Tastes just like homemade (because it is): From sauces to sweet snacks, Charlottesville makers get cookin’

Maybe our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, but these five cooks, bakers, and concocters make an extra helping hard to resist. It’s all gravy No one knows the phrase “food is an international language” more than Yvonne Cunningham. The sauce-maker developed the recipe for her “Italian gravy” (so-called because it’s so thick) while living in […]

Food stars—they’re just like us!

Around here, the folks cooking your favorite foods are as close to celebrities as some of us get (unless you’re lucky enough to corner Dave Matthews on the mall). So, for this year’s annual Food & Drink Issue, we decided to take a look behind the scenes—beyond your pork belly tacos and pain de campagne—at […]

Native flavors: Priya Mahadevan brings a taste of South India to Charlottesville

Birthdays are always special, but growing up in Priya Mahadevan’s family of nine, birthdays came with an extra privilege: choosing the day’s menu. “We always asked for this lentil and vegetable stew called sambar, with roasted potatoes and masala vadais, which are a fried lentil snack,” Mahadevan says. “Payasam (also called kheer) was the dessert […]

Brined, braised, and beautiful: Tuck into the Clifton’s pork belly

Matthew Bousquet hasn’t been in Charlottesville for very long—the Michelin-starred chef from San Francisco was hired to head up the kitchen at the newly reimagined Clifton hotel this summer—but he’s already discovered the city’s secret sauce: our abundance of fresh, local ingredients. This fall, Bousquet is particularly glad to use Autumn Olive Farms’ pork in […]

All in: A community of love buoys a big day

Patrick McGettigan & Elliott Glass September 23, 2017, at Grace Estate Winery Photographs by Ryan & Rach Photography Throughout the night, Patrick and Elliott kept hearing from guests that the love and positivity in the tent was palpable. That was all the affirmation they needed. “From the very beginning,” Patrick says, “our focus had been on […]

Timeless love: Classic details let love shine

Floriza Hernandez & Jerome White September 9, 2017, at Trump Winery Photography by Michael & Carina Men in classic black-and-white tuxes, ladies in champagne. Gilded details, from the invitations to the cake topper. A reception area with high ceilings and extravagant chandeliers. Floriza and Jerome decided early on that they wanted their wedding to be elegant […]