Reclaiming Appalachia’s Plate: The Chefs Pioneering Modern Appalachian Cuisine

At the Hickory

For generations, Appalachian cuisine has often been misunderstood and overlooked – many times reduced to stereotypes of poverty food or heavy, homogenous fare. But a quiet culinary revolution has been building, led by chefs who are reclaiming, redefining and celebrating the true soul of Appalachian food. Among those leading the charge are Mike Costello, David Rabin, and Travis Milton—each bringing a unique voice to the table while honoring a shared commitment to cultural preservation and innovation.

Mike Costello: Storytelling Through Food

At Lost Creek Farm in Harrison County, West Virginia, Mike Costello isn’t just cooking meals—he’s telling stories. Costello, along with his partner Amy Dawson, has created a space where Appalachian traditions are honored with every ingredient and every course. Their farm dinners have become immersive experiences, weaving personal narratives, local history, and heirloom recipes into a multisensory celebration of place.

Costello sees food as a medium for cultural storytelling – one that pushes back against the flattening of Appalachian identity. Dishes like leather britches with pickled ramps, or pawpaw sorbet served alongside heirloom cornbread, don’t just nourish; they educate. Costello emphasizes that Appalachian cuisine is inherently diverse, shaped by the contributions of Indigenous, African American, and immigrant communities. His approach is both a preservation and an evolution, carrying ancestral knowledge forward while allowing it to adapt and grow.

Travis Milton: The Scholar and the Advocate

In Virginia, chef Travis Milton has emerged as both a culinary force and a historian of Appalachian foodways. Raised in the far southwestern corner of the state, Milton’s relationship with Appalachian food is deeply personal. He grew up cooking with his grandparents, and it’s their recipes, values, and love of land that fuel his mission today.

Milton’s restaurant Hickory, at Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards in Bristol, Virginia, focuses on heirloom ingredients and traditional techniques, often resurrecting near-forgotten dishes. But his work goes beyond the kitchen. Milton has collaborated with universities and nonprofits to document Appalachian food traditions, advocate for food sovereignty, and ensure the stories of rural people aren’t lost in a wave of commercialization.

David Rabin: Bridging Tradition and Innovation at Caboose Tavern

Chef David Rabin may not have grown up in the mountains of Appalachia, but he became a committed advocate for the region’s foodways through his work in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. As the former executive chef of Caboose Brewing Company, Rabin developed a style that blends farm-to-table principles with Appalachian influences—spotlighting the ingredients and traditions of the area while incorporating modern techniques.

While there, Rabin prioritized relationships with local farmers and producers, curating menus that celebrated the seasonal abundance of the Mid-Atlantic while nodding to the comfort and character of Appalachian cuisine. Dishes featured heritage grains, foraged mushrooms, smoked meats, and root vegetables – approachable yet thoughtful, familiar but refined.

What set Rabin apart was his ability to create food that resonated across boundaries – geographical, cultural, and culinary. While his menus included a riff on pickled ramp aioli or a smoked trout spread served on house-baked sourdough, the real throughline was his respect for the land and the people who tend it. His Appalachian-inspired dishes weren’t imitations; they were built from a deep understanding of the region’s values: sustainability, frugality, and connection to community.

A New Narrative for Appalachian Food

What unites Costello, Rabin, and Milton is a shared reverence for the land and the people who have long stewarded it. They don’t view Appalachian cuisine as something to be elevated from the outside – but something already rich and vibrant, deserving of respect on its own terms. Their kitchens are spaces of memory and imagination, where the past informs the present and the future is built on authenticity.

This modern Appalachian cuisine is not a trend. It’s a movement – a restoration of pride, a reclamation of heritage, and a reassertion of identity. In a region often defined by what it lacks, these chefs are reminding the world of what it has in abundance: tradition, creativity and a deep-rooted sense of place.

As diners across the country become more interested in regional and seasonal eating, Appalachian food is finally getting its due. But thanks to the work of chefs like Mike Costello, David Rabin, and Travis Milton, it’s not just being seen, it’s being understood. And that makes all the difference.

As this movement grows, a new generation of chefs is stepping forward to carry the torch into the future. Ashleigh Shanti, based in Asheville, North Carolina, brings her perspective as a Black Appalachian chef to the forefront, blending West African culinary traditions with Appalachian ingredients to tell a more inclusive story of the region. In Morgantown, Matt Welsch of Vagabond Kitchen continues to champion Appalachian foodways with fearless creativity and a commitment to local sourcing. Together, these culinary voices—and many others rising across the hills and hollers—are proving that Appalachian cuisine is not a relic of the past, but a living, evolving expression of culture and identity.