A-B Tech Culinary Students Open Restaurant
The Water Oak Restaurant in Rutherfordton opened its doors Nov. 15, offering American Southern cuisine with Mediterranean flare.
Perhaps that isn't a real culinary term, but owner Bryan Kilby says it suits what he and his wife Shara serve. "That's what I like to call it. Chef (Sheila) Tillman would probably laugh at me," he said.
Bryan and Shara both earned certificates in baking and pastry arts from A-B Tech, and he also received his culinary technology degree in 2001.
"I worked in Charleston preparing low-country food, then at Rezaz learning Mediterranean cuisine," he said. These prior experiences play into what is served at The Water Oak. Bryan was a sous chef at Rezaz for two years and spent six months at Expressions. A-B Tech culinary graduates own both of these restaurants.
"Opening this restaurant has been a lifelong dream for me," Bryan said. "The circumstances presented themselves and was an opportunity we could not pass up."
The Kilbys lease space from Tanner Companies, and are located next to their stores on Fashion Circle. "We knew the Tanners beforehand and cooked for them at parties. They put a lot of investment into the building itself, and faith in us," Bryan said.
Towering water oak trees surround the restaurant and the parking lot. "We were showing the restaurant to our family and they wanted to know what kind of tree those were," Bryan said. "Shara's uncle thought that would be a good name for the restaurant."
Shara is the pastry chef for the restaurant. "She makes all her own breads and desserts," Bryan said. "Everything is made from scratch. Nothing is pre-made here."
Bryan and Shara keep the restaurant open for lunch six days a week and offer dinner four of these days. "Four 14-hour days are enough for me," Bryan said. The Kilbys are in by 9 a.m. and often don't leave until after midnight on the nights they serve dinner.
The other chef in the kitchen is Irmgard Chmielewski. "She trained in Germany and has owned five restaurants herself. She is what I like to call my right and left hand in the kitchen," Bryan said.
The Kilbys employ 10 staff members.
Entrees range from $14 to $22, and The Water Oak restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. for lunch. Dinner is offered Wednesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m.
"It has been well received we're pleased to say," Bryan said.
Valentine's Day Truffle Sale
A-B Tech Culinary Hot Food Team Captain Bronwen McCormick prepares handmade truffles for the Culinary Club's annual sale. A four-piece box costs $6 and a box of eight truffles sells for $12. The flavors offered this year are caramel, raspberry, double chocolate and assorted. Proceeds will assist the A-B Tech Culinary hot food team to travel to the Southeast regional contest in Roanoke, VA, March 10-13. The deadline to order is Feb. 4. Truffles may be picked up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 and 11 in the lobby of the Birch Building on the A-B Tech Asheville campus. To order, e-mail Lee Sokol at Lsokol@abtech.edu or call 254-1921, ext. 244.
A-B Tech To Host Theatre Auditions
A-B Tech will host the 2005 Western North Carolina Theatre League Unified Auditions Feb. 23 and Feb. 26. The annual event allows local actors to showcase their talents in a professional audition setting for a variety of companies throughout the region. Last year, 188 actors and technicians met 19 theatre companies.
The purpose of the Unified Auditions is to develop a database of local actors and technical artists for regional, community and professional theatres and their seasons. The following is the schedule for auditions: Adult Auditions (16 years of age and older) will be 6-9:30 p.m. Feb. 23, 1-3:30 p.m. and 4:30-7 p.m. Feb. 26. Children's Auditions (Ages 6-15 years) will be from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 26. Technical Interviews will be 3:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 26.
Professional seminars will also be held throughout the day. All auditions will be held in Ferguson Auditorium. Actors are asked to prepare 90 seconds of material: one monologue or two contrasting monologues or monologue and 16 bars of a song. An accompanist will be available. Actors should bring their own sheet music in their key. Children should present a memorized selection, and may also sing a song. Singing to tapes is not allowed. Actors should also mail 20 copies of a photo/headshot and resume for distribution to the different theatre groups.
Pre-register by emailing thestagepicture@aol.com or by mail with 20 copies of your photo/headshot and resume to Unified Auditions, c/o Peter Carver, Drama, A-B Tech, 340 Victoria Rd., Asheville, NC 28801. Please indicate your preference for Wednesday evening, Saturday morning or Saturday afternoon. Registration begins at 5 p.m. on Feb 23, 9:30 a.m. for children only and 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 26. An instructional meeting will take place approximately 15 minutes before each audition session.
Anyone interested in technical theater or directing should email for an interview slot and mail their resumes or bring them to Ferguson Auditorium on the day of the auditions.
Burning Coal Theatre of Raleigh and Holderness Theatre of NYC plan to attend the auditions on Feb. 26, looking to cast a new adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie. A workshop production will take place at the Stoneleaf Theatre Festival May 27-June 5 in Asheville, culminating in a public reading, and a full production will be staged in Raleigh at Burning Coal in 2006.