He brings this human-centric philosophy to his restaurant, Acme Food & Beverage Company in Carrboro, North Carolina. Since 1998, Acme has been serving Southern classics like fried chicken, crab cakes, and cornbread, all made from local, seasonal ingredients. Acme is Kevin’s homage to his roots, both in terms of his own family’s story and the food culture of the region.
Kevin’s grandparents had a farm in South Carolina. “There was a sense of abundance that had nothing to do with money,” Kevin says. “They were quite poor, but there was a generosity surrounding the serving of food.” It was that spirit of community and abundance that he came back to in college. “I began to reconnect with these flavors and these ideas, the foodways of the South, the idea of the Southern table.” After he graduated, he got a job as a dishwasher and worked his way up through the restaurant ranks, learning as much as he could along the way.
Once he was ready to strike out on his own, he knew that creating a sense of community and shared values around food was paramount. He built Acme with that in mind.
“One of the big mistakes we make is we think of food as just feeding our body, but it’s really something greater than that.” He harkened back to meals growing up. His father had had polio and was confined to a wheelchair, so the family saw meals as the time to connect with each other. Re-creating an intentional space like that was important to Kevin.
And so, of course, was the food. To create his seasonal Southern fare, Kevin visits the Carrboro farmers’ market, just half a mile from the restaurant, as often as possible. “Buying a bag of Brussels sprouts from a farmer and then serving it for dinner at night, it feels deeper. You have a human connection, and that’s profound.” Getting to know the farmers not only creates a community around food, it also results in better food—better for the farmers, for the chefs, for the consumers, for the earth. That’s true whether you’re cooking for 400 people in one night or your family on a Tuesday. Your food is part of a bigger system, a wider net.
“Food, when it’s at its best, is a narrative. It tells you a story,” says Kevin.
Let’s make it a good one.
KEVIN CALLAGHAN
FOOD MANTRA
Eat the food you love and love the food you eat.
PANTRY STAPLES
Butter, really good salt, black pepper, lemons, garlic. I start there. Anything else can be purchased fresh.
FOREVER MEAL
I love breakfast tacos—scrambled eggs, avocado, salsa, maybe some cheese, hot sauce. And a cup of coffee. That’s the best. Really fresh corn tortillas that are warm and soft.
FOOD RITUAL
I drink a lot of water. First thing in the morning, I drink 3 pints of water. And over the course of the day, maybe 10 to 12 pints. For me, drinking a lot of water was something I found that made my body work more efficiently.
FOOD HEROES
Every family that runs a small farm in America. It’s so difficult. Every day I get to eat the food they give me, and that is an amazing thing. Also, the people who get up at 3:00 a.m. to deliver food to restaurants. Their work is amazing. Rain or shine, they show up with smiles on their faces. Those are the people who really make things happen.
HEALTHY-EATING TIP
Go to farmers’ markets and meet people. Make food about people.
Fresh, pasture-raised pork is a real game changer that could forever alter your ideas about how pork is supposed to taste. We buy incredibly flavorful pork from Firsthand Foods, a cooperative of small, local farms in North Carolina. This dish is great on its own, and it’s even better with roasted Brussels sprouts served on the side. SERVES 4 TO 6
1 pork tenderloin (1–2 pounds)
4 cups water
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sea salt
½ cup sugar
5 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
10 black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ pound bacon, sliced crosswise into thin strips
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup Madeira wine
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
In a container large enough to hold the pork, combine the water, salt, sugar, garlic, 1 sprig of the thyme, the rosemary, pepper flakes, and peppercorns. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve completely. Add the pork, cover, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate. Add the onion to the skillet. Pick the thyme leaves from the remaining 1 sprig and add them to the skillet. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the onion is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apples and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Pour in the wine and vinegar and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the skillet and release any stuck browned bits. Stir in the cooked bacon. Cook until the apples are tender and nearly all of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Remove the pork from the brine and pat it dry with a paper towel. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the oil to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the pork and sear, rolling it over to brown all sides evenly. Transfer the skillet to the oven and finish cooking the pork until the internal temperature reaches 145°F, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the tenderloin. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
To serve, slice the pork as thickly as you prefer. Spoon some sautéed apples in the center of each plate. Arrange a few slices of pork on top of the apples.
For my grandmother’s generation, collards were fraught with memories of poverty. During her lifetime, she would never serve collards to guests; they were reserved only for family. To her shock and surprise, I grew to love collard greens. I now hold them so dear that I serve them at the restaurant—and I cook them exactly as she once did. SERVES 6
½ pound bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 smoked ham hocks
10 cloves garlic
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 tablespoon sea salt
3 pounds collard greens, stems removed and leaves chopped
½–¾ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the ham hocks and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth, water, and salt and bring to a simmer. Add the collard greens and simmer, uncovered, for about 3 hours.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in ½ cup of vinegar, the Worcestershire, a few shakes of hot sauce, and a pinch of black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding more vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Cornbread is such a delicious blank canvas. During each season of the year, you can vary the recipe to reflect the best of what’s at the farmers’ market. In the summer, mix in smoked tomatoes. Come fall, try pumpkin puree and caramelized onions. See our variations at the bottom of this recipe, and feel free to come up with a few of your own. For a fluffier cornbread, use 1 cup all-purpose flour and only 2 cups cornmeal. MAKES ONE 12" ROUND CORNBREAD
3 cups cornmeal
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 cups full-fat buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Pour into the cornmeal mixture and whisk to combine. Stir in the buttermilk.
