Bringing farm-to-table to the hilltops of West Virginia, the Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College (EWVCTC) Foundation will host its annual Mountain Top Dinner fundraiser event Saturday, September 7th beginning at 5 p.m.
Featuring Marion Ohlinger, a twelfth-generation West Virginian and chef-owner of Morgantown’s Hill & Hollow restaurant, the Mountain Top Dinner will include a sampling of products from regional producers and showcase the best farm-to-table offerings in the area.
“We’re pleased to have Marion’s experience and dishes showcased at this annual fundraiser,” said Dr. Chuck Terrell, EWVCTC President. “His knowledge of West Virginia ingredients and Appalachian cuisine will make for an incredible evening of food and fun to support our Eastern West Virginia students and faculty.”
Ohlinger was raised on his family’s ancestral farm in Mason County and has traveled to more than forty countries on five continents and all fifty states to pursue his passion for cooking. Within his thirty-year career as a chef, he has worked in kitchens across the United States. He was selected for the inaugural edition of The Best Chefs in America 2013, voted four times as Morgantown’s Best Chef and was named West Virginia’s Best Chef by West Virginia Living Magazine’s Best of 2015 Readers Poll.
In 2003, Ohlinger opened Solera, the region’s first Spanish-Latin American restaurant, which introduced modern molecular gastronomic theory and became Appalachia’s first cevicheria. In 2009, Solera joined the farm-to-table movement and evolved into Richwood Grill, which was known for adventurous dining until closing in late 2014. At Hill & Hollow, Ohlinger specializes in creating global cuisine from locally-grown ingredients and elevating Appalachian cuisine. Ohlinger is dedicated to sustainable agriculture and the belief that natural ingredients taste better. He will bring these concepts to the Mountain Top Dinner for a delicious meal overlooking Hardy County.
Tickets, $75, are available here. All proceeds from the Mountain Top Dinner will benefit the Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College Foundation, which supports EWVCTC through student scholarships, faculty development and capital projects.
