A James Beard Winner Is Cooking Outdoors in Highlands, and Seats Will Go Fast

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  September 8, 2026

One of the most decorated chefs in the South is trading his Charleston kitchen for a night outdoors in Highlands. Jason Stanhope, the James Beard Award-winning executive chef of FIG in Charleston, is the guest chef for Under the Stars, On the Rocks, an open-air dinner on the Highlands Plateau in Macon County. The Highlands Chamber of Commerce is promoting the event, and if past guest chef dinners in Highlands are any guide, the seats will not last long.

Getting there is part of the evening. From Asheville, plan on about two and a half hours by way of US-64 through Brevard and Cashiers, or through Franklin and up the Cullasaja Gorge. From Franklin, it is roughly 35 minutes of curves past Bridal Veil Falls and Dry Falls, with the temperature dropping a few degrees as you climb. Either way, you arrive above 4,000 feet with the sun going down and dinner waiting.

Who is Jason Stanhope?

Stanhope runs the kitchen at FIG, the Charleston restaurant that has been on every serious Southern dining list for two decades. He came up under founding chef Mike Lata and took over the top job, then won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2015. FIG is not a flashy place. It is the kind of restaurant where a bowl of field peas or a piece of local fish, cooked simply and correctly, is the memory you take home.

That style translates well to the mountains. Late summer and early fall in Western North Carolina is peak season for apples, peppers, greens, and trout, and a chef who builds menus around whatever is best that week has plenty to work with here. The chamber listing does not spell out the menu, so expect Stanhope to bring his Lowcountry sensibility and let the plateau fill in the rest.

Why does a Charleston chef feel at home in Highlands?

Because Charleston and Highlands have been linked for well over a century. Lowcountry families started coming up to the plateau in the 1800s to escape the heat and the mosquitoes, and that pattern never stopped. Walk through downtown Highlands on a Saturday in July and you will hear as many Charleston and Atlanta accents as mountain ones.

Plenty of the people at Stanhope's table will already know his cooking from Meeting Street. For them, this is a familiar chef in a favorite place. For year-round locals in Highlands, Cashiers, and Franklin, it is a chance to eat at one of the region's best restaurants without a four-hour drive to the coast.

What is Under the Stars, On the Rocks?

The name tells you most of it. This is dinner served outdoors, on the rock outcrops and open air that define the Highlands Plateau, with a guest chef cooking the meal. The date, time, venue, ticket price, and booking details are posted on the Highlands Chamber of Commerce event page, and that is the place to reserve.

Dress for the mountains. Evenings in Highlands run 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the valley towns, and once the sun drops behind the ridge, a jacket stops being optional. That cool air is a big part of why people come up here in the first place, and it makes an outdoor dinner in Highlands feel different from anywhere else in the state.

Why does Highlands punch so far above its weight for food?

Highlands has around 1,000 year-round residents and a dining scene that would be impressive in a city of 100,000. Old Edwards Inn anchors it, with Madison's and a steady run of visiting chef events. Wolfgang's, Lakeside, and Oak Steakhouse at Skyline Lodge round out the short list, and the Highlands Food and Wine Festival each November pulls chefs and winemakers from across the country.

The reason is simple. The summer and fall population swells with second-home owners who expect the same quality they get in Charleston, Atlanta, Naples, and Palm Beach, and restaurants here have risen to meet it. Guest chef dinners like this one are a natural product of that demand. They also give locals a reason to book a table on a weeknight in September, which is a nice problem to have.

Is Franklin NC a good place to retire if you want this kind of dining nearby?

A lot of people who fall for the Highlands lifestyle end up buying in Franklin, and dinners like this one show why that works. Franklin sits in the valley about 2,000 feet lower, in the same county, with a hospital, a walkable downtown, milder winters, and home prices that are a fraction of what the plateau commands. Highlands and Cashiers are a scenic half hour away for a special night out.

That combination is hard to find elsewhere. You get the small-town pace of Franklin, the river and the trails, and one of the best restaurant scenes in the Southeast just up the road. If an evening like this one has you picturing your own place in the Macon County mountains, Jon Tharp is glad to talk through what that could look like.

Recap: the post is drafted in full. Two details need a quick check before publishing. The chamber page and web search were blocked in this session, so the date, venue, price, and menu are not stated in the post. Those should be confirmed on the chamber listing and added to the second paragraph and the "What is Under the Stars, On the Rocks?" section if you want them in the body.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jason Stanhope?

Jason Stanhope is the executive chef of FIG in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the most respected restaurants in the Southeast. He won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2015 after working his way up in the FIG kitchen under founding chef Mike Lata. His cooking leans on what is in season, with a lot of local produce, seafood, and simple technique that lets ingredients stand on their own. He is a familiar name to the many Highlands second-home owners who spend the rest of the year in Charleston, which is part of why his appearance on the plateau is a draw.

What is Under the Stars, On the Rocks in Highlands NC?

Under the Stars, On the Rocks is an outdoor guest chef dinner held in Highlands, North Carolina, and listed on the Highlands Chamber of Commerce events calendar. The edition featuring Jason Stanhope of FIG in Charleston pairs a nationally recognized chef with an open-air setting on the Highlands Plateau, which sits above 4,000 feet in Macon County. Specific details such as the date, time, venue, menu, and ticket price are posted on the chamber's event page at highlandschamber.org. Guest chef dinners in Highlands tend to sell out quickly, so reserving early is the safe move.

How far is Franklin NC from Asheville?

Franklin is roughly 70 miles southwest of Asheville, and the drive usually takes about an hour and a half. The most common route follows I-40 west, then US-23/US-74 through Waynesville and Sylva before turning south on US-441 into Franklin. From Franklin, Highlands is another 18 miles or so up US-64 through the Cullasaja Gorge, a winding 30 to 35 minute drive that passes Dry Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Many people traveling from Asheville to a Highlands event go this way, though the route through Brevard and Cashiers is a scenic alternative.

Is Franklin NC a good place to retire?

Franklin appeals to retirees for a mix of practical and lifestyle reasons. It is the county seat of Macon County, with a hospital, grocery stores, a walkable downtown, and a lower cost of housing than Highlands or Cashiers up on the plateau. At around 2,100 feet, winters are milder than in the higher towns. The Little Tennessee River, the Appalachian Trail, and the Nantahala National Forest are all close. And the upscale dining and cultural scene in Highlands is about 35 minutes away, so residents get the best of both without paying plateau prices.