When COVID-19 slammed the brakes on in-person gatherings last year, Darien Bodenhorst, whose family owns wedding venues in Asheville and Marshall, decamped to Charlotte to quarantine with buddies and set up a remote office. On his daily morning commute, he passed a Starbucks that consistently had long lines out the door. “It hit me that unlike our business, coffee was pandemic-proof,” he recalls. “So, every day after I finished up my work, I researched coffee and how to start a coffee shop.”
Through the quarantine, he developed a business plan, deciding that delivery-only made more sense. “When I traveled pre-COVID, I spent a lot of time Googling coffee shops where I was and then more time getting there,” he says. “It seems to me that for travelers or residents, coffee delivery is a time saver.”
On July 1, Bodenhorst launched Day ToDaily, delivering hot and cold coffee beverages made with a roast developed in collaboration with Methodical Coffee in Greenville, S.C., as well as tea drinks and Day ToDaily’s bagged whole-bean or ground coffee. To start, through a partnership with Flashcat Courier, Day ToDaily will offer 100% bicycle-powered deliveries within a 1-mile radius of its commissary kitchen on Market Street.
Because weddings are in his blood, Bodenhorst will offer on-site coffee service for weddings and other gatherings. Beverages will be served from a beer tap truck he gutted, gussied up and refitted with an espresso machine.
To learn more, visit avl.mx/9rz.
Baba-Bear
What do you get when you combine Middle Eastern food and barbecue? On Wednesday and Thursday, July 14-15, you’ll get a mashup pop-up from Baba Nahm and Bear’s Smokehouse. “We love collaborating with local chefs and venders around town,” says Laura Smith, co-owner of Baba Nahm. “It gives us a chance to really stretch the confines of traditional Middle Eastern food. What is shawarma but a different style of barbecue?”
Among the Baba-Bear items that will be offered are smoked lamb kabobs with cucumber-radish tzatziki, Bear’s smoked wings with harissa and Baba’s house laffah wrap stuffed with a choice of crispy falafels and smoked baba ganoush or pulled chicken with smoked mango amba sauce.
The pop-up will take place 4-8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, July 14-15, at 135 Coxe Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/9so.
Off the charts
Notoriously loud and ornery television celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey knows how to make an entrance. To kick off the Smoky Mountains episode of “Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted,” the National Geographic series host rappelled down the side of Little Bradley Falls in Saluda. Lucky for him, a local was waiting for him at the bottom with a fishing rod and lots of helpful information. Chef William Dissen, owner of The Market Place restaurant in Asheville, was recruited to serve as Ramsey’s guide to Western North Carolina. “I’ve worked my whole career to promote Appalachian cuisine,” says Dissen. “Cooking and food tell the story and create an identity for a place.”
Along with some fly-fishing, the episode features local forager Alan Muskat, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, Howling Moon Distillery and The Chop Shop Butchery. Additionally, Ramsey and Dissen compete in a cook-off atop Balsam Range. “When I was a kid, my parents got me a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and it opened the world to me,” remembers Dissen. “Being able to be on this show with a chef like Gordon Ramsey — who is really nice in person — and be a culinary ambassador for the region was an honor.”
The Smoky Mountains episode premiered July 4 but is available to stream anytime on Disney +. For more information, visit avl.mx/9s1.
Networking
On Thursday, July 15, multitasking chef, restaurateur and mother of two Katie Button introduces a 10-chapter Techniques for Cooking course through Magnolia Workshops. The class is part of the Magnolia Network owned by multitasking parents of four and lifestyle moguls Joanna and Chip Gaines, who first gained fame through HGTV’s Fixer Upper television show.
“Pinch me,” Button wrote on a recent Instagram post announcing the plans. “I can’t believe this is actually happening!”
The collection of Magnolia Workshops by experts on specific topics including gardening, baking, watercolor painting and fundamentals of style are each less than 30 minutes in length and will be available on the Magnolia app for Discovery+ subscribers starting Thursday, July 15. All nine of Button’s workshops have been taped and will be available to view at once. Magnolia Network is scheduled to launch on linear TV in January.
Get a pinch more information on how to access Magnolia Workshops and Button’s Techniques of Cooking at avl.mx/9s2.
Green acres
After a 2020 hiatus, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s annual Farm Tour is back and more bountiful than ever. Car passes for this year’s tour, which will be held noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 18-19, are now on sale.
The 2021 Farm Tour features more than 20 participating farms in Leicester, Barnardsville, Fairview/Fletcher, Haywood County and Henderson County, all within an hour’s drive of Asheville. Pass holders can experience the sights, sounds, smells, stories and tastes of farming through guided tours, demonstrations and hands-on activities. People who sign up to volunteer for one day will get a short training session and a free pass.
“The Farm Tour is such a great way for the community, from families to retirees, to connect with farms in the region,” says Sarah Hart, ASAP’s communications coordinator. Experiences, she notes, will range from visits with farm animals to learning growing techniques, observing fiber demonstrations and stopping at U-pick flower farms.
Passes, which are good for both days of the tour, are $35 per car in advance and available at avl.mx/9s3.
ASAP’s offices have reopened for regular hours for the first time in more than a year, and visitors can stop by to say howdy and pick up free resources like the annual Local Food Guide, seasonality charts and recipe cards Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at 306 W. Haywood St.
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