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Asheville's William Dissen cooks up change

William Dissen at Gaining Ground Farm in Asheville. The Market Place chef is in D.C. this week, lobbying on food access issues. Next month he'll cook a dinner at New York's James Beard House. / Matt Rose / Special to the Citizen-Times
William Dissen will head to the James Beard House in New York City to cook an encore dinner in March and its not the first time. Last September, The Market Place chef and owner also cooked at the former home of James Beard, a vaunted chef often credited with bringing French food to the American masses. Beard passed away in 1995. At the time of the first dinner, Dissen was attending The James Beard Foundations Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change. The retreat for civic-minded culinary professionals spawned the Chef Action Network, a group of nearly 45 member chefs, all with the capacity to speak to a larger audience. Really what its doing is taking the voice of the chef, in a day and age where chefs are more exposed in media, taking our voice and using it to create change, Dissen said of the action network. The chefs use social media platforms, among other avenues of visibility, to voice concerns about sustainability, equal opportunity in staffing and living wage and other causes.

Were just giving (those issues) a voice to be heard, Dissen said from a room at the Inn at Little Washington, a bed and breakfast an hour and a half outside of Washington. It was the temporary (and comfortable) encampment from which he planned to voice concerns about issues in a way that extended beyond social media. Dissen was in town to meet members of the Environmental Defense Fund, along with Senator Kay Hagan, of North Carolina, in support of a $956.4 billion farm bill that addresses farm and food programs. It just passed recently and there were some changes to it as far as SNAP (food stamp) benefits and funds that were being allocated to farmers for how they run their farms, explained Dissen. Everything from farms to different benefits for school lunches. Among the bills provisions are an effort to improve access to healthy food options by requiring stores to stock more perishable foods and testing new ways for clients to make purchases with SNAP benefit cards at farmers markets and the like.

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Another part calls for increased funding for food banks through The Emergency Food Assistance Program and community food grants. The Senate voted to approve the agreement, and Obama is expected to sign it in the coming days. Dissen hoped to discuss with Hagan how to move forward with some of the initiatives the bill will put into place. It works in conjunction with what I do at The Market Place, and I think also that farms and restaurants go hand in hand, said Dissen. Whats good for the health of our farms in our country is good for the populace of the U.S. Dissen said that farms are a natural resource worth protecting, which is part of the reason why he focuses on buying local. Hell even bring some of North Carolinas farm bounty with him to James Beards Greenwich Village home on March 22.

In the house
Dissens menu is Carolina-focused, peppered with items such as pickled ramps, which Dissen canned in his Asheville kitchen when the wild onions were still growing in spring. It also features fish from Sunburst Trout Farms, which Dissen, who was recently added to the Monterey Bay Aquariums Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force, said is rated Best Choice by the advocacy group. I thought I could do something really avant-garde, or I could do something that showcases what I do on a day-to-day basis at The Market Place in Asheville, Dissen said. Dissen is not the first to bring a taste of Asheville to the James Beard House. Katie Button of Crate and Red Stag Grill chef Adam Hayes have cooked there as well (see Page DX). And even though its Dissens second time to the Beard House, its his first time flying solo in Beards unassuming brownstone. Its an amazing opportunity, Dissen said. The James Beard House is hallowed ground. Some of the best chefs in the world have cooked there, and just being able to set foot in that house is an amazing opportunity. ASHEVILLE IN THE BEARD HOUSE

ASHEVILLE IN THE BEARD HOUSE

Katie Button, Crate. On Nov. 19, 2012, Button presided over a Spanish Holiday Table.

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Adam Hayes, Red Stag Grill at The Grand Bohemian Hotel. On Sept. 16, 2013, Hayes presented Carolina Grandeur. Willam Dissen, The Market Place. On March 22, Dissens menu is titled Craving Carolina.

CELERY ROOT SOUP WITH CHILI OIL, HERB FLOWERS

Adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe, Diners Journal. To be featured in similar form on March 22 at the James Beard House as an hors doeuvre. 4 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic Salt and black pepper, to taste 1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled and rough diced 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 to 1 cup cream, half-and-half, or milk, or to taste Light pinch nutmeg 1/4 cup chopped fresh herb flowers and chili oil for garnish Over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed, large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the seasonings and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the celery root and stir just to coat it in the spices, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the celery root is fully tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool the mixture slightly, pour into a blender and pure. Return the soup to the pan and stir in the cream and reheat if necessary.