The Story Behind the #1 Hotel In America for Food & Drinks - Andy Chabot, Blackberry Farm

Josiah: The best hotel for food and drink in the U.S. is on a farm in Tennessee. That was how Food & Wine magazine announced Blackberry Farm as the winner of its Global Tastemakers Awards, which involved feedback from 180 food and travel journalists and an expert panel of judges. This week, we're getting an exclusive look into how this Relais & Chateau hotel has become the best in America from the person running its food and beverage program, Andy Chabot. This three-part miniseries will cover their approach to hospitality, their strategies for hiring and training teams that create unforgettable guest experiences, and the relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence. Today's episode sets the stage with the origins of this exceptional property, what makes it a standout destination, and Andy's inspiring journey from starting as a server to leading the food and beverage program today. Get ready to be inspired by the insights and stories that make Blackberry Farm a paragon of hospitality. There's so much to learn from what Andy will share with us, so let's get started. 

Josiah: As a starting point, Andy, I would love it if you could tell me some of the unique aspects of hospitality that Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain offer. It is known widely as one of the best hospitality businesses in the world. But I'm curious about you. You know, you've seen a lot, you've been exposed to a lot. For you, what stands out is really unique and special about the hospitality you provide.

Andy: Well, thank you, Josiah, for the question. First and foremost is maybe it's the place where BlackBerry is in the country, you know, being in Tennessee and in the South, you know, there's a real culture of hospitality in this part of the world. And in the way I think we embrace it is, you know, we really treat it like we're inviting the guest into our home, into our house, and we take care of them the way we would like to be taken care of. You know, it's a little bit of the golden rule that I think creates great hospitality. It's really genuine desire to take care of the guests. They are our guests. And I'll say also, I think our team, all of us, make genuine connections with the guests. It flows both ways. The guests are very interested in us and what we do. And you make, I think, true connections. And they come back, and they remember you, and you remember them. So it starts, I think, from a culture of hospitality that's sort of ingrained. and then embraced and then allowed, I think, which isn't always the case. I think a lot of hotels, restaurants, they have a formality that puts up a blockade. And I think that while we're proper, we stop short of being overly formal, which allows that hospitality to take place.

Josiah: I want to get into so many elements of this because it takes a lot to create and sustain and grow and evolve that culture, right? But spending just a few more moments talking about Blackberry, if we could, because Food & Wine recently named Blackberry Farm as the number one top US hotel for food and drinks. I would love if you could share with our listeners what you believe sets your culinary and beverage programs apart. There are so many elements from people I know that have stayed at your property, but what are some of the things from your perspective that sets it apart?

Andy: Thank you for asking that. And I know you can't hear it, but I'm smiling as you say those things. And I think Blackberry is a unique place in what we get to do. And one of the things I think that it's a little bit like with hospitality, it's genuine. I think our food and cuisine is sort of genuine. We strive to make really good food. We sort of start there. You know, is this food excellent? Before saying, you know, does it look good on the plate? Does it, you know, match something that we're trying to do? It's, is this really delicious? And we have a very, you know, ingredient-forward approach to our cuisine and a very vegetable-forward approach as well, where we are in the country is a very produce-heavy part of the country, despite, I think, a lot of people think of Southern cuisine as being very maybe pork-heavy or, you know, fat-heavy. It's really a cuisine that focuses on vegetables. And so, you know, we kind of start with great ingredients, and we treat them well, and we produce, I think, very good but unmanipulated food, and something else I think that makes our property unique is that each property has a number of different executive chefs and that's by design so when you go into a restaurant or you have breakfast and lunch but then you come back and you have dinner you're experiencing a different chef's food and why that's important is because you know when it's like pepper season There's a lot of peppers or tomato season or what have you. And there's a lot of that coming in, they're pristine and you really want to use those great local fresh ingredients. And if there was one chef, you would have sort of one lens to look at that ingredient through. Having different chefs allows, you know, this chef does this with tomatoes, that chef does something else with tomatoes. It's great food and great cuisine, well made and well prepared, but just a different take because there's different backgrounds, there's different nuance. So, I think that makes a stay at one of our hotels very unique. You get different cuisine, but you get very seasonal cuisine or different food, I should say. In our beverage programs, you know, we've worked hard over the years to make sure that we have something for everybody, a wide breadth of selection and some of the most excellent selections. Again, we're a little different here because it's not like a normal restaurant or even a normal hotel where, you know, you might join us for one night of your stay. With us, our guests are usually with us for three nights, they don't leave the property, they dine in our restaurants, and they, you know, drink from our beverage lists. And so if you, as a guest, love Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, then we need more than just one really good Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. You know, so we have a wide horizontal selection of beverages, and then we have a very deep vertical selection of beverages. We've really been cellaring spirits and wine for years, ever since we got a liquor license, you know, 25 years ago now. in the late 90s, you know, we've been putting wines and things in the cellar knowing that we'll pull them back out someday to make sure we have well-aged or rare things available for our guests because they, you know, our guests do expect some of the, best and we want to deliver that.

