Updated: Asheville chefs help Hurricane Matthew victims

ASHEVILLE - Asheville restaurant owners and chefs are banding together with their compatriots in the rest of the state to raise money for Hurricane Matthew victims, and they're doing it with one of the most powerful tools at their disposal: food.

Oct. 30 through Nov. 5, chefs across the state and beyond will make an Eastern Carolina specialty, fish stew, and sell it in their restaurants with profits going to those affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Flooding spawned by Hurricane Matthew has caused $1.5 billion in damage to 100,000 homes, businesses and government buildings in North Carolina, according to a state estimate, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 16.

Chef Vivian Howard of Chef & The Farmer in Kinston is helping to lead the fish stew charge in the state, and Asheville chef Katie Button, of Cúrate and Nightbell, is helping to spread the word in Asheville.

The plan is deceptively simple, and Howard laid it out in an email that's been making the rounds across the state and beyond.

"Many of you know that parts of Eastern North Carolina are flooded as a result of Hurricane Matthew," she wrote. "After more than a week, the water has not receded and parts of my already challenged region face unprecedented devastation and a seemingly insurmountable rebuild."

The restaurant industry often goes to bat for those in need, she noted, and she proposed an idea to raise cash that rings true to her profession and nods to the roots of her region.

"In Eastern Carolina when a group needs to raise money for a cause, they sell food," she said. "From church fellowship halls, volunteer fire departments or community buildings, five times out of 10, the offering is something we call 'fish stew.'"

The particular fish stew at the root of the funding effort is unique to the counties surrounding Howard's Kinston, the county seat of Lenoir County.

The recipe incorporates rendered bacon and onions, potatoes, some fish, a whole hard-poached egg, and a slice of bread with which to soak up every last bit in the bowl.

"I believe the tradition of cracking eggs over top came about when a resourceful farmer needed to stretch a stew further than the fish could take it," Howard wrote. "And because eggs were something most farmers had plenty of, they became the way to add heft and heartiness to an otherwise lean offering. What a happy accident that the thing thrown in to make it stretch made it memorable."

That fact led Howard to the idea of using the stew to symbolize giving. Across the state, restaurants will soon serve the stew in their dining rooms to raise funds for people recovering from the one-two punch of storms and flooding.

Chef Button recently spoke to Howard and Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen at the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium. The chefs shared with Button the devastation they knew of in the eastern part of the state.

"I knew it was terrible in North Carolina and that people had died, but because we’re all the way across the state we’re so removed from it," Button said. "It’s easy to forget that people are still under water and businesses are still not operating, and it’s going to take a long time for people to rebuild."

To that end, Button said, as this effort raises money for people affected by powerful storm, it should help raise awareness of the fact that rebuilding has only just begun.

It's also a way to give back after Asheville was inundated with surplus business from evacuees looking to stay high and dry in the storm.

"As a community, we got a lot from that area who came to spend the weekend, and all of the businesses were packed and busy," Button said. "Of course we were happy to be here for them, but a lot of people weren’t able to afford a hotel room for the weekend."

Button said chefs and restaurant owners are often looking to help, but are also often stretched thin by multiple requests.

"We get asked to do a lot, but when it’s very serious, immediate need, we love to come together, help, feed and serve," she said. "It just makes sense."

Advantage Printing will donate envelopes printed with information about the cause so people can donate even if they don't want to buy the stew.

"Maybe you’re allergic to fish, but you still have an opportunity to give something back," Button said. But the idea of the stew being cooked across the city and state is a charming one.

"I think it will be a lot of fun, for one week all of the rest unify around one dish," she said. "That’s amazing."

IF YOU GO

What: Local restaurants will serve their version of fish stew, donating profits from the dish to Hurricane Matthew victims. Or, make donations at www.lenoirgreeneunitedway.org in the name of the cause, and tag them with #fishstew. Have a restaurant and want to be involved? Reach out to Katie Button at katie@heirloomhg.com. Of note: Ultimate Ice Cream will make a special flavor called Mud Puppy to benefit the cause. Owner Kevin Barnes noted fish stew would not make the best ice cream flavor, and it's hard to argue. 

When: Oct. 30-Nov. 5, during individual restaurants' business hours. 

Where: Participating restaurants in Asheville so far are:

Buffalo Nickel, 747 Haywood Road

Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian, 641 Merrimon Ave.

Cúrate, 11 Biltmore Ave.

Nightbell, 32 S Lexington Ave.

Lobster Trap, 35 Patton Ave.

Zambras, 85 W Walnut St.

White Duck Taco Shop, various locations, whiteducktacoshop.com. 

Chai Pani,  22 Battery Park Ave.

Buxton Hall, 32 Banks Ave.

Kitchen 743 at Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road

Roux at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park, 43 Town Square Boulevard

Local Provisions, 77 Biltmore Ave. 

Bouchon, 62 N. Lexington

Blue Dream Curry House, 81 Patton Ave. 

Chupacabra Latin Cafe, 50 North Merrimon Ave.

The Cantina Biltmore, 10 Biltmore Plaza

Ambrozia, 1020 Merrimon Ave.

The Grey Eagle Taqueria, 185 Clingman Ave.