Andy Chabot Of Blackberry Farm Joins Movement To End Alzheimer’s Disease

Andy Chabot, director of food and beverage at Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain, joins the Alzheimer’s Association’s Around the Table initiative to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease.

The platform uses the universal connection of food to start conversations about a disease that impacts 5.8 million Americans, according to the annual report released by the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Around the Table movement includes other well-known “culinary influencers” such as Carla Hall, Scott Conant, Stephanie Izard, Hugh Acheson, Art Smith, Andrew Zimmern and Grant Achatz.

Chabot is responsible for the success of the food and beverage programs at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, a property that earned the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program in 2014. He says he was motivated to provide this voice because the disease has impacted his family and “family comes first.”

“Around the table, we are focused on what’s in front of us: the people, their stories, the food and the wine, leaving the distractions of the rest of the world behind,” says Chabot. “Gathered for a night of dining, we are either creating new memories or reminiscing old ones, and that effort to come together creates unbreakable connections.”

I had the opportunity to chat with Chabot about Around the Table and what’s new with the wine program at Blackberry Farm:

Jill Barth: I think most of us have these mealtime memories with our families and friends. Is this sense of recollection, of being able to retain past and current connections, fueled by the senses? Do you find that smell and taste and touch are in the moment experiences?

Andy Chabot: 100%! The way we identify flavors and ingredients depends completely on making connections. We all have a reference point to start from, and from there, we can discover subtle flavors in a dish or narrow down where a wine is from and how old it is.

JB: Why do we need to talk about Alzheimer’s disease? Can the wine and food community bring the conversation to more people?

AC: Alzheimer’s touches everyone and we need to talk about it so more people can be accurately diagnosed and treated in earlier stages, so that we can provide support to caregivers and families, and so we can work together to address causes to help future generations.

The wine and food community is one of the most caring and driven communities – we care for people as a profession – nourishing them every day. With hearts that big, I know our community has so much that it can give.

JB: In choosing to use your talents to support a worthy cause, it seems that you believe in the power of a shared a meal or glass of wine, that if people can come together and enjoy at the table, we have the potential as a society to solve problems and help others. Can you elaborate on this opportunity for all of us?

AC: When you sit across from someone and share a glass or meal, you are committing your attention and time to each other. Time is so valuable as we are pulled in so many directions; imagine the intensity of a connection and the ability to use all points of our senses to communicate and work through problem solving just by being in the same room and at the same table.

You are truly listening versus just responding to an email or making a post. Your thoughts are being received and together, you move forward all the while over a very memorable moment.

JB: I’d love to hear what’s new at Blackberry Farm, what wine in 2019 looks like in your program. What do you find exciting now?

AC: We are really excited about the new generation of winemakers that are right now taking the reins all over the world. There’s such an energy and excitement in the world of fine wine with a generation that is focused on the old vineyards, on farming, and on making pristine examples of the wines from those vineyards.

It’s a generation that understands and appreciates their past and they want to pay homage to it by making the very best wines they can and they have the tools and the knowledge to do it. Ester Nin or Dani Landi in Spain for example, Shannon Staglin in Napa, Arnaud Mortet in Burgundy, Gaia Gaja in Piedmont – the list goes on and on and it’s truly exciting to see!