Mountain Harvest Kitchen has a Director!

Lee Manning has been working in the food industry for the past 9 years, from small start-ups to large corporations. Her passion is bringing good food to a larger table, and when not helping others achieve this goal, she is pursuing it in her own kitchen.

Experience has shown her that there is no singular approach to success in the food business and she looks forward to helping more people navigate this vibrant and ever changing industry.  She earned her BS in Biology from Florida State University and her MS in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia with a focus on food microbiology and safety. She’s excited to be a part of Mountain Harvest Kitchen and to help grow the local food community.

*Lee, welcome to the community!  We are all excited to have you join us.

Mountain Harvest Kitchen Open House — June 26-28

Grow Our Food Community!

This past May, Appalachian RC&D Council Field School participants were given the chance to tour the new kitchen incubator.  Having this sneak peak of the facility was exciting for all of us!  The food business incubator kitchen was well planned and we are all looking forward to the Open House set for June 26-28, 11am-1pm & 5pm-7pm / off I 26, Exit 32 next to the Unicoi Visitor’s Center

The Open House will give you a chance to tour the facility, learn the equipment, and start your next food venture.

From the Director:

The Mountain Harvest Kitchen is a newly renovated 4,000 sq. ft. shared-use food processing facility designed to help you start your food business.  The kitchen is committed to guiding clients through the many complex steps that are required to bring a food concept to reality.  Clients will be provided with technical support, financial and marketing counseling, regulatory guidance and food safety training tailored to each unique food idea.  The certified facility has industrial sized equipment for baking, dehydration, vegetable processing, canning and more available to citizens and businesses.  Seminars and demos will be held in the facility on topics relating to Food Safety, Food Preservation, Cooking Techniques and Nutrition.  Take a tour through the kitchen, get a detailed look at the equipment and learn how we can support you in your next food venture.  Join us in growing our food community!

If you have questions please contact the Mountain Harvest Kitchen at (423)735-0426