it's a park outside of a hotel in downtown asheville. beautiful fall day, the changing leaves. it was about a week before the election. and we didn't talk about the election much. we didn't talk about politics. he told me about his life. just got to know each other, where he is from. >> how old is the man? >> mid-50's. he was born in new haven, connecticut, but was in the navy. and had a heart condition and went down to asheville in his early 20's for heart surgery at the v.a. down there. and his life in connecticut, this is one of those beautiful things that happens in america's stories where really the same things that he was afraid of from the media stereotypes about african-americans, had been part of his experiences growing up in connecticut with gangs and drug and when he got his heart surgery, he stayed down there and slower pace of life. he is an lish and. >> had he been married? >> no. >> no children how often in your life have you heard the kind of things he was saying about what he as a white man thought about ack people >> it feels like to me personally, not so many

we met outside in downtown asheville. it was a beautiful fall day, changing leaves. it was about a week before the election, and we didn't talk about the election much. we didn't talk about politics. he told me about his life. we got to know each other, where he's from, the experiences he has had. host: how old is the man? heather: i think he is mid 50's. host: where is he from? heather: he was born in connecticut, new haven connecticut, but hughes in the navy and had a heart condition and went to asheville. this is one of those beautiful things that happens in american peoples' stories where the same things he was afraid of in terms of the media stereotypes of africa america have been part of his experience in connecticut with gangs, drug addiction, and when he got his heart surgery, he fell in love with asheville and the slow pace of life. now he's mostly retired. host: is he married? heather: no. host: no children. how often in your life have you heard -- you can't quantify -- how often have you heard the things he said as a white man? heather: it is a pretty innu

when we came to asheville, it felt like a city full of opportunities. it's a small community but a vibrant downtownfarmers markets. it was the best decision we ever made. >> and you have multiple restaurants, right? >> i do. >> and night bell, how does that differ? >> night bell allows me to be a little more creative and have some fun because i focus on regional cuisine. farm-to-table produce and apple-inspired dishes. it's still small plates because that's the way i love to eat and dine. >> it must have been scary to open a new restaurant in a new place. >> it was extremely scary. i think -- it was the hardest moment of my life was getting ready to open and i remember just, you know, the week before sitting there and being like, oh, my god, what have we done? we're going to open next week. so i actually picked up the phone and called for help. we called jose andres and i was like, i need your help. i don't know that we're going to be able to do this. and he sent down himself and four of his best and brightest. >> what a gesture. >> and he was amazing. >> that sounds like jose. >> yes. >> chef butt