NEWLAND, N.C. — Thousands of people are helping western North Carolina communities from neighbors to first responders to volunteers from all across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of volunteers and first responders are helping western N.C. with cleanup and recovery after Hurricane Helene

  • Chef Bart Ramsey has set up his concessions trailer to feed many of these first responders in Newland in Avery County

  • He’s made breakfast and dinner for 400 people since Oct. 1

  • He will be set up in Newland through Oct. 19

In an area where electricity is scarce and most restaurants are closed, one chef is feeding the thousands still in need. As the smell of spicy jambalaya and freshly baked cornbread drifts out of this trailer, first responders and volunteers who have been hard at work with hurricane recovery flock to the table.

“You know, something nice and warm and hot when they get to get here for dinner time,” chef Bart Ramsey said. “I can't think of a better way to give back to this community that has given me so much over the course of my life.”

Ramsey says he felt called to come serve people in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. He’s breaking in a new trailer that was finished not long before the storm hit.

“This is the first thing it’s ever been used for,” Ramsey said. “So this is pretty exciting, I guess, to be able to use it for such an amazing event like this and to feed so many people that are in real need.”

He’s been out there cooking breakfast and dinner for more than 400 people each day for more than two weeks.

“I have always just been enamored with people who can turn out phenomenal food with very simple ingredients,” Ramsey said.

His previous experience as a chef for the Durham Bulls prepared him well to handle large crowds while training new cooks. Although it’s tiring work, he says it's important.

“The disasters will always take place,” Ramsey said. “And to see the amount of support that this community has gotten from all over the country … I think it's maybe kick-started the healing a little bit.”

He said there are thousands of people doing important recovery work.

“Everybody forevermore will be a part of the legacy of this community and their recovery efforts,” Ramsey said. “And I think that's pretty special.”

Ramsey’s concessions trailer is called Bart’s Old North State. He’s a three-time state champion for his barbecue sauce.

Although he gets to create many different kinds of meals in western North Carolina, when he heads back home to the Triangle, he’ll be bringing back his good old-fashioned barbecue. He will be in based in Newland in Avery County through Oct. 19.