Food and fork duel.
ASHEVILLE – Asheville is no stranger to festivals, evidenced by the myriad events coming this year with themes ranging from beer and cider to honey, and in celebration of music, art, and diverse cultures. Yet, a collective of local food, beverage, and media professionals see room for another festival to showcase Asheville’s culinary and craft communities.
This summer, Jefferson Ellison, an Asheville native and owner of JD Ellison & Company communications agency, and event planning committee members Jennifer Rodriguez (Asheville Guide), Sarah Fiori (Asheville Crafted Edge), and Melinda Hanley (pastry chef) will introduce a new food culture festival series: Bite Me. Bite Me is scheduled for Aug. 14-18 in various locations across the city, including restaurants and event venues.
The tongue-in-cheek name, Bite Me, was derived from a ChatGPT search for a name for a food festival. It’s also a response to those who initially doubted Ellison when he shared the idea of a new food culture festival.
Bite Me will feature local and national food and beverage industry professionals with events to include panel discussions, seated dinners, tastings, late-night after parties, vendor markets, and a Sunday cookout to close the festival.
James Beard Award-nominated chefs, mobile restaurants, pop-up supper clubs, and bookstore owners specializing in literature about Black foodways are confirmed for various events during Bite Me.
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s culinary department will host a cooking competition with multiple categories. Tickets for Bite Me will go live on April 24.
Bite Me’s organizers will offer free and ticketed events that allow attendees to decide how much they want to spend and how they want to spend their time. Weekend and day passes and single-event tickets will be sold.
A $149 ticket will provide full access to programs including cooking classes, panels, and late-night events. The vendor market and Sunday cookout will have free admission. Guests attending seated dinners will pay the participating restaurant directly.
Ellison said it’s to allow the restaurant to profit, for the diners to decide how much they spend, and for event organizers to control the cost of festival tickets without compromising the chefs, restaurants, or the meal.
Ellison tapped into his years of event planning, marketing, and networking to found Bite Me. He’s managed chefs, worked as the agency of record at the LEAF Global Arts Festival and as senior brand marketing manager at East Fork Pottery.
In 2021, Ellison served as the agency of record for Chow Chow, a food and culture festival that debuted in 2019. Its ending was a catalyst for Bite Me’s planning committee members to implement the new, unaffiliated food culture festival to support the community.
JD Ellison & Company is managing many festival aspects in-house, like marketing and event production. Early sponsors to commit monetary and in-kind support include East Fork Pottery, Wicked Weed Brewing, and the Asheville Downtown Association.
Ellison said Bite Me’s festival organizers are raising money and gathering resources before booking guests and events. Ellison said he hopes to encourage others to use available resources to do something big in the community.
Bite Me will be held in various locations in Asheville from Aug. 14-18. Tickets will go live on April 24.
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