Your Favorite Asheville Local Farm Connection
Our Tours
We believe that connecting with the source of wholesome food is life enriching.
Asheville Farm To Table Tours provides fun and memorable adventures for individuals, couples, groups, or the whole family!
Our tours visit sustainable family farms in beautiful Western North Carolina, where the farmers share their passion and knowledge. Specializing in produce, cheese, chicken, beef or lamb, each farm adds their own unique approach to sustainable farming.
Our tours have been carefully planned with attention to every detail. Many of our farms have a store where you will have the opportunity to purchase fresh items from the source. Some even provide samples of their wholesome foods.
At the culmination of our day, the Chef prepares a special lunch with ingredients from the farms you visited. Celebrating the age-old tradition of community and fresh wholesome ingredients, our farm-to-table meal is a meaningful conclusion to a day of fun.
At Asheville Farm To Table Tours, we lovingly create authentic and diverse experiences through creativity, careful planning, and relationships with local sustainable farms.
Our Story
Our story begins with the question, what is Farm to Table and why now? In many ways the concept of field to plate is part of a cultural food circle. Until the 1970’s, when a change in the federal farm policy was implemented, small family farms produced much of our food source. Americans did not yet have the choice to buy strawberries, oranges or tomatoes 365 days a year, but the items produced closer to home were enjoyed at their peak of freshness.
As time marched on and globalization reigned, many of us became accustomed to the incredible variety of choices available. Excited at the bounty, we no longer thought about the difference in flavor between a fruit or vegetable picked yesterday at its peak and one that was grown specifically to travel thousands of miles. Concurrently, processed foods became a regular part of the diet of most Americans.
As time continued around the circle, many became aware of how unhealthy and disconnected our purchasing and eating habits had become and we began, once again, to appreciate locally grown foods from sustainable farms.
The concept for Asheville Farm to Table Tours developed through my love of good food, the desire to share the experience of Farm Fresh products with others and the ability to do so because of the incredible local family farms and farmers!
Now is the time and here is the place to enjoy a fun experience where you can gain an understanding and appreciation of where our food comes from!
Meet Your Tour Guide – Ann D. Stauss – Owner & Operator
Ann’s Story
Owned and operated a food truck catering to film crews in such varied locations as the French Quarter, West Texas and the Louisiana swamps.
In the 80’s, Co-founded Chez Nous Charcuterie, New Orleans’ first carry out cuisine and retail store, A business that still thrives today.
Performed food styling for still and film photography. Clients included Uncle Ben’s, The Catfish Institute, The Pork Council, and Louisiana Office of Tourism.
Enjoyed travel to over eighteen countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Delighted in the diverse cultures, savored their delicious foods.
Je parle couramment le francais, hablo algo de espanol.
Provided consulting services to operations including delis, groceries, full service restaurants, and food manufacturing facilities.
Since moving to Western North Carolina in 1999, the mountains and cultural heritage have been a constant source of inspiration that eventually led to this vision of a fun and unique Farm to Table adventure.