This appropriately came with a Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial from Champagne, France. “I wanted you to have fun kind of bubbles,” said Viox. ◆
Comments are closed.