Chef Donnie Simmons
At The Greystone Inn, the view has always done its part – the long sweep of Lake Toxaway, the hush of the surrounding mountains – but the kitchen is newly finding its voice.
Since February, that voice belongs to Executive Chef Donnie Simmons, and it carries a clear point of view: Southern cooking, rooted and recognizable, but pushed forward with a sense of play.
Simmons grew up in Mint Hill, a suburb of Charlotte, in a household where his grandmother ruled the kitchen with a cast-iron skillet. What stayed with him were her cornbread and an iron resolve never to waste a thing. “She would find ways to use everything,” he recalls. Those early memories remain his North Star, showing up in one of his most talked-about desserts: a cornmeal crème brûlée, born straight from his grandmother’s spirit.
His path to The Greystone Inn wasn’t linear. He started as a dishwasher at a Charlotte restaurant group, working his way through every station – prep, fry, grill, expo – before moving on to an internship at Atlanta’s La Grotta and later studying the business side under restaurateur Stuart Sloane. There were years as a private chef, cooking for rock ‘n’ roll musicians and large-scale events – more than 300 clients – a restaurant venture in Savannah, followed by two stints as Culinary Director at Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville and a term as Executive Chef at The Mandrake in Charlotte. His résumé reads less like a straight climb and more like a series of well-earned turns that shaped how he cooks.
Now at The Greystone Inn, Simmons draws from regional ingredients, sourced from growers and artisans he’s known for years – Benton’s country ham, Hickory Nut Gap pork, Joyce Farms chicken, Ashe County cheeses. His pimento cheese, built on Ashe County cheddar, Duke’s mayo, and a touch of ramp salt, has already emerged as a signature. Even the biscuits trace back to his grandmother’s recipe. For Simmons, this isn’t a trend – it’s simply how he cooks. The result is a Southern-inflected menu with depth and confidence.
Avery County trout arrives pan-seared beside duck fat potatoes and brightened with pickled ramp chimichurri. Braised pork cheeks gain richness from pomegranate and cola, tempered by caramelized parsnips and bourbon-soaked mustard seeds. And then there’s the quail: crisp-skinned, cut with blood orange and bitter greens that keep the dish moving.
Desserts pay tribute to Southern sweets but with restraint – cornmeal crème brûlée, mixed berry cobbler, warm double chocolate bread pudding with rum crème anglaise, and raspberry cake on a shortbread crust.
Simmons has also introduced a casual, bar-only menu with a playful spin on Southern cooking – a double smashed Wagyu burger layered with Benton’s bacon jam and brie, Joyce Farms chicken wings finished with cracked pepper and a bourbon barrel-aged sorghum glaze – food meant to be ordered with a drink and not overthought.
Brunch brings Grand Marnier chocolate pancakes, avocado toast with North Carolina heirloom tomato jam, and a Benton’s BLT with Duke’s mayo – smoky and sharp, exactly as it should be.
Working alongside him is Regan Browell, Director of Operations, a collaborative partner whose own culinary background helps shape the kitchen’s direction. It’s clear Simmons is having fun – pushing ideas, testing combinations, letting the menu evolve. The dishes don’t feel static; they feel fresh, unexpected, and just surprising enough.
The setting has always drawn people in. Now the kitchen meets it.
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