Margaret mcleod Leef

At Lost Creek Farm in Harrison County, West Virginia, husband-and-wife duo Mike Costello and Amy Dawson hone in on the stories behind recipes served at their famed farm-to-table dinners. Including a curious appetizer that’s a mashup of two unassuming food traditions from their childhoods.

This week on Inside Appalachia, a high school football game, a street festival, and a kids' classroom are all settings in a new film about how coal mining shapes Appalachian culture. We also learn about the results of a new survey showing alarming mental health trends in Appalachia’s LGBTQ community. And we meet a taxidermist in Yadkin County, North Carolina who was just a teenager when she found her calling.

Food has a way of carrying our deepest memories, and for Chef William Dissen, those memories are seasoned with the flavors of West Virginia's mountains. Now, at his James Beard-nominated restaurant, The Market Place in Asheville, NC, Dissen transforms those Appalachian traditions into award-winning cuisine.

James Froemel‘s journey into storytelling has taken a lifetime. Last year, he worked with author, Liars Competition champ and professional storyteller Bil Lepp to hone his craft. Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef spoke with Froemel.