Edible Blue Ridge Fall 2022

CHEF’S TABLE

We sat down for a conversation with chefs Anna Gardner and Kelsey Naylor, two of the trifecta that is Umma’s — Charlottesville’s hottest new restaurant

EBR: And the name? Naylor: We chose the name Umma’s [it means “mom’s” in Korean] mostly because of how my grandmother’s preparations of food influ enced my mom’s cooking and how my mom’s cooking has influenced me. Both of us cook with her at the barn, and that has kind of shaped our relationship with food. EBR: How did the menu take shape? Gardner: Our goal with opening was to utilize all the things from the farm — that’s kind of a big thing for us, eating local, because a lot of Asian cuisines, whether it’s Korean or Japanese, are always locally-fo cused and seasonal. A lot of pickles and ferments, shiozuke. ings like that shaped it naturally for us. EBR: Do you source all your produce from Jen’s farm? Naylor: e bulk of it is coming from her: her eggs, produce, kimchi, all of that comes from her. Right now I think there are probably 10 million cucumbers we need to use … you’ll notice we have cucumbers all over this week’s menu because it’s overflowing at the farm. e longest that anything is ever on the menu is about two weeks. It keeps us on our toes. Gardner: Jen, for the most part, still works primarily at the farm, and obviously makes the kimchis, and we knew we always wanted to have rotating banchan [Korean side dishes]. It’s just one of those things —we certainly could make them, but Jen makes them so much better; why mess with perfection? You won’t necessarily find banchan made from scratch in many restaurants in America, because they are labor intensive and generally only made by home cooks. EBR: Will BASAN [the ramen truck] be making any appearances at Umma’s? Naylor: It’s on the backburner for the time being, but we are hoping to schedule a pop-up soon where we can bring back the old truck favorites and maybe some new ones as well. We’re also hoping to have a dance party on the patio once a month; we’ll see how cold it gets come anks giving! EBR: Let’s talk about the guest experience. More and more restau rants are utilizing QR codes; what made you decide this was the right option for Umma’s? Naylor: I personally hate the idea of the typical server wages, where you’re getting paid $3/hr and you’re expected to supplement your income with tips. It just seemed to make more sense to pay everyone an actual wage, and then tips are just a bonus on top. By doing the QR codes, it made ev

EBR: How did you both wind up in this industry? Naylor: I actually went to culinary school at Johnson and Wales. Gardner: I was a ne’er-do-well teenager that needed my extra energy fun neled into something and I happened to fall into cooking — Naylor: — and then it stuck and now we’re here. Gardner: No idle hands. EBR: How did the concept for Umma’s come about? Naylor: is idea was something we had been working towards. Anna and I met working at Public about six years ago. After Public we moved to Japan for a year. When we returned, we ended up opening a little mo bile wood-fired pizza stand, and then after that moved up to Basan, a ra men food truck making the noodles, broth — everything, from scratch. My mom [Jen Naylor of Mamabird Farm] had been begging us for years and years to open up something with her; it’s always been a dream of hers to open up a brick and mortar with us, a whole-family endeavor.

24 | EDIBLE BLUE RIDGE SUMMER 2022

Photo by Robinson Imagery