Southport Magazine

Good chefs pull from their life experiences and places they’ve lived to create their dishes. For Jason Talbott, chef de cuisine at the Members Club in St. James, that means bringing lessons and skills he learned from family in the West Virginia Appalachian Mountains to the North Carolina coast. It’s what he calls hillbilly fusion, and he’s recently published some of his favorite recipes in his new cookbook, “Modern Appalachian Cuisine.” The cookbook is available in bookstores, or online at Amazon, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes & Noble. We wanted to learn more about chef Jason, how he got into the kitchen, and his collection of recipes and cooking tips. 

How did you get interested in cooking? Your cookbook includes some family recipes — was cooking a family thing? 

I really became interested in cooking when I was young. As a family, we cooked together a lot — my mom and dad, also my grandparents. Some of the first memories I have are of watching my grandmother peel potatoes, also of watching my grandfather bake bread.

You talk about the Appalachian community relying on what’s available as far as ingredients – how has that influenced your cooking style? 

I really believe wholeheartedly that the farm-to-table trend started in Appalachia. People there were growing their own vegetables and hunting their own meat long before the Food Network made it cool. It wasn’t until I left West Virginia that I realized not everybody does that. So I really think my upbringing had a lot to do with my cooking style. Most of the people I knew when I was growing up were poor, so if you didn’t grow it or shoot it, you didn’t eat it. I really have to say that over the years I have learned how to mash different cuisines together with Appalachian food. That’s where what I like to refer to as hillbilly fusion comes from.

How did you end up in Brunswick County and working in St. James? 

Well, I actually heard of St. James because I did my externship for culinary school on Bald Head Island all the way back in 2000. I really fell in love with the area. So when the job of chef de cuisine of the Members Club came up, I couldn’t resist. 

How long has this cookbook been in the works? Is it something you’ve wanted to do for a while, and why did you want to do one?

The cookbook came about really out of boredom during the pandemic. I have always really thought of writing one, but like most people, I had to find something to do with my time when I was sitting around all day. So after I had decided that I was going to write one, I started thinking about what I should write about, and talking to my family, I decided to write about food from Appalachia. I wanted to show people that you could make gourmet mountain food and it not be super complicated in the process.

Of the recipes you included, which is your favorite, and why? 

My favorite dish in the book hands down is grit casserole. My grandmother Jean would make it all the time when I was a kid. I absolutely love my mom, and she still makes it for me almost every time I travel home to West Virginia.

We’ve seen a lot of new restaurants in our area the past several years and cooking shows are still so popular — what advice would you give someone who is just starting out as a cook or who wants to learn new techniques but doesn’t know where to start? 

My advice would be find a good mentor and stick with them. Cooking is one of those things you need to practice to be good at. So the more you cook, the better you can get.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know? 

Have fun when you’re cooking and get your family into it. Don’t make it a chore.