Josiah: I'm going to link in the show notes to an excellent conversation or I think series of conversations you had with The Great Nation. Excellent long form conversation where you dive into the backstory of that. Really incredible. And I think in our conversation today, we're going to touch on many elements of food and beverage, not only because of your role, but because it stands out. A writer for food and wine talked about for many properties, as you pointed out, people come for a shorter period, they're staying longer at your property. but this writer was saying that they're not just there and it's about the activities. The culinary program and the beverage program is the star of the show in many respects. And so I would like to come back to elements of that, but that writer also, in an article I was reading, was talking about something that you mentioned of food being genuine. I think she called out the biscuits and gravy as a highlight. That's a personal favorite of mine. And so it's appealing because I think there's of course many different types of cuisine I personally enjoy some of those classics that are prepared really well with fresh ingredients and not necessarily just super exotic stuff. It seems like that's one of the hallmarks of your program.

Andy: Yeah, I think it is. And we are, I think, blessed a little bit in that we are kind of out here on our own a little bit. We're not in, you know, a city where there's a hundred great restaurants and they're all trying to sort of, you know, they're vying for the same guest. And so, I think when that happens, you sometimes, well, you have to have some gimmick or you have to have something that, you know, draws people to your restaurant instead of someone else's restaurant. Here, our guests are coming here as a resort, as a vacation spot, a special occasion spot. And, you know, they're coming to this part of the country and they expect to taste this part of the country. And so we kind of have this, I think it's a little lucky that we're not competing against other things. I think the hardest thing we have to do is to stay true to where we are and who we are because it's very easy for us to get bored with that and, you know, try to do other things versus our guests coming here, you know, they want to sample that. So, I think, you know, biscuits and gravy is a good example of, like, you can't, I mean, you can't, but, you know, great biscuits and gravy is a special thing. And I think we do it really, you know, really, really well. And people, they want to try it. If we ever took it off the menu, it'd probably cause some sort of a mutiny, I think. I don't know.

Josiah: I wonder if you could speak a little bit more to that tension because you talk about guests wanting to taste the place. You also talk about Southern cuisine, which is not necessarily known for being more vegetable-forward. You talk about vegetables being a big part of the program. Why is that? Why the focus on vegetables? Or why does that play such a more of a leading role, maybe, than people might expect?

Andy: Yeah, I think it is interesting to me that it's not expected that, I mean, this part of the country, of our country is, I mean, it's very agricultural. And the cuisine has always been, you know, meat as a seasoning almost. And I think that's where you get things like, you know, ham hocks and collard greens and bacon used in things. It's usually used, you know, as a seasoning. So traditionally, I mean, The cuisine of the American South and of our part of the South, we call our cuisine foothills cuisine because we're up in the Appalachian Mountains. I mean, it's really based around what you can grow. And that's, you know, in every little community, add specialties. Really in our part of East Tennessee, you see a lot of peppers, you see a lot of legumes. Legumes play a really large role, and I think people don't think of peas and beans necessarily when they think of East Tennessee. But I also, I connect the cuisine of this place to the cuisine sometimes of Southern France, of Provence, of that. You see a lot of similarities in ingredients, not necessarily cooking techniques, but ingredients. And I think that's what is interesting is that we have access to all these amazing ingredients If we apply cooking techniques more appropriate for today's diets and health expectations, you end up with really lovely, you know, vegetable-forward cuisine versus, you know, the braised heavy fried version, I would think, of the past. But the main ingredients are still the same. It's still that, you know, vegetables playing a starring role.

