Where the mountains come to the table

Who we are

Cooking what the Blue Ridge grows

Della Hartwell grew up in a farmhouse kitchen in Madison County, where neighbors traded jars of apple butter and seed potatoes the same way other towns traded phone numbers. After training in Charlottesville and a decade in Charleston's restaurant scene, she came back to the mountains in 2014 and opened Golden Spoon Kitchen on Biltmore Avenue — a block south of Pack Square — with a simple commitment: cook only what grows within a half-day's drive.

Every dish on the menu traces back to a specific farm. The grits come from the same stone burr at Nora Mill that has been turning since 1876. The pork is Berkshire-cross from Hickory Nut Gap, up the valley toward Fairview. The ramps, pawpaws, and sour cherries come from family foragers Della has worked with for years. Appalachian cooking has always known how to be resourceful, generous, and rooted — this kitchen just makes that visible on the plate.