Bristol chef nominated for one of nation’s most prestigious culinary prizes

A Bristol chef is among several restaurants and chefs in Virginia and Washington, D.C., to be nominated for one of the nation’s most prestigious honors in the culinary industry.

Travis Milton has been named a James Beard semifinalist for the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category, going up against culinary professionals in the Mid-Atlantic category in Washington, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“These are all huge markets, and Bristol, Virginia, is in that list,” said Milton, who is chef at Nicewonder Farm and Vineyards’ signature restaurant, Hickory.

According to the James Beard Foundation website, the restaurant and chef awards recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability and a culture where all can thrive.

Milton, who has received numerous culinary awards throughout the years, said this marks the first time he’s earned a nomination for a James Beard award, also known as the “Oscars of the Food World.”

“I got an email from the James Beard Foundation saying that nominations had just come out, and I hadn’t really even thought about them, to be honest,” said Milton. “I was scrolling through the Mid-Atlantic region, kind of mumbling the names aloud to myself, and I got to my name and mumbled it aloud. I was three or four names past my own when it finally registered. I laid my phone down, and exclaimed in shock, still not really believing it to actually be there.”

The seasoned chef is quick to give credit to his team.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into getting to this point in my career, but I don’t bank on the validation. I want that for everyone here,” said Milton, who creates a culinary experience at Hickory that pays homage to his Appalachian heritage.

 “If I get this award, it’s because of the work, care and love my cooks show every day in this vision. I’m over the moon proud of them.”

Andrew Stafford, chef de cuisine at Hickory, has watched Milton showcase the unique Appalachian food culture at his restaurant.

“Travis’ whole goal was to come back to his roots and highlight the Appalachian ingredients, taking the modern techniques he’s learned and applying a new twist to the heritage recipes,” said Stafford, who is in charge of day-to-day operations in the kitchen.

“I think he’s worked his whole life for this and it’s finally paid off. I’m super grateful to be part of his journey.”

Mara Bouvier, general manager of Nicewonder Farm and Vineyards, wrote in an email, “When we opened Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards, we knew Chef Travis Milton was the right chef to bring authentic Appalachian cuisine and soul to the kitchen at the resort’s signature restaurant, Hickory.

“We are so proud of Travis’ incredible accomplishments, including his recent James Beard nomination for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Travis has made such a positive and profound impact on our guests and diners and it’s a pleasure to see him recognized at the highest level for his hard work and dedication.”

Categories for the 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards for the James Beard Foundation include outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant, emerging chef, best new restaurant, outstanding bakery, outstanding pastry chef or baker, outstanding hospitality, outstanding wine and other beverages program, outstanding bar and best chef.

Winners will be announced June 10 in Chicago. 

A culinary journey

Milton’s journey in the culinary world begins as far back as childhood when he dabbled in cooking with his mother and great-grandparents, growing up in Southwest Virginia.

Not only was he making memories, but also setting the stage for a career that recognizes the unique people and food of the Appalachian region. 

“My mom said I started cooking from day one,” laughed Milton. “She has pictures of me sitting in a braising pan, one of my favorite places to be.”

Milton’s parents couldn’t afford childcare, so Milton tagged along with his mother on her work days at the Village Restaurant in Castlewood, owned by his great-grandparents.

“While she worked, I sat in a high chair and peeled potatoes with a plastic knife to stay occupied.”

As he got older, he stood on a stool to reach the stove, learning to make things like scratch biscuits, fried chicken and gravy. He made goulash when he was only 4. He helped his family string beans on the front porch to make leather britches or shuck beans that were dried for winter consumption.

“One of my favorite things ever is my grandmother’s sour corn. It’s like pickled corn using a technique similar to sauerkraut.” Milton still makes sour corn from fresh corn on the farm.

As a youngster, he was fascinated by television culinary stars like Julia Child and Graham Kerr.

“I watched these shows and I was seeing all these crazy things I’d never eaten. I’d go to the grocery store with my mom and we’d pick out ingredients to recreate a dish,” said Milton. “It’s not like there was a place to go for fettuccini Alfredo, especially in Castlewood.”

In his early teens, Milton and his family moved to Richmond. He’d return home every summer to help his great-grandparents at the restaurant and on the farm. “I opened and closed the restaurant as well as tended the cattle on the farm. I’d sit and talk with the ‘lonely hearts club’ —all the older men who talked about the ones who got away. It was a lot of fun and very formative times. I still treasure those days.”

He landed his first restaurant job in Richmond, working as a dishwasher at Crab Louie’s Seafood Tavern. In no time, he was asked to make the food at the upscale restaurant.

“I had grown up in a kind of greasy spoon so seeing the other side was fascinating for me. I enjoyed learning about other cultures,” he said.

He recalled making a French-inspired pasta provencal that was simple but detail-oriented.

“The dish was amazing because you spent so much time and effort on the small details leading up to it being put on the plate,” he said.

Milton said the recipe actually helped to shape how he wanted to cook.

“I realized simple things were really hard — there’s not a lot of room for error. But simple foods and comfort foods are mixed into the same bowl, in my opinion.

“Simple foods give people taste memories — it will take people places.”

Despite a strong influence from the culinary world, Milton still searched for other careers during his journey. Ironically, he hadn’t thought about cooking as a career.

Believe it or not, he learned how to work on race cars at a NASCAR technical school.

He became an on-air disc jockey for radio stations in Richmond.

He went to school to be an English teacher, but while student teaching he discovered he was not cut out for the job. 

What followed was a series of restaurant jobs, some of which were in the form of staging, the practice of working for free in a restaurant’s kitchen while gaining experience.

It paid off. 

After working as chef de cuisine at Comfort restaurant in Richmond, Milton felt accomplished enough in the culinary industry to return in 2016 to Southwest Virginia where his love affair with Appalachian cuisine had long been simmering.

“I realized I had taken on the love language of my ancestors. My great-grandmother was always feeding everyone. That’s the driving force of what I do. I love feeding people. I love hospitality,” Milton said.

While so many resources and industries have been extracted from Appalachia, food is the one thing that is intrinsically Appalachia, he said.

“Publications and people outside of Appalachia want to tell everyone who we are and we never get that a voice. But these foods are ours. You don’t find them anywhere outside of here. I wanted to cultivate a taste of a place — showing what this place means to you,” he said.

At the same time, he gives a voice to other cultures.

“Most people don’t realize that different cultures came together to make Appalachian foods. There’s an African element from the enslaved, the Native Americans and immigrant populations from Eastern Europe.”

Milton knew that if he was going to start an Appalachian restaurant, he would have to start it in the Appalachian region.

“Hell or high water, I was going to start a restaurant,” he laughed.

Milton said he eventually met Kevin Nicewonder, owner of Nicewonder Farm and Vineyards, who shared his vision of celebrating the Appalachian way of life, bucking the negative stereotypes and reinvesting in the land and the culture.

In 2022, Milton opened Hickory, a farm-to-table restaurant for the Inn at Nicewonder. Milton presents cuisine in a way that’s fresh and new while still honoring the Appalachian heritage.

 “And, it’s been a fairy tale ever since,” Milton said.

The nomination will inspire him to keep moving in the same direction.

 “Being nominated here at this point in my career is ten million times more special than if it would have happened earlier in my career,” Milton said.

“It could easily have happened in Richmond when I was making a name for myself. The fact that is happened here at Nicewonder is beyond special.”