Graceland offers spring tasting event on campus of D&E
Trending
ELKINS -- The Graceland Inn & Restaurant invited community members to a Spring Tasting event at the historic mansion on the campus of Davis & Elkins College this week.
Head Chef Wyatt Stalnaker showcased a host of appetizers and main courses during the event, which was part of the grand re-opening of Graceland.
"We did the tasting event for some locals around Elkins because we are wanting to showcase some of the foods that we are going to have on our spring menu for Graceland," Stalnaker told The Inter-Mountain. "This allowed the visitors to sample some of the entrees that we will be offering for each of our menus."
Graceland officially opened for business Wednesday The lunch schedule going forward will be Wednesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch will replace lunch on Saturdays and Sundays and will be served at the same time. Dinner will be Thursdays through Sundays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
"The restaurant is going to be casual dining. I want a good spread of a little bit of everything," said Stalnaker. "Our appetizers for spring are lots of dips and fresh things because I want to showcase more of the fresh flavors of spring.
"The dinner menu is going to be a pretty standard spread, I'm serving shrimp scampi, I have three grilled proteins, and a vegetarian dish as well. So there will be a little bit of something for everyone."
During Tuesday's event Stalnaker served appetizers, soup and salad, and several different entrees for guests to try including shrimp scampi, bone-in pork chops, a cauliflower bake, a vegetarian sandwich, and spring quiche.
"I just wanted to showcase the food and catch a vibe on whether or not these menu items will be good for the regular populous who will be coming in and dining with us," said Stalnaker. "Today was my tester and a chance to meet some people, since I'm relatively new to the Elkins area."
Stalnaker has 12 years of kitchen experience as a chef and in commercial baking. He has worked in kitchens on both the esast and west coasts. Stalnaker had two-year stints in restaurants in both New York City and Los Angeles.
"Both of my parents are professional chefs, so I was born and bred into this profession," said Stalnaker. "I have been all over the place and I'm excited to share different foods from across the country with Elkins."