“Vittles and Fiddles”, 3 day celebration of the food & culture of Appalachia with Chef Shelley Cooper of Dancing Bear Lodge & Appalachian Bistro, Townsend, TN.

This morning, we are setting the table with Appalachian cooking and culture. I’ll visit today with Chef Shelley Cooper of the Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro in Townsend TN and hear about an upcoming 3 day weekend event that she is orchestrating along with 14 visiting chefs called “Vittles and Fiddles” - this to benefit New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center (NHCAC) in Maryville TN. We will also hear from Sheri Gardner Howell and Shane Hair, Board members of NHCAC and hear about the important service this non profit organization provides to our community. And it is berry season here in Tennessee - Mary Dee Dee Constantine - the happily retired former food editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel is going to set us straight on what is a cobbler, brown bettie, buckle, crisp, grunt, and a slump. And, sadly this past week, our community lost a fellow chef friend here in East TN, Joe Cunningham who was most recently chef at on the Brasserie on Northshore - I’ll let you know about a go-fund me site that his family has put together to help cover medical bills and to support his children.