The plate you’re clearing could be your own Asheville artists organize a dinner/art show hybrid at Knife & Fork
Fresh, organic foods
authentic to the Mediterranean region
828-280-9596
1987 Hendersonville Rd Family Owned & Operated
EAT LOCALLY THIS YEAR! “TOTAL ART pIECE”: Asheville potters and Chef Nathan Allen will create a dinner that’s focused equally on design and flavor.
We purchase fresh produce directly from local farmers and offer a local special every day!
FREE Peppermint Tea or Lemonade w/ food purchase for 2013 Go Local cardholders! (828) 232-0738 • 116 North Lexington Ave
When Nick Moen goes out to eat, he notices something most diners probably overlook. “I like going to The Admiral,” he says. “It’s a great restaurant, and as soon as you walk in, you see the stacks of porcelain plates there, and I think about that every time.” Moen is a resident artist at Odyssey Clayworks in the River Arts District. He mostly makes functional pottery — plates, mugs, bowls and the like. But he noticed there’s something of a disconnect between the gallery, where he sells his wares, and the table, where they’re used. To bridge that gap, he’s teaming up with several other artists to produce tableware for a dinner at Knife & Fork, chef Nathan Allen’s acclaimed restaurant in Spruce Pine. Handmade ceramics aren’t often used in restaurants because chefs need their dishes to meet certain requirements. “A lot of chefs don’t even think that potters could make a cohesive, consistent set that could stack,” Moen says. “They need them to stack. They have to be sturdy and light for the waiters to move them. They can’t chip. They have to be white.” But at the dinner, cleverly titled Cup & Plate, the artists will work
with Allen’s requirements for plates, saucers and bowls. In turn, Allen will take inspiration from the pieces the artists create, which he won’t see until just before the dinner. “It’s also a collaboration — it’s a total art piece — between the artists, materials artists and then with Nathan [Allen] as well because he’s going to be choosing what colors go on what plates,” Moen says. “I don’t know if I like using this analogy, but it’s kind of like jazz. There’s a standard. We have limitations. He knows he has to cook something, and he gets the produce that’s there at the market, and we know we have to use porcelain. It has to be white. And that’s it. We all get to be creative and figure out what that means and what we get to play around with.” Ceramic artists Elisa Di Feo and Gwendolyn Yoppolo will create pieces for the event, and glass artist Kathryn Adams has created glassceramic wine goblets and water glasses in collaboration with Moen. After the meal, guests will be able to purchase the pieces. The dinner takes place Monday, July 1, at Knife & Fork in Spruce Pine. There will be two sittings of 30 guests. Tickets cost $70. For resrvations, call 765-1511. X
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mountainx.com • June 26 - July 2, 2013 59