WALTER’s annual dinner brought together chefs Dean Neff of Seabird and Wyatt Dickson of PICNIC for an evening to celebrate North Carolina agriculture.
photography by Workshop Media
On Oct. 12, WALTER hosted its annual Taste of the Wild event athe Merrimon Wynne House. This event celebrates the joy of eating food grown and raised in North Carolina.
This year, WALTER brought in chef Dean Neff from Seabird restaurant in Wilmington to create a collaborative menu with pit master Wyatt Dickson of PICNIC in Durham. They each served their meals up whole. Neff smoked a whole tuna in applewood and topped it with a harissa and root vegetable slaw. Dickson prepared a whole hog, served up with green onion slaw and baked beans. Locals Seafood and Firsthand Foods sourced the featured ingredients. Sean Wilson, owner of Fullsteam Brewery, spoke about crafting local beer, and Jennifer Curtis, CEO of Firsthand Foods, talked about sustainable agriculture.
In between the eating and drinking, guests had the chance to practice their fly-fishing casts with presenting sponsor Great Outdoor Provision Co. and to relax in the lounge created by supporting sponsor Green Front Furniture. They learned about local land conservation efforts with the Triangle Land Conservancy and enjoyed tunes from the band Old Habits.
Thank you to additional event partners Attended Events and Alphagraphics for making the evening a success.
This article originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of WALTER magazine.
