From peeling shrimp to helming The Dogwood at Blackberry Farm: 5 questions with Trevor Iaconis

Liz Kellar, Knoxville News Sentinel
·4 min read

He got his start washing dishes and peeling shrimp when he was just 14, then leaned into food as a career and earned a spot at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America right after he graduated from high school.

It was an externship at Blackberry Farm nearly 13 years ago, though, that set Trevor Iaconis on a path that led to his current position as the new executive chef at the luxe resort's The Dogwood restaurant.

After beginning his career as an intern in The Barn in 2011, Iaconis worked his way up from line cook, was promoted to sous chef and then senior sous chef. He transitioned to The Dogwood at Blackberry Farm in 2017 as senior sous chef.

"Leading the kitchen here has been a dream of mine since I started as a young intern,” Iaconis said.

Five questions for Blackberry Farm's newest executive chef

  • What sparked your interest in food as a career? My whole family loves food. I grew up in an Italian household, so all celebrations center around the dining table. Some of my favorite memories (involve) getting together, everyone cooking their favorite thing. I watched the Food Channel as a kid, looking at recipes and watching the step by step process. I thought I could emulate that at home. ... It started out as something I just really enjoyed doing and took a knack to.

  • What brought you to East Tennessee and Blackberry Farm? My mom grew up in Friendsville, my grandfather lived in Walland, and my aunt and uncle live in Townsend. I was on summer break and talking to them about looking for an externship. I had looked at restaurants in New York that were partnered with the school, and in San Francisco. My uncle asked me if I had ever heard of Blackberry Farm; I was sitting on their back porch and looked it up. ... I was really excited by what they were doing, the farm to table cuisine. I applied, came down for a "stage," which is a working interview. I was enamored. ... I just thought this was the place for me."

  • You have spent your entire professional life at Blackberry Farm. What keeps you here? I hadn't really done any fine dining before. But as I got to work with all these great products, learning the terroir of Tennessee, what the Smokies had to offer and how passionate Blackberry Farm is about local products and sense of place, it really excited me. I'm in a unique situation, to have an outlet to create this beautiful food ... I've gotten to meet a ton of my idols, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, Michael Tusk ... Chefs from all over the world come here and you get to work with them. It's so fulfilling. You forget how big of an impact the place has, the reach and the reputation.

  • Blackberry Farm’s food is described as Foothills Cuisine. What does that mean to you? Foothills cuisine is utilizing the kind of terroir of the area and some of the traditions of the past to create new and exciting dishes. A sense of place is very important. I created a grits dish (Grits with Benton’s Bacon Broth and Charred Onion) − that dish to me screams foothills cuisine, it's one of the dishes I'm most proud of. It has a really delightful flavor and everything that is in that dish, you can find within an hour of Blackberry Farm.

  • You were senior sous chef at The Dogwood for nearly seven years – are you planning any big changes to the food? I've made contributions to a lot of the menu over the years ... My culinary philosophy is that I like really big, bold flavors that excite the palate, with a balance of classic but luxurious comfort. Another thing, too, is balancing the local and southern traditions with new and exciting flavor profiles. ... I will be adding more fish and seafood and also more pasta. One new dish is the grilled shrimp with spicy mandarin broth. That's one of the big bold flavor dishes. It's got a kick to it, it's in your face.

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Luxe Smokies resort Blackberry Farm promotes chef to executive spot