1000 x 90

Avery County Native, Kirsten Mitchell, Third in Voting for Food & Wine’s ‘People’s Best New Chef’

Kirsten Mitchell preparing foodMarch 8, 2012. Kirsten Mitchell, chef at Cameo 19 Hundred in Wilmington and formerly at Morel’s in Banner Elk, has made Food & Wine magazine’s list of top professional chefs. She is currently vying for the title of The People’s Best New Chef for 2012.

This is the second year the competition has been held. Voting is available to the general public online and Food & Wine will announce the winner on March 12.

Mitchell is following in the footsteps of her father, Dean Mitchell, who in the mid-1980s was among Food & Wine’s top 50 American chefs. During the late 1990’s the Mitchell family owned Morel’s restaurant in Banner Elk. Dean Mitchell appeared on the television show “Great Chefs of the South.” 

Working alongside her father was like attending culinary school, said Mitchell.

“I started peeling carrots at about 5,” Kirsten Mitchell said. “I just watched him cook my whole life and studied what he did … I never wanted to be a meat and potatoes cook, I like to experiment too much.”

For more information on all the chefs in the running for Best New Chef check out http://www.foodandwine.com/peoples-best-new-chef.