As a leader of the new guard of southern chefs, John Fleer continues to merge traditional ingredients and methods with innovative techniques to create magical renditions of southern fare.

Building a career as a renowned chef is a far cry from what Fleer always thought he would do. "My dad was a professor at Wake Forest, and for my entire life I thought I would be a professor," he says. "The university life was all I had ever known, so at first it was strange and uncomfortable to make a change."

A religion major at Duke, Fleer studied in Venice during his junior year. He describes his experience there as "the time that I first became intrigued by the culture of food. European culture is so much more oriented toward whom you eat with, what you eat, and the quality of the food. This was a new concept for someone who was used to supermarkets, casseroles and microwaves." Back at Duke, Fleer continued to cook for himself and friends at his off-campus apartment.

Fleer's culinary career began as a way to pay for graduate school in North Carolina. Not able to shake his life's passion, Fleer enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America. Before joining the culinary team at Blackberry Farm, Fleer completed a fellowship at St. Andrew's Cafe, a Culinary Institute-operated restaurant specializing in contemporary nutritional cuisine. Fleer's experience with healthy cooking was expanded during his tenure as the private chef of Mary Tyler Moore, for whom he created menus within strict dietary guidelines.

Fleer joined Blackberry Farm in 1992. His primary role in the development of the resort was to define the style of food that would match the property. He named his new creation "foothills cuisine," which is oriented toward southern foods. "The name also locates us regionally in the Appalachians, and more broadly, in the southeast. It's not super-refined city food like you'd find in New York or Chicago. The fine edges are burnished off, making it a little more approachable." He and his staff use classic techniques and apply them to regional ingredients, such as curing rack of pork with sweet tea.

Fleer combines influences from his own Southern roots with inspiration from other "foothill" cultures such as Gascony, Alsace and the Basque region to create cuisine that is both refined and rugged, served at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains. His cooking borrows from both haute cuisine and the country food indigenous to the setting.

Menus are created according to the bounty of the season, the heirloom garden, and foods from Fleer's southern heritage - it is food that is never meant to intimidate but rather to satisfy and nourish. It is presented in ways that are both fancy and familiar, emphasizing the link between garden and kitchen, heritage and innovation.

Each day the strong team of culinary professionals prepares three ultimate dining experiences using the best ingredients from the on-property garden, devoted local and national food purveyors as well as small exclusive producers. Naturally it is rare for any restaurant to produce its own cheese, eggs, honey, vegetables and fruit for its guests. Each meal is prepared with guests' needs in mind, so the kitchen staff is able to accommodate any special requests, dietary needs and those occasional food whims.

In 2001, a lighter version of Chef John Fleer's Foothills Cuisine was premiered with the opening of the Blackberry Farmhouse Spa, offering a variety of selections to fulfill guests' preferences.

Breakfast at Blackberry Farm is designed to be comforting and energizing for the day ahead. Southern breakfast begins with seasonal fruit and a basket of fresh buttermilk biscuits and house-made morning breads. Choices on the morning menu include Lemon Souffle Pancakes and Eggs Crockett-poached eggs on an angel biscuit with andouille sausage and tasso hollandaise.

The dining experience at Blackberry Farm culminates at dinner. The meal may begin with Truffled Macaroni and Cheese, Candied Shallot Crusted Diver Scallops in Fennel and Leek Cream, followed by a choice of salads: from Fried Green Tomato Salad with Lolla Rossa and Buttermilk Peanut Dressing, to Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese with Citrus Mustard Vinaigrette. The experience continues with a choice of entrees such as Crispy Snapper Bouillabaisse with Preserved Lemon and Mussel with Spring Onion Broth or Summerfield Farm Lamb T-Bone with Grits and Garlic Custard and Catalina Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Jus. Guests can then indulge in a grand finale of a tantalizing sweet surprise and a decadent dessert of choice, like Warm Pear and Ginger Gratin with Butter Pecan Ice Cream or Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with White Chocolate Cointreau Ice Cream.