Chilhowie hospitality

Like so many chefs, inspiration for John Shields came early in life; his from from his father. After attending culinary school in St. Louis, John made his way to Chicago. He began work at the famed Charlie Trotters restaurant there, where he would meet Karen, his pastry chef wife.

John cooked at Alinea, also in Chicago, where he worked with his mentor, Grant Achatz, who is noted as a leader in progressive cuisine.

Then John and Karen left the city for the country, and found a home in western Virginia, running the acclaimed Town House from 2008 to 2012 in the Appalachian hamlet of Chilhowie.

Now the couple operate Riverstead, an inn and private dining restaurant set in the same charming Smyth County locale.

From a charming renovated Victorian house overlooking the beautiful bucolic countryside, the Shields host a culinary adventure in the intimate 14-seat dining room. Meals are booked in advance on Riverstead’s website.

“I’ve been in the highest level kitchens in North America and Europe, but I’ve never experienced the adventure that we will offer in this natural setting,” John writes on the site. “I’m pushing my creativity beyond anything I’ve ever done. We have great relationships with the local farmers, but also look for amazing seafood from unique waters and sounds.”

Although the menu is constantly changing, look for dishes like duck hearts that are brined and grilled over the yakitori, with licorice-like flavors of dried beets, bronze fennel crowns, tarragon and black olives along with swiss chard leaves, cured egg yolk and a sauce of dried tomatoes, fermented blackberry, duck jus and brown butter.

You are on the forefront of food, what trends do you see?

I think we’ll start to see more chefs banding together to do collaborative dinners and food conferences around the country.

You cook for others all the time; what do you cook for yourself?

I tend to cook a lot of eggs. I love eating them, but cooking eggs properly, no matter which style you decide, takes a tremendous amount of technical skill and knowledge.

What’s a favorite Virginia wine? A favorite Virginia beer?

I love Fabbioli Cellars’ Tannant 2011; I also love Foggy Ridge Cider. I enjoy Devil’s Backbone and Blue Mountain breweries.

Let’s talk food in Virginia.

I think any smart cook embraces the ingredients and product that are close to them. Obviously the product will be fresher, but it also evokes a story. When I’m using sour quince juice from the guy down the road to make curd, it’s special because you can’t taste or experience it anywhere else.

Local food benefits the environment and wildlife. Well-managed farms provide ecosystem services: they conserve fertile soil, protect water sources, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

I love [the ramp]; its versatility … charring, caramelized, fermented in goats milk whey … the list goes on and on.

— by Patrick Evans-Hylton, a Johnson & Wales University trained chef and Norfolk, Va.-based food journalist, historian and educator. Courtesy of Virginia Tourism Corporation.