Add the butter to a 12" cast-iron skillet and put the skillet into the oven. Once the butter has melted and the skillet is very hot, carefully remove it from the oven and pour the batter directly into the skillet. Return it to the oven and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
SPRING VARIATION: SPRING ONION CORNBREAD
Spring onions or scallions come roaring into season in early April. We buy them by the boxful from Michael Brinkley at the farmers’ market. Start with 1 bunch or about 12 small spring onions. Trim the root ends, toss with olive oil and a pinch each of salt and ground black pepper, and grill until lightly charred. Chop coarsely and mix into the batter before pouring it into the skillet.
SUMMER VARIATION: SMOKED TOMATO CORNBREAD
Smoking tomatoes is an easy way to use up tomatoes that are either a bit too ripe or not quite ripe enough. Roma tomatoes are the best to use because of their thick skins. For 1 cornbread, start with about 3 large tomatoes. Chop them as you would for salsa or pico de gallo. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, salt, and ground black pepper and place in an ovenproof dish. Soak wood chips in water for about 40 minutes. Start a charcoal fire on one side of a grill. When the coals are hot, push them all to one side of the grill and scatter the soaked wood chips over the top. Place the dish of tomatoes on the other side of the grill, cover the grill to trap the smoke, and smoke the tomatoes for 5 to 10 minutes. Mix some smoked tomatoes into the batter before pouring it into the skillet.
FALL VARIATION: PUMPKIN CORNBREAD WITH CARAMELIZED ONION AND BOURBON BUTTER
You can make your own pumpkin/squash puree, or you can just use store-bought canned puree. Don’t feel bad about using canned—that’s what we do at the restaurant. I’ve never made roasted pumpkin that tasted quite as good or was nearly as dense. Add 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree to the egg-and-milk mixture, and add an additional 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt to the cornmeal mixture. We like to serve each piece of pumpkin cornbread topped with a little caramelized onion and bourbon butter. To make it, first slowly cook 1 large sliced sweet summer onion in 2 tablespoons of butter until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add a big splash of bourbon, a sprinkle of salt, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix. Let cool. Then whip 6 tablespoons of butter softened to room temperature until fluffy and light, and then mix in the cooled onions and a small splash of sherry vinegar.
WINTER VARIATION: BACON-CHEDDAR CORNBREAD
Admittedly, this variation didn’t require any originality on my part. Who cares! When something is as delicious as bacon-Cheddar cornbread, it’s best to give in. Chop 8 slices of bacon crosswise into small pieces and cook in a skillet until brown and crisp. Transfer the bacon to a plate. Use as much of the melted bacon fat in place of the butter as you can. Stir the cooked bacon into the batter before pouring it into the skillet. Halfway through the baking of the cornbread, remove the skillet from the oven and scatter about 2 cups cubed Cheddar cheese evenly over the top. Return to the oven to finish baking. A big piece of this cornbread is perfect with raw oysters and cold beer outside on a cold Saturday afternoon.
Sometime at the end of November each year, the fishermen on the Carolina coast catch the last shrimp of the season. They always seem to taste the best to me. I don’t know if that’s because I know they won’t be around for a while, or if there’s something special going on with those shrimp. We like to “pickle” them in olive oil, keep them in the fridge, and pull them out to eat with crusty bread and Bloody Marys. SERVES 6
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1–2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or fresh cilantro
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, thinly sliced
Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook just until opaque, 2 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. Transfer to the ice bath and let cool. Drain.
In a small skillet over low heat, toast the fennel and mustard seeds until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and toast for 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley or cilantro, and garlic. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the oil. Season with a few large pinches of salt and black pepper.
Place the cooked shrimp and lemon slices in 2 large jars. Pour in the oil mixture. Serve right away, or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
These crab cakes are made up of mostly crabmeat, with just a few seasonings mixed in. They’re so tender that you have to be gentle when flipping them in the pan. Serve them atop a quick and simple summer succotash of corn, lima beans (called butter beans in the South), and tomatoes, or try substituting other in-season vegetables. SERVES 6
CRAB CAKES
1 pound cooked crabmeat, picked over to check for shells
1–2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
½ small red onion or 1 shallot, finely chopped
⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup seasoned bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more as needed
SUCCOTASH
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ large sweet summer onion, sliced
Sea salt
3 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (cut from about 3 medium ears)
3 cups cooked lima beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
12 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
2–3 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, for garnish
To make the crab cakes: In a large bowl, mix together the crabmeat, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Set aside to marinate for 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, onion or shallot, mayonnaise, bread crumbs, chives, parsley, nutmeg, egg, and salt. Using your hands, gently mix to combine, but make sure not to overwork the mixture or the crab cakes will turn out tough. Let rest for 30 minutes.
