blanc creatives – C-VILLE Weekly

Share the (common)wealth: A guide to local gourmet gifts

Many of us are eagerly anticipating the chance to turn the page on what has been a unique and challenging year. However, at least one challenge remains before we can put 2020 behind us—shopping for holiday gifts.

There is perhaps no better time to shop local. Not only can you avoid possible shipping delays, but putting your money to work in our community and supporting small businesses in desperate need of every dollar can make a huge difference this year. If you have area artisans, makers, crafters, or restaurants that you treasure, give them a boost!

Wine lovers are easy to please—especially if the gift recipient isn’t from Virginia—by sharing some wine from any of our area’s producers. One high-impact option is the 2017 Rise from Early Mountain Vineyards (earlymountain.com). This concentrated and complex red blend, from the excellent 2017 vintage, is the winery’s flagship offering , and should age well for many years to come. Plus, a beautiful custom wooden box is included.

Another option for the wine enthusiast is a unique and beautiful wine stopper. Kirk McCauley (kirkmccauley.com), a woodturner from North Garden, handcrafts wine stoppers and other products (vases, bowls, furniture, chess sets, etc.) from local wood. The result is a one-of-a kind, breathtaking piece that anyone would be pleased to receive.

Fans of distilled products are lucky that two small-batch, craft producers are located in Charlottesville. Vitae Spirits (vitaespirits.com) makes a wide range of products including rum, gin, orange liqueur, and more. Its coffee liqueur, produced in collaboration with Mudhouse Coffee Roasters, is a favorite. Spirit Lab Distilling (spiritlabdistilling.com) produces single-malt whiskey, gin, brandy, grappa, etc. in small batches with an intense focus on local ingredients. Spirit Lab’s single-malt whiskey pays homage to traditionally produced Scotch whiskey, while simultaneously blazing a bold trail for a true expression of Virginia.

For the sweets lover on your list, something from Gearharts Fine Chocolates (gearhartschocolates.com) is always appreciated. Founded in 2001 in Charlottesville, the shop has been a mainstay for artisan chocolates, and with a signature line consisting of 16 tempting flavors, an assortment box is the way to go.

For someone who prefers caramel to chocolate, look no further than La Vache Microcreamery (lavachemicrocreamery.com). The caramels are available in traditional flavors such as fleur de sel and double espresso, and seasonal flavors that vary depending on the time of the year. The molasses ginger is particularly well suited for the holidays. These little packages of pleasure are crafted by hand, in small batches, without preservatives, and with ingredients sourced “as locally as possible.”

The Little Things Shortbread from FOUND. Market co (foundmarketco.com) has developed a bit of a cult following among those who have been lucky enough to taste it. In addition to the classic honey recipe, there are six flavor options, ranging from chocolate chip to cinnamon chai to salted rosemary.

JAM according to Daniel (accordingtodaniel.com) started as a weekly stand at City Market over a decade ago. To say that Daniel Perry is obsessed with jam would be a true understatement—he offers what seems like a hundred different seasonal jam recipes, all made from local fruit sourced from farms within 60 miles of Charlottesville. In addition, he now offers gift boxes that combine some of the most popular jam flavors with herbal teas grown on Fairweather Farm in nearby Nelson County, where Rachel Williamson runs a “one-woman, one-acre” farm.

A different sort of farming is happening in Batesville at Elysium Honey Company (elysiumhoney.com). Like many wine producers, Elysium is focused on how the environment (soil, climate, type of flower, etc.) influences the taste of the final product. The Virginia Wildflower honey is harvested from and around Albemarle County, and represents the sweetest taste of the Virginia Piedmont area.

Two local producers can help with the cooks on your list. Blanc Creatives (blanccreatives.com) has earned national recognition for its line of carbon steel pans. In addition, it offers products such as handmade wooden kitchen tools, serving boards, and barware. Monolith Knives (monolithknives.com) hand forges one-of-a-kind steel kitchen knives that are designed to last a lifetime. Monolith will work with customers to customize every detail of the knife from the type and intended use, to the length, materials, and look of the handle and blade.

Want to feel really good about your gift? Go with a gift card. There is an extra benefit right now to purchasing gift cards at local restaurants. Whether redeemed now for takeout and delivery or saved in anticipation of gathering again, the immediate income is something that independent restaurants need.

And you can give a gift to the restaurant industry by writing to your Congressional representatives to tell them to support the Restaurants Act, which provides needed financial aid and relief for independent restaurants. This will help ensure that our favorite establishments will be here in the future—a gift we all want.

Made to last: Blanc Creatives cookware bridges new and old, form and function

While some locals lament the passing of small-town Charlottesville, tucked away in the Belmont neighborhood is a blacksmith shop called Blanc Creatives, where local artisans forge hand-crafted culinary tools they call “modern heirlooms made for daily use.”

Corry Blanc–blacksmith, designer, and founder of Blanc Creatives–is a north Georgia native who learned pottery in high school, metal-working from his uncle, and cooking from his grandparents. In 2007, Blanc began working for Stokes of England Blacksmithing Company in Keswick, making ornamental ironwork like railings, gates, and lighting (“I knew how to cut and weld,” notes Blanc, “so now I wanted to learn how to heat and bend.”). But his interest in design inspired him to strike out on his own. Shopping at farmers’ markets started him thinking about small items he could design, make, and sell there–like frying pans. Chef friends like Tomas Rahal of Mas (now at Quality Pie) were willing to kitchen-test his evolving designs.

In 2015, Blanc rolled the dice. He submitted his frying pans to Garden & Gun magazine’s Made in the South awards, and won the grand prize in home products. “November 15, 2015, the announcement goes live on the internet,” he remembers. “By December, we had a nine-month waiting list for product orders.” The next year, Blanc Creatives was featured in The New York Times’ gift guide, and the business took off.

The idea began with function. Carbon steel is the workhorse of restaurant chefs, says Blanc; it cooks on all heat sources and builds up a seasoning like cast iron, but is lighter, smoother, and more malleable, so it can be shaped with a sloping side for more versatility.

And shape is what makes Blanc Creatives’ products unique. Each piece is crafted by hand in the blacksmith shop and, as the product line has expanded, the woodworking shop next door. Blanc now spends his time designing products and streamlining the production process, with 17 full- and part-time blacksmiths and wood artisans; “these are really their pans now,” says Blanc.

Blanc Creatives products come with a lifetime guarantee, and they aren’t cheap (pans start at $210 for the 9-inch skillet). Buyers can be dedicated home cooks (some purchase an entire set) or professional chefs like Rahal and Harrison Keevil at Keevil & Keevil. But Blanc also knows customers who save up to buy just one pan–an everyday tool that fuses function and beauty.

What’s driving the appeal? “People have grown tired of the single-use mindset,” says Blanc. “And they are buying our story.” With each piece, customers get a thank-you postcard with a duotone photo of the Blanc Creatives crew gathered around the anvils: sweaty, grimy, and proud of it.