Central Piedmont Community College student Cory M. Goldsmith prepares mushrooms for his tailgate Saturday. Photo by Casey Gahagan

by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Lifestyles Reporter

As a senior in high school, Cory M. Goldsmith was assigned an essay to write about his passion in life and what he loved to do.

Cory wrote about something very personal to him: his love for cooking.

“When I’m cooking, even if the whole world [was] falling apart, it wouldn’t matter,” Cory said. “Cooking soothes me. In a sense, I can focus on it and not worry about anything else going on."

Cory used his passion for cooking to enroll in Central Piedmont Community College’s culinary arts program, where he developed his interest in his favorite type of cooking: New Southern Cuisine.

“It’s traditional Southern food with a twist,” Cory said. “Traditional Southern food is fried everything. In New Southern Cuisine, there is a lot more fish and peasant food, a lot of gumbos and soup-based food.”

For the past six months, Cory has worked in Charlotte at Jake’s Good Eats.

“Cory’s been A-plus since he’s been here,” Owner Gordon T. Stegall said. “He is always on time and ready to work. He’s strait-laced. He goes in there and gets it done.”

With plans to graduate from Central Piedmont Community College in May 2010, Cory will then attend Appalachian State University for hotel and restaurant management.

Cory’s mother, Marsha H. Goldsmith, has let her son do much of the cooking in the household and has been supportive since first realizing his passion, believing her son’s cooking is superior to most and comparable to that of Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga.

To celebrate his acceptance at Appalachian and to display his cooking abilities, Cory hosted a tailgate for the football game against Georgia Southern University Saturday.

His 1998 black Chevrolet Silverado was filled with a 62-inch grill, stovetop burners, turkey roaster, chef’s table, butcher block, two display tables and a 5-foot flagpole with a flying Appalachian flag.

After finding a parking spot on Rivers Street Friday, preparation for his tailgate began at 8 a.m. Saturday to make enough food to serve 100.

Food selections included “Cory’s Low Country Boil,” which consisted of hand-peeled shrimp, candied bacon, corn-on-the-cob, red potatoes, spicy sausage and peppers, among other things.

The boil was then spread on a table, available to anyone who stopped by.

Cory grilled pizzas with basil marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and Boar’s Head pepperoni.

He fried mini dill pickles with homemade roasted garlic dressing.

He cooked Angus Burger Sliders, stacked high with chipotle mayonnaise, spinach, jalapeño cheese, candied bacon and fried onion straws.

“Everything is homemade,” Cory said. “I could tailgate at a Panthers game but it wouldn’t have the same atmosphere as it would at Appalachian.”

Marsha is grateful for Cory continuing his education at Appalachian, as she would hate to start cooking again.
She said Saturday was a little taste of what to expect from Cory when he arrives.

Photo by Casey Gahagan  | The Appalachian

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