Shape a tiny crab cake and cook it in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, flipping to brown both sides. Taste the crab cake, and then season the crab mixture with black pepper, hot sauce, and more salt as needed. Using your hands, gently shape 12 evenly sized crab cakes, rolling them between your palms before squashing them into flattened balls.
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Working in batches, cook the crab cakes, gently flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add more oil to the skillet as needed between batches. The crab cakes will be warm in the center but not super-hot.
To make the succotash: In a large pan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until translucent and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the corn, lima beans, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Just before serving, add the tomatoes, basil, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, spoon warm succotash in the center of each plate. Arrange 2 crab cakes on top of the succotash. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Do you ever take a bite of food and instantly feel transported back to another time and place? “What’s wild is you’ll forget something entirely, then you’ll taste a bit of something and the food memory kicks in,” says Kevin. He makes these bread-and-butter pickles with summer squash, a recipe from his grandmother. “It’s a very specific flavor that seems personal to me and yet connects with so many other people.” He has a stash of his grandmother’s old recipes in a card folder, plus newspaper clippings and recipes from old church books. So much of creating community around food is bridging the old and the new, connecting the new generation to traditions past. More often than not, we do that with our cooking.
Making a point of honoring the past through food can be fun, too. At Acme, Kevin honors his grandmother in a way that will make your heart melt. His grandmother put his grandfather through grad school by selling pies for 5 cents a slice. On her birthday every year, the restaurant sells each slice of pie for that same price.
I love the tasty Brown Turkey figs that thrive in our region. They are especially good when cooked briefly with amaretto and turned into a not-too-sweet filling for hand pies. You could try substituting another fruit and liqueur combination—maybe blackberries and a splash of crème de cassis, or pears and pear eau-de-vie or brandy. SERVES 6
¾ cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons amaretto, divided
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Brown Turkey figs, sliced in half
¾ teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
⅓ cup ice-cold water
1 large egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of the amaretto, the bourbon, and vanilla. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, over medium heat—the alcohol will cause a flame to ignite. Once the flame subsides, gently stir in the figs and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon amaretto, the lemon juice, and cornstarch to form a slurry. Add to the fig mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. (The filling can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.)
In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Add the butter and use your fingers to incorporate it until the pieces are no larger than the size of a pea. Add the water and mix just until the dough holds together. (If the dough isn’t coming together, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.) Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Cut the dough disk into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out to a ⅛"-thick circle with a diameter of 6" to 7". Stack the dough rounds between sheets of parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to fill.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To shape the hand pies, place a spoonful of fig filling in the center of each dough round and spread it out evenly, leaving bare a 1" to 2" border. Fold the border edge of the dough over the fruit toward the center of the circle. Continue folding the entire edge toward the center, overlapping as you go around, to create a round hand pie with a hole in the very middle, where you can see the filling. Repeat with the other dough rounds. Place the shaped hand pies on the prepared baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and cream. Brush the egg wash over the dough crust, and then sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
Bake until the crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
“Farmers’ markets are really important to me,” says Kevin. Shopping at them is the best way to know what’s in season. You see what’s fresh, talk to the farmers and producers about what they have now, and about what they will have next week or next month. After a while, shopping locally and seasonally creates a sort of calendar that any chef, whether for a restaurant or at home, can follow year to year. You start thinking ahead, finding a way to preserve the fresh fruits of summer for later in the year when they won’t be around. “If I’m making lots of jam in the early summer, I’m thinking, ‘Well, I’m going to open at least two jars on Christmas Day to eat with biscuits,’” Kevin says. “It’s like a little gift you’re giving yourself. It’s pretty wonderful.”
In the fall in North Carolina, we are lucky to have local young ginger. It tastes a little brighter and sweeter than regular store-bought ginger, so we use a lot of it in this bourbon cocktail. This recipe will work just as well with either kind of ginger, but feel free to use a bit less or a bit more, depending on your tastes. As for the bourbon, my favorite for straight sipping is W.L. Weller 12-year-old bourbon, and for cocktails I use the more affordable but still delicious Larceny bourbon. SERVES 2
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1" piece fresh ginger, sliced
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup bourbon
Ice cubes, for serving
Using a blender or food processor, blend together the lemon juice and ginger. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl (discard the solids). Whisk in the sugar. Add the bourbon and stir well.
Fill 2 glasses with ice cubes. Pour the cocktail into the glasses, dividing it evenly. Serve immediately.
