Chefs & Restauranteurs

Simplicity is key at Coco’s Kitchen + Cafe

By Candace Nelson

Good food doesn’t have to be complicated.  It doesn’t require intricate cooking techniques or rare ingredients. It doesn’t need classical training or multiple courses.  For one Charleston restaurant, good food just needs fresh, local ingredients, seasonal produce and balanced flavors. That’s according to breakfast and lunch restaurant Coco’s Kitchen +…

Read More

Savoring Success: Chef Christopher Dixon’s Path to Opening Christopher’s Eats

By Dawn Nolan

Before opening his own restaurant, Christopher’s Eats, in Barboursville in January 2013, Chef Christopher Dixon spent several years working in all sorts of kitchens throughout Florida and Louisiana.  “Between privately/family-owned establishments, corporate restaurants, quick-service, full-service, country clubs, an exclusive, seasonal living community and even a barbecue joint — they’ve all…

Read More

Sergio’s: Blending background experience working in Mexican and Italian restaurants, Sergio Lugo-Mata has created two successful brands 

By Amanda Larch

Sergio Lugo-Mata may not have trained professionally as a chef, but growing up in restaurants, he gained all the experience he needed to open three successful culinary businesses of his own.  A bit unruly in his school days, whenever he’d get in trouble, Lugo-Mata says his mom would pick him…

Read More

Gustard’s Bistro: A Chef Returns Home to White Sulphur Springs

By Josh Baldwin

Nestled in downtown White Sulphur Springs, Gustard’s Bistro stands as a testament to Chef Stephen Gustard’s remarkable culinary odyssey. From his roots in Virginia Beach to his influential roles across West Virginia, Chef Gustard and his partner Delphine Houssin have crafted a bistro that combines their rich culinary experiences with…

Read More

Hart of the Kitchen: Clarksburg Chef Crosses Road with New Restaurant

By Candace Nelson

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? At Hart Kitchen in Clarksburg, it’s the “Deviled Eggs of the Moment” first as an appetizer and then the “Oven Roasted Half Chicken with pan sauce, herbs, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes” second as an entree.  The deviled eggs, which are hard-boiled…

Read More

This Chef is on the Money

By Candace Nelson

Inside a vault, you might find bundles of cash, valuable heirloom jewelry or important legal documents. In Summersville, West Virginia, one particular bank vault contains fries and mussels in a garlic and white wine broth and a bone-in pork chop brined in cider and served with risotto, roasted Brussels sprouts…

Read More

Bon App-alachia: French Food and Wine Find Home in WV

By Candace Nelson

White linens drape the tables, and champagne-filled flutes line the bar. Soft classical music plays in the background. The featured menu item of the day is escargot – cocoa and chamomile cure, plum compote, chamomile sauternes jelly and toasted brioche.  But this isn’t Paris. Or Marseille. Or Nice. It is…

Read More

Christmas Cookies & Pizza: Stepping Stones for One Successful Morgantown Chef

By Candace Nelson

“Some say, I got into cooking before I have any memory of it,” said Nate Meadows, executive chef at Bourbon Prime & Morgantown Event Center in Morgantown. “There is a particular photo of me standing on a stool in my Mother’s kitchen helping her make Christmas cookies. I couldn’t have…

Read More

Hot Tamale: Chef Brings Authentic Flavors to the Mountains

By Candace Nelson

Authentic tamales in the capital city of West Virginia might seem like a far-off dream for many, but Amanda Ivy has brought them to reality. Some tamale variations Ivy has offered include: Salvadoran chicken; chicken mole; green chile pork; pork chile verde; ham, greens and black-eyed pea cornmeal; chorizo pastor;…

Read More

Morgantown Chef Makes High-End Flavors Available to Everyone

By Candace Nelson

What do you get when you cross a classic New England-style lobster roll with a West Virginia-style hot dog? A lobster dog. Handcrafted by Chef Chris McDonald at Von Blaze, the lobster dog is made with fresh lobster and shrimp sausage, napa cabbage slaw, brown butter mayo, and fingerling potato…

