The South Will Rise

I woke up around 3 am on Saturday morning from a dream that I can’t remember but with the idea in my head that it would be a fantastic birthday present for Corby and his best friend Hank (their birthdays are just a few days apart) to go to Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.  Blackberry Farm is a luxury hotel, food mecca, garden of Eden, paradise that I have only heard about from a few friends that have been very lucky to get to go through their work.  It sounds so fabulous and delicious that it is clear why I am dreaming about it.  So, in my 3am daze, it was all planned out in my head perfectly.  Hank and his wife who live in Houston with their two adorable little girls would fly to Memphis where they have family to drop off the girls and then drive over to Blackberry Farm.  Corby and I would drive up from South Carolina, and Hank’s wife Katherine and I would cleverly devise some meeting where Corby and Hank would be so surprised that we were all there together, and we would have a phenomenal weekend with glorious food and wine.  I thought about our upcoming trip (their birthdays are not until February- maybe getting a little ahead of myself) all weekend and rushed into work this morning to google Blackberry Farm.  The website www.blackberryfarm.com promised everything I was imagining.  The scenery is breathtaking, the accommodations look heavenly, and the food, well almost too good to be true.  With a little more digging, I soon discovered that it would take a lottery win for my literal and figurative dream weekend to happen.  But still, here is another amazing thing about this farm- they have truffle dogs.  Yes, that’s right, dogs that hunt for truffles.  Apparently, most of the truffles in the world come from Spain, Italy and France, but a few years ago, they discovered that truffles grew exceptionally well in the hills of Tennessee, so of course, truffle dogs are in order.  And, they are adorable!  This is a picture from an article Garden & Gun wrote a while ago about the truffle pups, and here is the article http://gardenandgun.com/article/gold-diggers.  In addition to the truffle pups, Blackberry Farm has a wide variety of activities to make your stay even more unforgettable.  Anything from fly fishing to fox hunting to horse back riding to yoga and to cycling with on occasion George Hincapie WHAT!!  Check out their Tour de Smokies in October (dreaming dreaming dreaming)http://www.blackberryfarm.com/events-manager/tour-de-smokies.  Not only that, the resident chef is Joseph Lenn who received the title of Grand Chef by the Relais and Chateaux organization.  And, he studied and worked in Charleston with Chef Bob Carter at the Peninsula Grill and assisted Chef Sean Brock in opening the Heritage Hotel in Nashville- it is destiny that I go.  So, while I work on my lottery win, I will continue to dream about one day going to Blackberry Farm, meeting some truffle pups, being surrounded by gorgeous scenery, and salivating over the food and wine.  One day!

Tags: baking, Blackberry Farm, Chef Bob Carter, Chef Joseph Lenn, Chef Sean Brock, Garden & Gun Magazine, George Hincapie, southern baking, southern food, truffle dogs