Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 33

both example and collaboration."
Yoder's background in cooking is also familyrelated, though in a different sort of way - while he
was a teenager, his mother was diagnosed with cancer
(which she has beaten twice since then and has been
cancer-free for going on eight years). His parents were
divorced and his sister in college, and he realized "I can
eat Hungry Man dinners and ramen for the next four
years," or he could learn to cook. He learned to cook.
"When I was 15, I didn't say, this is what I'm going
to do for the rest of my life," but still, he loved it. "It's
building Legos - you start with blocks and you build
a house." Or roasted duck breast with whey braised
beets, chanterelles, blackberries and onion
vinaigrette.
A Pennsylvania native, Yoder worked a few years at
a resort in Idaho and then returned east to study at the
New England Culinary Institute.
The Clifton has 15 garden beds; herbs, berry bushes
and flowers grow on the fence lines; nut trees and wild
berries on the property also go into the restaurant's
dishes. The dining spaces include the veranda and terrace, with outdoor dining in good weather; the intimate Wine Cellar, the dining room and a Chef 's
Counter where guests can sit up close and personal and
talk with the chef while he prepares dinner.
"The most fulfilling dishes for me to create are
those that incorporate produce picked just that morning from Clifton's own garden, and/or protein from
animals raised by the famers of whom I have created a
close relationship with over the years," including
Buffalo Creek Beef in Lexington, Virginia. "But what
really gets me going is presenting a vegetarian or vegan
dish to a diner that cannot be convinced something
like tofu is appealing - I love proving them wrong."
clifton-inn.com
The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, West Virginia
The third of our fine dining destinations, and the oldest - is the Greenbrier, which first opened in 1778, a
fashionable summer retreat where guests took the
waters and escaped the heat. Five presidents visited
before the Civil War, during which the property served
at different times as a hospital or military headquarters
for troops from both the south and the north. In the
next century, the hotel would again be a refuge during
war, housing evacuated diplomats and a 2,000-bed
hospital during World War II.
The C&O Railroad, golf pro Sam Snead and golf
course designer Jack Nicklaus all left their marks on
the resort, and since its 2009 purchase by West
Virginian Jim Justice, the hotel has gained a resort in
addition to golf courses, spa and eight restaurants.
Chef Bryan Skelding, born in Iowa, is on his third
tour at the Greenbrier.
"I left twice." First in 2003, to go to Los Angeles

The ClifTon has 15 garden beds;
herbs, berry bushes and
flowers grow on The fenCe
lines; nuT Trees and wild berries
on The properTy also go inTo
The resTauranT's dishes.
- he came back after four months ("I had this travel
bug in me"). In 2006, he helped open a restaurant in
Ohio, and then came back to the Greenbrier in 2013
to be part of the newly resurrected resort. "I had to be
on that team that brought the Greenbrier back to life."
Skelding's love for cooking has its roots in family,
though his first culinary job was a world away from
resort dining: "My first job - I worked at Dairy
Queen when I was 15 years old." In high school, he
was good at accounting, and so he tried working in
an accounting office for a summer in high school. "I
absolutely hated it." In college, "I cooked for my
friends in the dorm." When he decided he wanted to
cook for a living, his parents (who live in Wisconsin)
had mixed reactions - "my mother" - who was a great
cook - "was ecstatic. My dad... 'why would you want
to do that?'"
Cooking is still part of family gatherings: such as a
pie throw-down during a recent family gathering. "I
challenged my grandmother." The pie in question: a
grape pie. It's "like a cherry pie," he says - he used some
fresh basil and cracked black pepper. "I did win," he
says, but he was hoping his grandmother would.
For winter dining at the Greenbrier: "I think of
braised meats right off the bat. It is labor intensive, to
do it right." The staff makes its own beef stock, and "I
like all braises to be able to rest overnight... [they] have
more depth and flavor."
Bread pudding: "That's very Greenbrier - and
people absolutely love it." And here, Skelding echoes
his counterpart at the Old Edwards: "The beauty of it
too is you can utilize anything you've got at home. I've
made donut bread pudding before, for my mom." His
favorite is half brioche, half croissant.
Bread pudding, tea time - "the one thing that we've
always kept dear to our hearts are the traditions."
Regional ingredients flavor the menu - ramps ("I love
to pickle them"), local trout, cornbread, wines from
Virginia.
"The Greenbrier is so food-centered," says Skelding,
and "our dining patrons are a lot more educated" in
food than they used to be. The goal? To create "an
experience - not just to eat dinner."
greenbrier.com 
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 | 33

http://www.clifton-inn.com http://www.greenbrier.com

Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014

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