Announcing: Alek Schober, James Beard Nomination
Chef Alek Schober of Reid’s Cafe & Catering in Sugar Mountain
You know a community by its local restaurants & haunts
I have visited many restaurants from small diners to James Beard award winners, but Chef Alek Schober and Reid’s Café consistently draw me back. A trip to Reid’s is worth the journey. Reid’s Café is nestled between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest. It backs up the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area and the towns of Newland, Frasier Fir Capitol of the World, Banner Elk, a skiing town, Boone, a college town, and Blowing Rock, a tourist hotspot. Our rugged mountains’ natural beauty brings together the diversity of locals, tourists, students, hikers, and naturalists seeking solace. Reid’s was a local sandwich shop that evolved into a fine dining restaurant under Alek’s leadership. It shares a friendly, convivial atmosphere, well-trained staff, and the sense of everyone working together to create a community that welcomes you and embraces possibilities.
Alek, his wife Jessica, Reid’s house manager, and owner Tina Houston have designed a casual, open space that greets each customer with a relaxed, inviting environment. Alek seeks out seasonal ingredients to enhance his innate talent —fish from freshwater mountain streams to North Carolina’s coastline, foraged mushrooms, local produce, meats and delicacies grown and raised by surrounding farmers.
Alek’s integrity and respect for his craft shine in each dish he creates. Alek and Reid’s have stood strong against challenges from COVID to Hurricane Helene. They provide strength and solace through community outreach supporting local food initiatives, food sourcing, and benefits to the local community and their staff. Alek’s expertise, forward thinking talents, consistency in delivery, and natural insight into delectable tastes and adventurous plating make Reid’s Café a little gem where diners can feast on the seasonal tastes of Appalachia in Western North Carolina and feel a part of it all.
How do I describe Chef Alek Schober?
Chef Alek Schober of Reid’s Cafe & Catering in Sugar Mountain
Alek is a warm bowl of homemade soup. Tantalizing flavors waft from the bowl tickling my nose. Down-home goodness envelops me in the familiar that tugs at my heart and the complex that plays with my tastebuds. Food made with love and an artist’s touch. Alek has an instinctive understanding that food is the great comforter in celebration as well as times of need. Entering Reid’s Cafe, I see Alek’s smile and wave from the open kitchen, teamwork that provides a dining experience that puts me at ease, distinctive dishes that reward me with layers and depths of flavor and aromatics, and Appalachian comfort food prepared with love and respect for the ingredients and history. Alek is a certified forager, a learner and innovator, a teacher and sharer, a caterer and server. His humility, kindness, and accessibility to customers and staff alike define the casual, open atmosphere at Reid’s Café.
Alek has worked for many years as head chef at Reid’s, and is now Executive Food & Beverage Director of Reid’s, The Beacon, and Betty’s Biscuits, all three local restaurants in Boone and Sugar Mountain, NC welcoming and serving the many small town needs of our diverse community. When I visit Reid’s humble surroundings at the base of Grandfather Mountain, I find myself transported to new experiences and tastes that touch my soul. While preparing this Impact Statement, Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina with a ferocity.
Alek, Reid’s Café, The Beacon, Betty’s Biscuits, and Tina Houston, the restaurants’ owner, were there offering free soup, support, and manual labor to their community and staff - finding ways to make things better as we all work to survive. That is the heart and soul of who Alek is.