Read More

Simplicity is key at Coco’s Kitchen + Cafe

By Candace Nelson

Good food doesn’t have to be complicated.  It doesn’t require intricate cooking techniques or rare ingredients. It doesn’t need classical training or multiple courses.  For one Charleston restaurant, good food just needs fresh, local ingredients, seasonal produce and balanced flavors. That’s according to breakfast and lunch restaurant Coco’s Kitchen +…

Read More

Savoring Success: Chef Christopher Dixon’s Path to Opening Christopher’s Eats

By Dawn Nolan

Before opening his own restaurant, Christopher’s Eats, in Barboursville in January 2013, Chef Christopher Dixon spent several years working in all sorts of kitchens throughout Florida and Louisiana.  “Between privately/family-owned establishments, corporate restaurants, quick-service, full-service, country clubs, an exclusive, seasonal living community and even a barbecue joint — they’ve all…

Read More

Sergio’s: Blending background experience working in Mexican and Italian restaurants, Sergio Lugo-Mata has created two successful brands 

By Amanda Larch

Sergio Lugo-Mata may not have trained professionally as a chef, but growing up in restaurants, he gained all the experience he needed to open three successful culinary businesses of his own.  A bit unruly in his school days, whenever he’d get in trouble, Lugo-Mata says his mom would pick him…

Read More

Gustard’s Bistro: A Chef Returns Home to White Sulphur Springs

By Josh Baldwin

Nestled in downtown White Sulphur Springs, Gustard’s Bistro stands as a testament to Chef Stephen Gustard’s remarkable culinary odyssey. From his roots in Virginia Beach to his influential roles across West Virginia, Chef Gustard and his partner Delphine Houssin have crafted a bistro that combines their rich culinary experiences with…

Read More

Hart of the Kitchen: Clarksburg Chef Crosses Road with New Restaurant

By Candace Nelson

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? At Hart Kitchen in Clarksburg, it’s the “Deviled Eggs of the Moment” first as an appetizer and then the “Oven Roasted Half Chicken with pan sauce, herbs, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes” second as an entree.  The deviled eggs, which are hard-boiled…

Read More

This Chef is on the Money

By Candace Nelson

Inside a vault, you might find bundles of cash, valuable heirloom jewelry or important legal documents. In Summersville, West Virginia, one particular bank vault contains fries and mussels in a garlic and white wine broth and a bone-in pork chop brined in cider and served with risotto, roasted Brussels sprouts…

Read More

Bon App-alachia: French Food and Wine Find Home in WV

By Candace Nelson

White linens drape the tables, and champagne-filled flutes line the bar. Soft classical music plays in the background. The featured menu item of the day is escargot – cocoa and chamomile cure, plum compote, chamomile sauternes jelly and toasted brioche.  But this isn’t Paris. Or Marseille. Or Nice. It is…

Read More

Christmas Cookies & Pizza: Stepping Stones for One Successful Morgantown Chef

By Candace Nelson

“Some say, I got into cooking before I have any memory of it,” said Nate Meadows, executive chef at Bourbon Prime & Morgantown Event Center in Morgantown. “There is a particular photo of me standing on a stool in my Mother’s kitchen helping her make Christmas cookies. I couldn’t have…

Read More

Hot Tamale: Chef Brings Authentic Flavors to the Mountains

By Candace Nelson

Authentic tamales in the capital city of West Virginia might seem like a far-off dream for many, but Amanda Ivy has brought them to reality. Some tamale variations Ivy has offered include: Salvadoran chicken; chicken mole; green chile pork; pork chile verde; ham, greens and black-eyed pea cornmeal; chorizo pastor;…

Read More

Morgantown Chef Makes High-End Flavors Available to Everyone

By Candace Nelson

What do you get when you cross a classic New England-style lobster roll with a West Virginia-style hot dog? A lobster dog. Handcrafted by Chef Chris McDonald at Von Blaze, the lobster dog is made with fresh lobster and shrimp sausage, napa cabbage slaw, brown butter mayo, and fingerling potato…

Read More