Almost twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina left an indelible mark on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. Five weeks ago, Helene joined Katrina’s destructive ranks. Across Western North Carolina, rivers rose to new heights, entire buildings were wiped out, and people and businesses in the region still remain without access to clean water.
Now, the culinary communities of New Orleans and Asheville are joining together to help North Carolina rebuild. “I was gonna say I know what they’re going through, but I’ve never been in a situation where you don’t have potable water for months,” says John Harris, the chef-owner of Lillette in New Orleans, who lived through Katrina. “That’s insane. It’s unprecedented…We definitely empathize with what they’re going through.”
That’s why, after hearing from friends in North Carolina, Harris started Cooks for Carolina, a New Orleans dinner series that will donate all proceeds to restaurants and employees affected by Helene. Throughout November and potentially beyond, the likes of Brasa, Galatoire’s, and Commander’s Palace will host visiting Asheville chefs and jointly produce meals for the public.
Jacob Sessoms, who owns multiple restaurants in Asheville, one of which flooded, was one of Harris’s first calls. The two-time James Beard Award nominee had already started providing relief in his own community, converting his restaurant All Day Darling into a hub for hot meals and donations mere hours after the storm hit.
Sessoms was all in. So was just about every other chef Harris contacted. “Everyone I called, almost 100 percent of people, said, Yeah, I’ll do it,” Harris says. “Not just do a course at a dinner, but host a dinner at the restaurant, which entails either losing an entire night of business or opening an additional day. So I found that pretty heartening to see that kind of level of empathy.”
Sessoms is also amazed by the support. “I haven’t seen this kind of response on anything from an outside community ever,” he says. “I think it’s attributable to how great these folks are in New Orleans and also how used to this they are. Our community has never experienced this, ever, but for them, it seems like a response to the heartache and hard times these folks had to navigate almost twenty years ago.”
Every dollar from Cooks for Carolina will go to Explore Asheville’s Always Asheville Fund, which, with input from Sessoms, will provide financial relief to restaurants across Buncombe County. “They’ve got to eat, they’ve got to live, they’ve got to work, and they’re going to go where that’s possible. And if it’s not possible in Asheville, then they’re gone, right?” Harris says.
In a county where visitors contribute a fifth of the annual economy, reopening is essential not just for the restaurants, but for the vitality of the Asheville area as a whole. “As of now, I would say about 40 percent of the restaurants have reopened,” Sessoms says. “I would say by the end of next week, we’ll see 60 percent of the restaurants reopened. What that looks like long term, I can’t say—probably not great. My hope, on a larger scale, is that this event will inspire a new connection between New Orleans and Asheville and bring visitors.”
For a list of upcoming dinners, visit the Cooks for Carolina website. And to learn about places in Western North Carolina that are open and seeking business, view our article here.
