ASHEVILLE – Heritage Fire, a national touring food and beverage festival traveling to 13 cities, has the Asheville area market in its sights.

On July 13, Heritage Fire, celebrating live fire cooking, will return to The Horse Shoe Farm in Hendersonville for a walking tour of chef-made dishes, premier beverages, live music and more.

More than 20 local chefs are on the roster to present a grilled, globally inspired dish using heritage-breed proteins.

Heritage Fire, a touring festival, challenges chefs to cook on open fires. The tasting event invites guests to experience locally sourced ingredients from chefs and beverage producers.

“Anything cooked over live fire is going to have extra levels to it because of the smoke and the flames touching the product. It’s a celebration of that,” said Chef de Cuisine Brett Suess, who will represent Horse Shoe Farm’s restaurant, The Silo Cookhouse.

The participating chefs will engage in a friendly competition, where festivalgoers will vote for their “Best Bite of the Day,” with the winner named the Heritage Hero champion.

Suess, who participated in the inaugural Asheville event in 2022 while at Chop Shop Butchery, said his experience has prepared him to lead his team in this year’s chef showdown.

The Silo Cookhouse’s dish will be a Chicharrón Prensado, a street food that is traditionally made with pressed pork. However, The Silo Cookhouse team will prepare the dish using ribeye steak and a summery tomato-herb salsa made with local ingredients.

“You have the nice, fatty, super umami flavor bomb of the chicharrón and the nice acidic, nice, fresh garden salsa to go with it and keep it nice and simple,” Suess said.

Heritage Fire heats up Hendersonville, Asheville

Heritage Fire, presented by culinary event producers a21, offers the opportunity to enjoy an original dish from your favorite chefs and restaurants, as well as discover new dining destinations while meeting culinary artists.

Brett Friedman, founder and CEO of a21, said in an email that Asheville is a special culinary market.

“As a Miami based firm, we are compassionate as to the devastation Hurricanes can be to a local community. We are here to support Asheville and the surrounding community as they restore and rebuild,” Friedman said.

This year’s participants will include Suess, Alex and Ashleigh Baxevanis (Feta Flav Greek Taverna), Benjamin Sullivan (Cranford Bros BBQ), Brett Suess (The Silo Cookhouse at The Horse Shoe Farm), Daniel Valladares (Root & Bone), Fernando Desa (Goya Foods), Jason Sweeney (Asheville Proper), Mike Rednak (Indaco), Mountain Madre (Mountain Madre) and Tory Bogin (Claywood), Tyler Slade (Bargello).

Beverage producers will offer wine, beer and nonalcoholic selections.

Heritage Fire: Asheville tickets and details

The annual event will be hosted at Horse Shoe Farm, an agritourism resort, offering mountain views, a day spa and more guest amenities.

“The backdrop, location and setting are all gorgeous, which is the foundation of any event here,” Suess said.

Heritage Fire, a touring festival celebrating live fire cooking, will return on July 13 to The Horse Shoe Farm in Hendersonville.

Heritage Fire, a touring festival celebrating live fire cooking, will return on July 13 to The Horse Shoe Farm in Hendersonville.

Heritage Fire is open to adults aged 21 and older.

VIP admission is $175, which includes 45-minute early access at 3:30 p.m., exclusive pours and general offerings.

General admission is $125, which includes gourmet bites and free-flowing beverages. Entry is at 4:15 p.m.

For more, visit heritagefiretour.com.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram/Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Get the grills out: National live-fire food festival returns to WNC

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