AIR's "Taste of Asheville" spotlights the best Foodtopia has to offer

Asheville Independent Restaurants (AIR) brings together 40 of the city’s most talented chefs on November 20, 2014 at the Annual Taste of Asheville. This year’s event will be at The Venue, 21 North Market Street in downtown Asheville, from 7 to 9 p.m. Regular tickets are $75/person and $125/couple. VIP tickets, which get you in ahead of the crowd at 6 p.m., are available at $100/person and $175/couple. All tickets can be purchased at AIR’s website (www.airasheville.org). 

Participating in the 2014 Taste of Asheville are: Amborzia Bar & Bistro, The Bier Garden, Blue Kudzu - Food & Saki, Bouchon, Brasillia Churrasco Steakhouse, Buffalo Nickel, The Cantina at Biltmore, Chai Pani, Chestnut, City Bakery Café, Corner Kitchen, Creekside Taphouse Creperie Bouchon, Daugherty's American Kitchen, French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Green Sage, Isa's Bistro, Isis Restaurant & Music Hall, Jack of the Wood, Jerusalem Garden Café, Karen Donatelli, King James Public House, Korean House, Laughing Seed, Lexington Avenue Brewery, The Lobster Trap, Luella's Bar-B-Que, Mela, Nightbell, Okie Dokies, Smokehouse, Pack's Tavern, Plant,  Red Stag Grill, Rosetta's Kitchen, Sante Wine Bar, The Social, The Social Lounge & Tapas, Strada Italiano, Sunny Point, Tupelo Honey Café, Ultimate Ice Cream, Vincenzo’s, Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian, Vortex Doughnuts, along with spirits from Asheville Brewing (Beer Only), Divine Wine & Beer Urban Orchard Cider, Co. (Cider Only), Weinhaus (Wine Sampling), and Wicked Weed (Beer Only).

“This year’s Taste of Asheville celebrates the beginning of AIR’s second decade and the successes our independent restaurant association has experienced,” said Peter Pollay, president of AIR and chef/owner of Posana on Pack Square. “In 2014, Asheville has been recognized repeatedly as a lively, authentic food destination by publications like the Wall Street Journal, Southern Living, Forbes and Conde Nast Traveller. AIR restaurants are a major reason why.”
  
As in previous years, a portion of ticket proceeds from the Taste of Asheville will benefit many AIR programs including the Chefs of Tomorrow Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to A-B Tech’s award-winning culinary program. “Education and professional development are at the heart of AIR,” said Elizabeth Button, Education Committee chair and owner of the nationally-acclaimed Curate Spanish tapas restaurant on Biltmore Avenue and Nightbell, a vintage-themed nightclub on South Lexington Avenue. “In addition to encouraging new talent through scholarships to A-B Tech, AIR also provides ongoing educational opportunities for its members. It’s part of our belief that there are great careers in Asheville’s independent restaurant community.”