Josiah: Thanks for explaining a little bit of that, because I find it fascinating. I'm finding more and more hospitality providers and of course, guests at different places, more and more interested in what we're eating, what we're drinking, what we're offering in these areas. Hospitality, to me, is fascinating because that is one big piece of it. The other piece is about the guest experience and how you think about service. Of course, service is driven in large part by the people, the people that you attract to the teams, the way that you're training them, the culture, the way that you lead the teams. I'd love to touch on elements of this, but starting with your own personal experience, you work at The Little Nell, then you have this opportunity to work with BlackBerry. Take us back to that moment when you first were interacting with BlackBerry and how you decided to begin working here.

Andy: Yeah. So, I mean, I remember it fairly well, and I don't think through a sepia-toned glasses or anything. I think I remember, you know, I worked at Little Nell and then went back to school at the CIA in New York. And when I was graduating or getting ready to graduate from there for a second time, I'd fallen in love with high-end hotels at the Little Nell. And it kind of blew my mind. I didn't know that that level really existed. You know, I was from a small town in New Hampshire, and that just wasn't my experience.

Josiah: What specifically did you fall in love with? Is it just the fanciness or was there something about like the excellence where you kind of felt like you were performing at a really high level?

Andy: It was the letters. It was the high level it was. I mean, it was the experience and the excellence and the finery of it. It kind of wowed me, you know, personally. But it was also that you could run at a very high luxurious level. And we weren't talking about the budget daily. We were making decisions. It felt differently to me. I just really enjoyed it. And it was my first real chance of working in a hotel also instead of a freestanding restaurant. And I really enjoyed the connection that everyone could make, and you could take care of your guests kind of a thing. But you can only get employee housing for so long when you work for Aspen Ski Company. So I went back to the CIA. And when I was graduating, I wanted to work in another high-end hotel. So I looked at a few on the East Coast. I wanted to be back in the East Coast. And so I looked at the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine, a great place. I looked at the Inn of Little Washington. And then I also looked at Blackberry Farm. In those days, I'll say, it was strange to say, but in those days, you know, we didn't really have internet access so much. So, I was looking at pamphlets that were in the career services office and that really fell in love then with the, you know, Little Washington. And I interviewed with them and I stayed in Little Washington, you know, a little in there and they offered me a job as a server. I want to be a server and get those skills. But I had also secured an interview at Blackberry Farm at the time and I said, well, I have one more interview and I want to go and check them out because I get to stay a night and that sounds great and you know I don't want to cancel. And so you know as soon after that I went and visited Blackberry Farm and really when I kind of set foot on Blackberry Farms property I just I kind of fell in love with the energy of Blackberry Farm. really to this day you can see that this part of Tennessee has a very unique kind of light it's very sort of soft and sort of magical and that light was shining you know that day was a day in the fall that I visited in October and it was just a beautiful property stunning property and the rooms were lovely. I interviewed with the dining room manager and also at the time the proprietor, Sam Beall. I interviewed with him. And I met the executive chef at the time. And everyone I came in contact with, I had a great experience with, and a good connection. Had an amazing meal. I loved the food. Sam was the sommelier that night. He served us wine. I'd been really interested at the CIA, getting into wine and food pairings and things. And it was just a magical experience. And the energy was great. And the people were great. Everyone I talked to. And I think it's the people that really set it apart. But the property itself. It has a certain energy. It's a little tough to describe, but a lot of people have mentioned it over the years.

Josiah: I think this is where hospitality is so compelling and why I think Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain are compelling because it is that physical property. It's the land, the nature, but it's also the people and the way the people are working together and serving staff. That's why hospitality is so magical, I feel. Yeah.

