Lambstock: Woodstock For Chefs

There's a super secret party in a super secret place, where everybody knows about it, but only a few are able to experience it.

It's called Lambstock.
In a secret-not-so-secret location in the hills of Southwest Virginia, the minds of chefs from all over the region and beyond come together for three days of eating, drinking and having a good time. It's the best time I've ever had.

The first time I was invited, I felt as if I'd been knighted. I had heard stories of late-night running in the woods, camping beneath the stars and a non-stop cadre of food, cooking techniques and people coming together. Julia Child said "The best people are food people" and she is right. There are no other people I want to be around for the rest of my life. New friendships were forged right alongside burning embers of coals.

The afternoon sun beams down through a grove of trees; blue smoke filters, dancing through each stream of light. It wafts out from pits of fire, wood and glowing gray ash. 

A pig’s head roasts on a grill. Its teeth and jawbone jut from its mouth, like in Lord Of The Flies. One hand douses it with a thick red sauce and the lid closes down. A row of ducks hanging by wires jiggle, twirl and drip on a spit until they burst open above glowing coals and an earthen vessel filled to the brim with leafy greens. 

Someone pays homage to a whole dressed lamb by kissing its hindquarters before breaking it down with a boning knife and a hacksaw. The soundtrack to this scene is a funk/soul band whose electric guitars and rhythmic grooves echo throughout the valley and rise up to the top of the hill where guests in tents rest and await their next move.

This is Lambstock. Woodstock for chefs. And it’s invite-only.

Read more about this special, private experience HERE at Triad City Beat