For one evening this summer, a Highlands barn will become the setting for a culinary conversation that stretches from the mountains of North Carolina to the olive groves of Lebanon.
On July 12, Flat Mountain Farm will host its Summer Supper Club, an intimate dinner featuring James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Toni Elkhouri of Cedar’s Cafe in Melbourne, Florida. Limited to just 24 guests, the gathering will pair seasonal food, carefully selected wines, and a chef whose approach to cooking is shaped as much by history and culture as by flavor.
The event is part of an evolving vision from Flat Mountain Farm owners Koble Delmer and Caleb Irby.
Earlier this year, the couple introduced community gatherings during Highlands’ quieter winter months, creating opportunities for year‑round residents and local businesses to connect. The response was so enthusiastic that what began as a winter experiment has become a seasonal series centered on food, wine, wellness, and community.
A Princeton graduate with degrees in political science and history, Elkhouri entered the restaurant world unexpectedly when her father became ill and she stepped into the family business. She spent 17 months at Noma in Copenhagen, then staged at more than 45 kitchens over five years, seeking out new flavor profiles, techniques, and perspectives wherever she could find them.
Elkhouri views food as a living record of migration and place.
She is fascinated by how recipes evolve as people move across cultures and continents. While diners often think of ethnic cuisines as fixed traditions, she sees them as constantly adapting. A dish carried from Lebanon to Australia, South America, France, or the American South inevitably absorbs influences from its new surroundings. For Elkhouri, that evolution is part of its authenticity.
That perspective will shape a menu she describes as “an homage to the South meeting the Mediterranean.”
Guests can expect a reimagined mezze course, mushrooms with hummus, slow‑braised lamb shank, and a seasonal berry dessert. Throughout the meal, dishes will be finished with olive oil from her family’s groves in Lebanon, where the family’s trees have been producing olives for more than 3,000 years. An avid forager, she may even incorporate elements discovered on the property before service.
The evening will be especially meaningful at Flat Mountain Farm, where Caleb’s background as a sommelier has helped shape a wine‑focused experience.
Each course will be accompanied by wine pairings and thoughtfully crafted non-alcoholic alternatives. If weather permits, guests will dine outdoors on the porch of the farm’s historic barn, surrounded by woodland and mountain air.
“Come hungry and come with an open mind,” Elkhouri says.
For Delmer and Irby, that spirit of curiosity is exactly the point. The supper club was never intended to be simply a dinner series. It was created as a way to strengthen community through gathering and conversation.
On July 12, those conversations just happen to be served alongside Lebanese olive oil, Southern ingredients, and a lovingly paired glass of wine.
Tickets are $209 per person and available at flatmountainfarm.com.
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