John C. Fleer

John C. Fleer is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author known for shaping modern Appalachian and Southern cuisine. He served as executive chef at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee from 1992 to 2007, then moved back to the Blue Ridge region to open Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley in Cashiers, North Carolina in 2009 and later founded Asheville restaurants including Rhubarb, The Rhu, and Benne on Eagle. He is a five-time finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast and was named one of the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Stars of the 21st Century.