A Great Dinner Party

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: June 2023

Jeremiah Langhorne

Like any great dinner party, Skyline Lodge’s guest chef series, Under the Stars, On The Rocks, includes inspired food, great beverages, like-minded people, and stimulating conversation.

Again, this year, Skyline is partnering with a heavy-hitting cadre of guest chefs at a lineup of dinners that take place in the lodge’s picturesque outdoor pavilion overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

On June 6, Jeremiah Langhorne, James Beard Award-winner for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, and executive chef and owner of Washington, DC’s restaurants The Dabney and Petite Cerise will man the kitchen.

Langhorne has come a long way from his beginnings as a cook at a strip mall pizzeria in Charlottesville, Virginia. His career has since taken him around the world – from a stage at Noma in Copenhagen to the chef de cuisine spot under Sean Brock at Charleston’s McCrady’s Restaurant, before launching his own restaurants in DC.

The lure of local ingredients caught Langhorne early on. He grew up fishing, foraging, and living off the bounty of the Chesapeake region. At McCrady’s, he became an expert forager and oversaw a pantry full of scratch-made misos and vinegars, and his foraged finds often ended up on the menu.

After five years at McCrady’s, he decided to return to his Mid-Atlantic roots to open his own restaurant venture. The inspiration for The Dabney came when he realized that none of the local restaurants were cooking the flavors of his beloved Chesapeake region. It was important that his menu “draw inspiration from native regional ingredients.”

During the buildup to the opening, he had time to put together his own unique library of local flavors – using all sorts of vinegars like Virginia maple, sorghum, and quince.

Then there are the misos: butterbean, pumpkin seed, black walnut, pecan, squash. The restaurant has become a showcase for the recipes and foodstuffs of his native region; recognized for “plating the Mid-Atlantic”, using ingredients like oysters, sunchokes, country ham, and apple cider.

Langhorne’s talents have not gone unnoticed. The Dabney has held a Michelin Star since its beginnings in 2016 and was recently ranked number one in the district by Washingtonian Magazine. Other accolades include James Beard semi-finalist “Best New Restaurant” 2016, Bon Appetit Magazine’s “50 Best New Restaurants of 2016, Food & Wine’s “2016’s Restaurants of the Year”, Eater’s “Young Guns Class of 2022,” and one of Gayot’s “Top Five Rising Chefs”.

Tickets are $175 per person and include a signature welcome cocktail and dinner with beverage pairings. Additional a la carte drinks are available for purchase. Limited availability and advanced reservations required.