Flight Savor Fare

Rob was raised in Hickory, NC alongside two grandmothers with large gardens and a penchant for cooking with fresh ingredients. While other boys came of age working at McDonald’s, Rob was working with classically trained chefs centered around the international clientele of the Hickory Furniture Market. During his college days at NC State, he traveled extensively in Europe where the preparation and choice of the freshest ingredients was remarkably similar to his grandmothers’ style, albeit with different sauces. The parallels made French Haute cuisine easy to understand. He switched majors from engineering to geology and Kitchen 101, working for Guy Branaman, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who had externed with Paul Prudhomme.

After graduating from State, Rob went to Vail, Colorado to ski and cook. He came back to Hickory and worked at 1859, a French bistro, where he met his wife Mandi (she’s a massage therapist) and they moved to Hendersonville when Rob was offered a position here as a commodity trader.

Their son Bob was born in 2000 and daughter Lillie in 2004. After 7 years as a successful money manger, the call back to the stoves was overwhelming. He started out at Flight working a few nights a week and quickly moved up to the Sous Chef position. After developing a sound following for his specials and Asian and South American influenced cuisine, he was elevated to the Executive Chef position.

His passion for food and travel are evident in his stylized cuisine.

RANDOM QUOTES

“I missed the creativity, the art and skill of food preparation and presentation. I had 20 years of food experience and I wanted to be back in the kitchen.”

“Flight’s open kitchen offers instant gratification. We can see people enjoy the food we’ve just prepared.”

“I want to be creative in the kitchen. I believe I have the ability to develop food combinations that are dynamic and interesting to the palette, but I have a keen respect for our patrons and our community.I want Flight to offer the kind of cuisine that true foodies will know the time and effort that went into a dish and appreciate that, but will also please the person who is simply hungry.”

“I want Flight to be the first restaurant outside a large city to earn a Michelin star!”