Andy: Well, I think that's how it can be, you know, magical is, you know, you get a great backdrop, but then you get great people. They take care of the guests and they, you know, just friendly. And I mean, I think that's one of the most important things is just having great friendly people on your team.

Josiah: I think you have a good point of clarification though, like those ingredients can add up to a great experience, but they don't by default. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of thought and care. You have mentioned that Sam Beall has been, he just was very, very influential in your career. And I'm curious, it's a big question, but I guess as you reflect back on the interactions that you had with him and I guess that mentorship, how would you say that it shaped your approach to hospitality?

Andy: Yeah so I think it shaped it you know a lot and his approach at least from my perspective, was always a kind of do whatever it takes approach to hospitality which you don't often encounter because everyone's trying to you know I hate to say it that way, but everyone's trying to be careful of this and that. But his take on it was always very much, take care of these people, these guests, like they're your guests, like they're in your house. If you served a guest a glass of wine they didn't like, you would open something else for them. And that's what we do. If in their room something wasn't exactly right, you would try to fix it. And you would genuinely try to fix it. And I think that's the key to hospitality, the way that he always sort of taught it or expressed or did it, is you really want to do it and you try to do it. Doesn't mean you always can, but that genuine sort of feeling of wanting to, being like, I'm going to do everything I can to make your experience great. You know, and then it's also a way that I think he always expressed hospitality. He had a vision and a goal often for what he wanted to share, and he did that. You know, so it's not entirely the guest driving the experience. It's a little the experience being delivered. is one that is genuine and desired. He worked as a sommelier a lot and he liked connecting with guests in the dining room and telling stories about the producers that he had met and bought their wines and I'll be sharing this wine with you and how it works with this food. I mean, he was really into it. And I think that energy of being excited about what you're doing, translates to a good experience oftentimes. That was kind of what he sort of taught was sort of this no-holds-barred approach to ensuring the guests had a great experience. What that means, you know, a lot of times we have these like last minute changes because it could be a little better. And if it can be better, let's make it better. And you have to be ready for that kind of energy. You have to be wanting to, you know, be all in with him. But most people did, you know, most people wanted to kind of be along for the ride with him on that. But if you love lots of planning and no last-minute changes and things like that, I mean, the hospitality industry isn't necessarily the greatest industry anyways.

Josiah: Well, it's funny you mentioned that because, you know, you talk about energy and it sounds like part of that was the land, but it's also the people and Sam specifically was a, you know, such a big piece of that. I love that notion of taking care of people like they're in your house. I think that is such a good North Star. I was actually talking to someone on your team, Andy, before we talked and I was like, tell me about Andy's approach to leadership and culture. And they described your leadership style as a no-nonsense, get-things-done attitude. And I'm curious if you would agree with that. And I feel like from some of what you shared, that sort of like, this is not about just sitting in an office for a long time. It seems very much of like, we're going to do what it takes to actually deliver this type of service and this type of experience that you've described.

Andy: Yeah, I think that's probably fair. I think I am a generally no-nonsense, get-it-done personality. And then, you know, I also enjoy solving problems and things. But I do think, you know, I wouldn't ask people to do things I don't do. I have always thought, you know, lead from the front and hopefully, you know, there'll be people that work with you. and do things the way you want them done, or together you develop new ways of doing things. But yeah, I think that's a pretty fair assessment, I think, of the way I like to manage and lead. And I really like to jump in and do the job with the team. For me, that's the most fun part of it. or taking care of, you know, a group in the wine cellar. I love to jump in and run food, because, you know, running up and down the stairs with food is hard, but I sort of enjoy the challenging part, you know, of the job, and I like to be with the team when they do it. I genuinely enjoy the service aspect of this role. You know, there's certainly managerial office jobs and things you have to do, but you're setting yourself up for great, smooth service. That's what everything is sort of pointed at. If that's not what you're doing, then you're probably doing the wrong things, you know?

Josiah: What led you to think this way though? Because I feel like many times people view an entry-level role as something to move out of as quickly as possible. If I understand correctly, you started as a server, right? Now you're leading the whole program for the company and you still enjoy this. It sounds like Sam was a very positive influence in that he was working and being a guest. I'm curious if there was negative influences at maybe other places or is it more kind of this positive thing that you saw Sam, you enjoyed it. Like how did you end up this way? way? It's a good question.

