Business

Season's chef leaving for Asheville kitchen

Michelle Bailey, shown in a Lightning file photo, is leaving Highland Lake Inn for the Smoky Park Supper Club in Asheville.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 7, 2015

Michelle Bailey, the award-winning executive chef of Season’s at Highland Lake Inn, has been named the executive chef for Smoky Park Supper Club, the riverside restaurant made from shipping containers that will open this summer in the River Arts District.

A native of Memphis, Bailey, 32, has lived in Western North Carolina for the past 22 years and worked in local kitchens since the age of 14.
In her new role at Smoky Park Supper Club, Bailey will work closely with operating partner and local farm-to-table pioneer Mark Rosenstein, who was the owner of The Marketplace Restaurant, where Bailey was the executive chef from 2006 to 2009.
Bailey was selected as executive chef more than 125 applicants. Last year she was the Western North Carolina winner and state semifinalist in the Final Fire Competition Dining Series.
Smoky Park Supper Club will feature a menu by Rosenstein and Bailey of wood-fired foods with an accent on classic American fare and seasonal offerings.