a match made in heaven,
under the devil’s nose
The Devil’s Nose is the affectionate name of Idle Hour Farm’s mountain backdrop. Sal and Amber have been lucky to sample what the fields and forest have to offer there, and can’t wait to give their blood, sweat, and tears to this corner of the Appalachian foothills. Read on to learn how they got here.
Sal
Sal Sanchez grew up in El Salvador, but he has spent the last decade cooking in professional kitchens from Germany to Chicago. He entered the Knoxville culinary scene as Sous Chef at Emilia in Market Square. In the height of the pandemic, he decided to pursue a new view of food by serving as an Americorps member at Beardsley Community Farm, growing and distributing organic produce to underserved communities. Later he opened Osteria Stella as Chef de Cuisine, crafting a menu and creating a culture that allowed him to support and build relationships with local farmers who he now counts as friends.
After Sal married Amber in 2022, they moved to New York where he earned the role of Sous Chef in the main dining room of the two-Michelin-stared restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and ended his tenure as the Executive Chef of Events. “The future of food” was the foundation of every conversation and served as the underlying reason to pursue culinary innovation and excellence to the nth degree.
Across his career he has had the privilege of working with and for some of the most talented, dedicated professionals in the industry. In this next chapter he endeavors to pass it all on to whoever cares to learn– and feed whoever wants to eat.
Amber
Amber’s connection to food and hospitality is a life long, and complicated, love story. She grew up in her own parents’ mom-and-pop restaurant, immersed in the service industry before she was old enough to mop the floors. When she met her husband and partner, Sal, she finally reconciled food and service as her past, present, and– for the first time– her future.
When she finally decided to dive headfirst into a career she’d spent years running from, she had the great honor to polish her skills at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, ending her three years there as a trusted manager and valued creative. Responsible eating colored every conversation– but it was never a lecture. It was an invitation to enjoy every day of the farm’s expertise, the best of the best in its own time and place.
Amber seeks to extend that invitation back at home in East Tennessee, by way of her grandfather’s farm. She feels deeply privileged to witness and steward its unfurling into the next chapter, and to share it with folks who want to warm themselves in its sunny fields and by its antique rock fireplace.
Izote Hospitality
Big memories with a small footprint, thoughtfully designed and executed.
