She knew people needed to eat after Helene. And that some needed special diets.
On the day the rain started, Cayte Gowan went to work as usual. She came in early for a prep shift in the kitchen of the acclaimed Asheville restaurant The Market Place, setting up the walk-in fridges for a busy weekend.
“October is the busy season because it’s leaf season,” Gowan said.
While she sliced and simmered, the lights flickered. A drain near the kitchen’s back door failed and water started pooling as the rain fell ceaselessly. The restaurant decided it would close that evening, the storm seemed too much. On her way out the door, Gowan grabbed a couple links of Andouille sausage for a pot of Brunswick stew at home. She’d have to make it last for days.
The devastation of Helene meant the next meal for thousands of people in Western North Carolina was suddenly uncertain.
When her power came back on and she could find passable roads, Gowan knew she needed to feed people, particularly people whose food allergies and diets required certain things. Gowan has lived with celiac disease since she was 3 years old. She had bulk bags of rice and beans and her deep freezer had stayed cool.
“I just started cooking and bringing it and feeding people,” Gowan said. “I knew what it was like for people with food allergies.”
Though she lives in Mars Hill, Gowan found the greatest need in Swannanoa. She set up in a Family Dollar parking lot initially, handing out free allergy conscious meals.
“I didn’t want to stop doing this,” Gowan said. “Eight different families were depending on me daily to get food.”
That dependence has only grown. Now two months in, Gowan continues to serve free allergy conscious meals six nights a week. She prepares the food at her home, drives it to Swannanoa and serves it in takeout boxes from a table tucked into a car wash bay. One night she served 322 people. On one bitterly cold night 22 people showed up, though some took a dozen or more meals to deliver to people who needed them.
Gowan’s work is fueled by donations and good fortune. The Cajun Navy donated a rice cooker. Sometimes produce shows up, like a shipment of delicata squash, which Gowan served stuffed with quinoa.
Gowan’s favorite bit of happenstance is a donated antique cauldron. For a Thanksgiving feast she used it to make a stew of donated venison, part of a spread of smoked turkeys and dishes that fed more than 250 people.
Gowan sees her hands and food as part of a larger effort keeping a region afloat.
“The mountains did their best to protect us up here, but there’s not much you can do against a gigantic storm,” Gowan said. “It was clear there were going to be people who lost everything…. It’s going to be a long time before we’re back to normal. This is an opportunity to provide a service to my community and offer help to people that otherwise would not be available.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