Andy: I don't know. You know, I think the first restaurant I worked in, which is called Del Rossi's, it was an Italian restaurant in New Hampshire. And I worked with the owner. You know, we cooked together. I washed dishes and eventually cooked. And, you know, and here I worked alongside, you know, Sam. He's the owner of the company, but like, you know, he was in the trenches too with us. And I've enjoyed that. And I think it's a good way to do it. There's other ways, but I think that's a good way to lead. And I mean, this is a hospitality business and we shouldn't be giving hospitality and doing service. And, you know, I think a lot of times the goal seems, you know, to get out of those service jobs, like you said, versus to really, I don't know, do both, you know, really treat it like it is your home and that they are your guests. I don't know how I am this way, but it's just how I've always sort of done it. It does tend to work, but it can make a lot of work at times.

Josiah: I feel like all the things that we've been talking about could in a way be summed up as the culture of a place, right? And Blackberry Farm has a really unique culture that sets it apart as a top level resort and an employer, right? When I talk about culture, it can seem a little vague, but I'm curious for you, if you had to try to describe the organizational culture of Blackberry Farm and maybe your organization specifically, how would you describe that culture?

Andy: Well, I think, you know, at the top, what's interesting is BlackBerry is a family-owned business. What's great about that is we make decisions that are generational in their approach. And I think that, at least for me, I feel that in the culture. No, we're not making quarterly P&L decisions. I mean, we look at that. But we make decisions that make sense 100 years from now. That can seem wacky to some people. You might make decisions that are, they don't seem to make sense at the time sometimes. But they do make long-term sense. And we can really commit to things because of that that I think others can't. I think that bleeds down into the culture. The culture of hospitality, I think, is, again, a huge part of what we are and it's to our guests, but I think it's also to each other in the company. And again, if we've done a good job of hiring good, nice, caring people, then that's how they treat each other. And it's not just to the guests. And that's what I think very special about the culture here is our team, our people really are nice people. I like coming to work every day with people I've worked with. And I like to think that they all do too. I also think we have a strong belief in our team that they all come to work to do a great job. I don't think there's a management approach that sort of assumes the worst. I think we tend to assume the best. And if we don't live up to it, we question why we didn't live up to that. And then that's kind of where we start our approach, I think. Is everything all right? Why didn't this happen the way we all thought it should? It feels like a very positive way that we manage our culture. I think it all starts with the people, with nice people.

Josiah: I wonder if we could just spend a couple of moments talking about how you think about engaging with the broader community. It seems like you're very plugged into the local community. How do you think about engaging the broader community around you?

Andy: Yeah, so I think there's a few communities to talk about. One is the larger food and beverage community. And, you know, like I said, we do go around and we go to food and wine events. We attend, we work, we take part in, you know, food and wine events. I'm going to do an event at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa next month. Also doing with our chef Cassidy from the Marne. I'm also doing an event, Jackson Hole, with Cassidy, food and wine. So, we kind of go around on a national level, try to make sure that we are seeing what's going on out there, but also part of it. On our local level, we do take part in some local events, but we do try to focus locally on charity as much as possible. We help support an event at the Knoxville Museum of Art called L'Amour du Vin each year that helps keep the museum open and free for anyone to go visit, which we think is really important. The Bell family is a big supporter of art. And we also have a foundation called the Blackberry Farm Foundation that raises money through various events that we do that we then pay out to the community through an application process, and we focus on charities that are focused on children or food waste. So, you know, there's a local cafe as part of the Merrillville, which is a local town high school. It was founded in order to give special needs students. And it's still managed, you know, to this day. And we helped build a new cafe there a few years ago through our foundation. But that kind of uniquely ties into foodways and children in need, you know, in our area. So we try to focus on charities, you know, like that. that focus on in those areas in the local community. You know, and then we are just, we are a large employer in our area. Blackberry Farm, Blackberry Mountain have about 1200 to 1400 employees, depending on the time of year. And so, you know, we are pretty plugged into the community.

