Canyon Kitchen’s Chef Adam

Written By: Pat Allen | Issue: 2016/06 - June | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography

I have always believed that to do something well you must have passion.  It was evident when interviewing Executive Chef Adam Hayes that his passion for food and wine is real! I asked one question and was enthralled for an hour and a half!

This handsome and young chef was catapulted into his culinary career by his girlfriend, Ashley, (who later became his wife), who encouraged him to attend cooking school with her, after his college career ended at the College of Charleston due to “lack of interest” in academics at that time.  Ashley “hated” culinary classes but Adam fell in love with every aspect of cooking and food.

His career expanded from short order cook, chef at a Sport’s Bar, Chef de Cuisine at three restaurants in Charlotte, Executive Chef at the Grand Bohemian in Asheville, Executive Chef at Barnsley Gardens in Georgia, to Executive Chef at Canyon Kitchen in Lonesome Valley – where he titillates the most sophisticated palates.  

Chef Adam attributes his desire for a farm to table approach to the year-and-a-half he spent at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina.  It was there that he visited working farms while looking for produce, got to know farmers, and learned to appreciate their vital contribution to restaurants.  Fresh food became his passion and it continues today, evident in the gardens at Canyon Kitchen, which offers one of the most spectacular settings for any restaurant in Western North Carolina.

His major fork in the road happened when he and Ashley took a trip to Asheville to attend the Bele Chere Festival in 2009. They fell in love with the mountains surrounding them as well as the town itself and saw a sign for the new Kessler-owned hotel, The Grand Bohemian, then being constructed downtown. Both talked about their love for Asheville and the possibility of living there. Unbeknownst to Chef Adam, Ashley sent in a cover letter and Adam’s resume and three weeks later Adam received a phone call inviting him to come in for an interview as Executive Chef position of The Grand Bohemian.  He accepted the position and remained there for five years before moving to Barnsley Gardens Resort, which offered a more hands-on approach and a new direction for his family as well.

After five years in a three-meals-a-day facility, offering corporate meals and endless numbers of weddings, a phone call came from a friend and former colleague that changed Adam’s life once more. He interviewed and, fortunately for us, accepted his current position as Executive Chef at
Canyon Kitchen.

Chef Adam’s philosophy of farm-to-table, growing as much produce on the grounds of the restaurant as possible, using sustainable meats, fish, and preferring organic wines from small producers who know and love their land, make him a farmer’s and consumer’s best friend. 

He was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York in 2013 where he was adamant that every dish he prepared be from ingredients in North Carolina. Creative genius that he is – who loves a challenge – his mission was accomplished and he wowed them all!  Subsequently he has been invited back to prepare another dinner in November of this year! Quite an accolade, I would say.

Canyon Kitchen and Chef Adam Hayes are the perfect fit, nurturing his love for the North Carolina mountains to hike, the dirt to grow in, and food connoisseurs he seeks to please. His passion for food and wine resonate in every dish he prepares.