Southern Chefs Converge at The Umstead

By Cary Magazine

Herons Executive Chef Scott Crawford will gather in the kitchen with some old friends on Oct. 23 for a Guest Chef Dinner.

Southeastern chefs Ken Vedrinski from Trattoria Lucca in Charleston, S.C.; Steven Greene from Devereaux’s in Greenville, S.C.; Colin Bedford from The Fearrington House Restaurant in Pittsboro; and Daniel Zeal from Georgian Room at The Cloister in Sea Island, Ga., will all cook dinner. The Umstead’s Pastry Chef Daniel Benjamin will offer the dessert course.

Crawford has worked with each of these chefs throughout his career. The chefs will each prepare a dish using one of their favorite local ingredients for a special five-course wine-paired chef’s tasting dinner.

Guests will have the opportunity to join Chef Crawford and the guest chefs for cocktails on the terrace at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. in Herons. Cost is $110 and seating will be limited. For reservations, call (919) 447-4200 or visit www.heronsrestaurant.com.

The Umstead Hotel is offering a special discounted rate of $179 (based on availability) to those guests who will be attending the Guest Chef Dinner for an overnight stay on Oct. 23. For reservations, please call (919) 447-4050 and kindly mention “Chef Dinner” when booking your stay.

In the spring, Chef Crawford will host Charleston’s celebrated chef Sean Brock from McCrady’s. Brock was nominated in 2008 by the James Beard Foundation as the “Rising Star Chef” and “Best Chef Southeast” awards.

For more information, visit www.theumstead.com