The Taste of Asheville shines a light on AIR members and presents a feast of food and beverage for the culinarily curious.

I’m hungry,” said no one ever when leaving the Taste of Asheville (TOA), AIR’s feast of food and beverage that made its debut in 2009, becoming AIR’s biggest, most successful annual fundraiser and most eagerly anticipated event.

But on Thursday night March 9, 2023, Meghan Rogers likely became the first and only person in TOA’s history to leave without a bite from any of the 50+ participating restaurants. Ironically, that was the end of her fourth day as the newly named Executive Director of AIR, which actually explains the perplexing oversight.

“My first day was that Monday,” recalls Meghan, who came to AIR from the Asheville Downtown Association. “This was the first Taste of Asheville since 2019 because of COVID, and the first time it was being held at AB-Tech. All the great planning had taken place already, so that day and night I just ran around helping where I could, meeting members and sponsors, and totally forgot to eat. I was hungry when I got home.”

Though the 2023 TOA was her first in an official capacity, she has fond memories of attending previous ones when they were held at The Venue on Market Street. “Like everyone else who goes, I’m sure I ate my weight in food. It’s always been a great opportunity to visit your favorites and sample restaurants new to you.”

That opportunity presents itself again this year on March 26 when the 15th Taste of Asheville is staged once again in the spacious Mission Conference Center on the AB Tech campus. Tickets will go live at noon, Thursday February 19 and are expected to sell out before doors open at 5:30 for VIP purchasers ($125 for a one-hour preview and signature cocktail or mocktail from Chemist Spirits) and 6:30 for general admission ($80).

Planning for the event begins about six months before show time — booking the venue, soliciting sponsors, and getting word to members about the date and how to participate. “We provide the venue, tables, linens, volunteers, compostables, some serving ware, ice and grey water disposal,” Meghan says. “The restaurants provide staff, table décor and a minimum of 300 samples of food. Many do more than that and more than one dish.”

Some restaurants, she says, see TOA as a chance to do what they do best — serving the signature dishes people already love — while also using the event as an opportunity for chefs to try something new. The Lobster Trap, for example, sets up the hull of a boat at their station and fills it with oysters on the half-shell. “They really have to ration those,” Meghan says with a laugh. “People flock to their table for the oysters.”

That same mix of identity and creativity is part of the appeal for Eric Scheffer, one of the founders of AIR more than two decades ago and owner of Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian (two locations), Gan Shan and Jettie Rae’s.

“We do something representative of each restaurant, but I like to bring something different to the table that’s not on our menu,” Eric says. “Each restaurant tells me what they’re thinking of doing, we talk it through, they cook a couple of choices for me. I want them to have the freedom to try new things, but they also have to keep in mind the logistics of it, and how to deliver quality and quantity. Mentoring is all about guiding young talent through their creativity.”

The Taste of Asheville isn’t Eric’s first culinary rodeo; the 25-year veteran of Asheville’s restaurant industry – his first was Savoy — remembers the precursor to the current model.

“For years, Asheville’s small group of restaurant owners did the Asheville Culinary Showcase with the Chamber, first at Crown Plaza, then the Grove Park Inn when it was privately owned. We had maybe 15 restaurants in the ballroom, and we competed for awards,” Eric says. “We moved outdoors to Pack Square when Grove Park was sold and added some more competitions. It was a small-town food event and a lot of fun. But as the restaurant industry here grew, we knew we needed to re-calibrate.”

Taste of Asheville 2026 expects to showcase close to 60 food and beverage vendors to serve the 650 attendees; money raised will help fund programs for members – education, workshops, advocacy efforts and marketing support.

Meghan points out that the event runs as smoothly as it does thanks to the student volunteers from AB-Tech Culinary and Hospitality programs and AB Tech staff; Shay Brown and her business Shay & Company, and Food Connection, which packs up any leftover food as soon as the event ends, and takes it away to re-package and distribute to the community suffering food insecurity. The 2025 Taste of Asheville collection resulted in more than 500 meals for community members in need of a hot meal..

Through all the changes, what has remained consistent – particularly for the restaurant owners, chefs and staff — is the energy, spirit and camaraderie of the event.

“It’s a great opportunity for our members to get in front of new customers and showcase their business,” Meghan says. “But it’s also a fun time for them to be together; they don’t get to do that very often. They love being in same room, catching up, and trying each other’s food.”

Eric agrees and adds, “It’s really good for the next generation of restaurateurs and young culinarians to be in the room with the people who have been in the deep end of the pool together for so long and gone through the ups and downs together. We don’t do enough celebrating what we do but the Taste of Asheville is great for that.”

For the record, in 2024 Meghan figured out how to juggle running the Taste of Asheville and also taste the Taste of Asheville. “I recruit friends who attend to bring me anything they sample and think I would like. I get the benefit of a personally curated Taste of Asheville.”

Participating restaurants include (list subject to change): Asheville Forager, Asheville Area Food Guild, Baked Pie Company, Biltmore Winery, The Bier Garden, Biscuit Head, Botanist and Barrel Tasting Bar and Bottle Shop, Burial Beer Co/ VISUALS Wine, Chai Pani Restaurant Group, Chemist Spirits, Chestnut, Copper Crown, Corner Kitchen, Crusco, Cúrate Tapas Bar, Daphne’s Catering, Empire Distributors of NC, Farm Burger Asheville, French Broad Chocolates, The Funkatorium, Gan Shan AVL, Gemelli, Grey Eagle Taquiera, Gypsy Queen Cuisine, Hickory Nut Gap, Highland Brewing, The Hop Ice Cream, Huli Sue’s BBQ and Grill, Jargon, Jerusalem Garden, Jettie Rae’s Oyster House, The Lobster Trap, Luella’s Bar-B-Que, Mountain Valley Spring Water, Old Europe, Pack’s Tavern, Posana Downtown, Posana Biltmore Park, Red Fiddle Vittles, Quench! Wine Bistro, Red Ginger, regina’s westside, RendezVous French Comfort Food, Roll Up Herbal Bar, Saint Rains, Sage and Spice, Salt Face Mule Brewing Company, Skyland Distributing, Strada Italiano, South Paw AVL, Sunny Point Cafe, Tall John’s, Tupelo Honey, Twisted Laurel Downtown, Twisted Laurel Weaverville, Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian, Well Played Board Game Café, The West End Bakery, White Labs Brewing Co.

Thanks to our sponsors: BB Barns, Cheney Brothers, Hunter Automotive, Explore Asheville, US Foods, AB Tech, ALSCO, Asheville Arborists, Atlas Branding, Biltmore Wines, Cintas, Dewey Property Advisors, Employee Assistance Network (EAN), East Fork, Empire Distributing, Gordon Food Service, Inland Seafood, Intrinsic Construction, Kitchen Guard, Lantern Health, Mercy Urgent Care, Mosaic Realty-Alyssa Augustine, Parkview Dental, Performance Foodservice, Shay & Co., Skyland Distributing, Toast, Truist

More about Taste of Asheville.

— Written by Kay West

— AIRFare is sponsored by McGuire, Wood & Bissette

Photos courtesy of AIR, credit to Kara Dahlberg