Josiah: Thanks for walking through that. No hospitality business is an island, right? And so you are engaged on so many levels. I appreciate that. I wonder if we could spend a few moments talking about Andy, the person. So many people I talk with in hospitality, but specifically in food and beverage, are dealing with burnout or they're just, it's come up again and again. I'm sure it's no surprise to you. I wonder if you could speak a little bit to how you think about a work-life balance or kind of things that you found useful for recentering or recharging. I don't know how you want to describe it, but how do you think about that?

Andy: Well, you know, personally, I've always found balance through exercise. You know, when I was in culinary school, I started running marathons. It was more of a, I want to eat and drink what I want to eat and drink, but, you know, be able to balance. So that was kind of like balance at the extreme if you want to think of it that way. But I've always enjoyed that type of thing. These days, I run still. I cycle. My wife and I have a farm, so we grow some vegetables. We have some cows and horses and things. So for me, a lot of my balance comes with using a different part of my mind and doing completely different things. I think it's one of the things here where we are in Tennessee is what's kind of lucky is that, and it's not for everybody, but it's for a lot of people, that you can have this great world-class job experience in a very high-end establishment, but then you can be out really in the country or in the woods, in the national park that we're next to, and you're not in the hustle and bustle of a city. So you don't have to make extra effort to go out there. Now, if you want amazing nightlife and things like that, well, Knoxville is a pretty great place, and so is Maryville, but it's not New York City. So it depends on what your balance is. But for me, I find a lot of balance outside, in nature, in sort of turning off one part of my brain and turning on another part of my brain. And I think one of the things I like about cycling and running is that you kind of you're forced to focus on that versus anything else. And so, you sort of have to turn everything off. I mean, just, you know, sort of focus on the activity. At least that's the way I do it. And I really, you know, enjoy that apart from the health, you know, benefits of it. But yeah, I mean, I think it's a good point you make. I mean, burnout is something you hear about. You talk about, you know, this industry is intense. And I think one of the reasons it's so intense is that you can't put anything off. Service is going to happen tonight one way or the other. And that's a lot of pressure to feel all the time, especially, you know, someone gets sick, they call out, now you're short-staffed. But it doesn't mean you call half the guests and say, you can't come tonight. You have to figure it out. And, you know, one thing we've done over the last few years is we've really focused on staffing, on really being slightly overstaffed if we can. It doesn't always work out, but we made a financial commitment. We rate ourselves on staffing levels. We find, you know, the things that you rate yourself on and give yourself matrices to check yourself against and that you check often, you do better in. It's like managing anything. If you manage, you know, your weight, if you weigh yourself every day, you'll notice things. But if you only do it every six months, you'll be like, ah, shoot. You know, I guess, what's it matter anymore, you know, kind of a thing. So, you check yourself constantly and, you know, it works that way. Like I said, we made a pretty good commitment to knowing our staffing levels, being staffed, working hard to have proper staffing levels. So, we're not asking our teams too often to push themselves beyond that limit. Now, it does happen sometimes because, like I said, the guests are checking in today, It doesn't matter if you're staffed or not, kind of a thing. So I think that's the challenge of this industry, is that you have the rise and fall of service, you have the immediacy of the needs, and you can't put those things off. I think that's what creates that burnout feel. To combat it, you have to work to be staffed, you have to have a good company, good benefits, all those things, especially now everyone has a lot of options. and how they can be employed. So, you know, if you want your option to be the one they choose, it has to be appealing. And we worked really hard on that, you know, and we do work really hard on that. And I'm sure we have a ways to go still. But I think, I think we're pretty, pretty great place to work.

Josiah outro: What Andy just mentioned there stands out to me because recently my wife stayed at Blackberry Farm with her mom and sisters and something they kept talking about was how well-staffed this property is and how it both made them feel cared for and the staff didn't seem as stressed as many are elsewhere. This concludes part one of this mini-series, so if you'd like to hear Andy talk about how they hire and train the people who create this extraordinary experience, Make sure you're subscribed to this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player to hear part two of this conversation tomorrow.