WHAT IS TRUST FALL?
Trust Fall was formed to help shape a food culture in Knoxville by broadening horizons and challenging preconceptions.
We accomplish this primarily by giving chefs total creative control over the menus - an opportunity that we hope you will take to push your boundaries with innovative ingredients and techniques. Our philosophy is best described by this quote from Anthony Bourdain (Nasty Bits, 2006):
Cooking professionally is a dominant act, at all times about control. Eating well, on the other hand, is about submission. It's about giving up all vestiges of control, about entrusting your fate entirely to someone else. It's about turning off the mean, manipulative, calculating, and shrewd person inside of you, and slipping heedlessly into a new experience as if it were a warm bath. It's about shutting down the radar and letting good things happen. Let it happen to you.
Our role is to create an experience and environment that prepares our guests to relinquish control and freely receive the chef’s vision. Everything about the experience is designed to facilitate this.
Guests don’t know where the dinner will be held until a few hours before the event, and they must solve some type of riddle to get there. Menus are divulged at the dinner. In past events, we have blindfolded guests and driven them to the dinner site. We have led them through a hidden trap door and an underground passageway to the dinner table. They don’t know who else they’ll be dining with or what they’ll be eating.
Ticket prices are based solely on food, drink, and other dinner expenses. We strive to make these dinners as inclusive as possible by keeping our costs to a minimum. We do not make a profit on (nor get paid for) our dinners, and although we hope chefs get much out of the experience, they are not compensated for their service. Location hosts are typically invited to participate in the dinner.
We typically have around 20 guests, but have had as many as 60. The demand has been high, and we are excited by the response, as we believe it to be 1) a testament to the gifts of the featured chefs and 2) an indication of the public's willingness to explore new culinary experiences.
If you've found your way here, we believe you have something important to contribute to this movement, and we hope you feel the same way. Some additional information about who we are and what you might expect from Trust Fall is provided below.
Viva la revolución!
WHO is trust fall?
The Trust Fall founders are a collection of people who love food and love Knoxville. None of us are in the food industry. Our team consists of:
WHERE IS TRUST FALL?
Trust Fall was founded in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Dinners locations are selected based on their dramatic effect, contextual quality, uniqueness, and availability through the generosity of our hosts. Locations are revealed to the guests just hours before the event through the form of some type of riddle or puzzle.
WANNA COOK?
We're always on the lookout for talented chefs to feature at future dinners. Whether you're an up-and-comer or seasoned pro, we want Trust Fall to be a platform to showcase your skills and a lab for your unfettered experimentation--a mutually beneficial experience for chefs and guests, alike. If you're interested, feel free to contact us directly at eat@trustfallknox.com or fill out the form at the bottom of this page with any questions or to discuss your potential participation. And if you haven't already, be sure to peruse the website for info and galleries from past dinners.
A few points regarding the planning and execution of a dinner:
- A Trust Fall coordinator will work with you to develop a budget based on the menu concept and to help identify plating needs.
- Often times, venues will not have a kitchen so our team will work with the chef to establish a plan and equipment requirements.
- You can pair beverages yourself, you can bring in someone else, or we have a regional network of sommeliers that we can provide you with.
- A signature cocktail is typically provided by Trust Fall before each dinner.
- We make an attempt to have a professional photographer at each event to document the food and evening.
- Trust Fall founders set up, serve, wash dishes, break down, and clean up.
Occupation: Project Manager
Being the debonair gentleman that he is, Drew is our official "host" at every Trust Fall dinner. More importantly, he's also the man behind our signature Trust Fall cocktails.