A Look At The Local Vendors That Make Our Menu Possible

Creating a new season’s menu at Oliver Royale involves a lot more than simply changing up the choices and printing a new menu. We start researching potential new ingredients for the next season’s menu up to a month and a half in advance. And one of our biggest focuses during this preparation phase is choosing the local vendors where we’ll get those ingredients.

Finding local farmers is a huge part of the process for building a new menu. Our Executive Chef, Jon Gatlin, takes the lead, meeting farmers in person to discuss what kind of crops they’re expecting that season. These relationships are always built in person: Jon either meets them at local farmers markets (including the one right here in Market Square!) or he’ll visit the farm himself. Once he has a better understanding of the ingredients available in the area that season, he develops menu items based off that list.

We take our place in downtown Knoxville seriously. We’re a part of this community, and we know how many amazing farmers are right here in our own neighborhood. Building off that community and using as many local ingredients as possible in our food is so important to us. As an added bonus, using local ingredients guarantees quality and freshness, while reducing the chance of damaged produce that often happens during long-term transportation.

If you’ve visited us recently, you’ve probably enjoyed at least a few of the ingredients that we’ve sourced from our neighbors. But when you were enjoying your food, you probably didn’t know the story behind your food. Here’s a look at all the vendors we worked with for this year’s menus, as well as the delicious ingredients they brought to the table:

Mountain Meadow Farms: stone fruit, berries, apples, and pears

In operation since 1970, Mountain Meadows is located in Anderson County, near Norris, Tennessee. They specialize in fruits and vegetables, and their products are available at several farmer’s markets in the area!

Cruze Dairy Farm: ice cream

Cruze Dairy has been around since 1980 and offers a ton of exciting ice cream flavors, including at Downtown Knoxville location. They also offer ice cream catering!

A Place of the Heart Farm: seasonal produce, fall squash, and beans

Located in Pioneer, Tennessee, A Place of the Heart Farm offers 70 different types of heirloom vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, all certified naturally grown. They also specialize in using environmentally friendly farming practices.

Springer Mountain Farms: chicken

Springer Mountain has more than a half-century of experience in raising chickens, humanely and without antibiotics. They’re located right next door to Tennessee, in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Abby Fields Farm: lettuce greens, pea tendrils

Abby Fields is truly our neighborhood farm, located just outside of downtown Knoxville. They have focused on creating local food systems and rebuilding urban spaces to produce healthy food.

Sugartree Farms: seasonal produce, fall squash

Mike Robinson runs Sugartree Farms, near Belvidere, Tennessee -- and he was actually named the 2017 Tennessee Farmer of the Year! On his hundreds of acres, he grows everything from produce and hay, and even raises timber, too.

Zavels Family Farms: seasonal produce, beets, butternut squash, kale

Located in Corryton, Tennessee, Zavels Family Farm is super active in our community and is a regular participant in several local farmers markets.

Huff Farms: corn

Huff Farms is family-owned and our go-to producer of sweet corn. They are the corn experts in the area, and are located in Blount County, Tennessee!

Honeybee Coffee: coffee beans

Maybe you like a cup of coffee with your dessert; thankfully, we have Honeybee’s special blends to offer! Honeybee is located right in Knoxville, and we also offer their coffee next door at The Oliver Hotel.

Lacewing Farms: heirlooms squash, tomatoes, beans

Lacewing is located just 17 miles from downtown Knoxville, in Corryton, Tennessee, and offers everything from vegetables to eggs. They even have their own beehives too!

Seven Springs Farm: tomatoes, beans, corn, specialty micro greens

This farm offers an incredibly diverse array of crops, including fruits, vegetables, and beef. They’re located in Maynardville, Tennessee, where you can also find The Winery at Seven Springs Farm.