We had the good fortune of connecting with Debbie Meritsky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Debbie, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Don’t follow the pack!

I believe that having an individual voice, individual thoughts and independent processes that don’t follow conventional thinking will always allow you to be ahead of the “competition”.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The beginning of my love affair with food began when I was 8 years old. I took cooking classes on a regular basis, began cooking meals for my family and friends. I threw my 1st dinner party when I was 12, and did a multi course Cantonese dinner for a group of 8, I loved the process of shopping for the ingredients, and preparing food for 2 days and serving/explaining what everything was to the guests.

I attended cooking school when I was 18 and have been in the industry for over 40 years. My degree allowed me to offer a wide degree of opportunities and services to my clients which were both in the private and corporate arena. My clients also had me travel to locations where events needed a professionals attention to details and service. I spent about 10 years working in the restaurant industry and decided to take a break where I went into sales, which was a great way to advance my personal selling skills.

My 1st business was created in Cleveland, Ohio when I was in my mid 20’s and came across and ad in a local paper for a private chef and housekeeper… I turned down the housekeeping position and cooked several days a week for a larger family, which morphed into a catering and consulting service that ran for 20 years.

in my late 30’s I decided that a change of lifestyle and venue were on my horizon and after a short trip tp the Finger Lakes region, we found a derelict house that we fell in love with. While still working full time in Ohio, we spent a good deal of time rehabbing the 6000 Sq ft house over a 6 year period. I sold the catering company and moved to NY to open the Black Sheep Inn in 2007. The opening of the Inn was a culmination to bring a more localized flavor to the Inns breakfast table, and I was lucky enough work with a dozen great farms for most of our seasonal and local products that we’re utilized at breakfast. We prided ourselves on the fact that 80% of our ingredients came from with 50 miles of our kitchen.

Because I am not known to follow the pack, and I love being creative in the ways I will work within the non existing boundaries of any industry, allows for the most creative ways to operate and move forward. Believing that we offer something no one else does and having knowledge of methods in production, sourcing and meeting our clients where they are keeps us ahead of most anyone else.

I’m still a very proud Black Sheep!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re still getting to know what’s happening here in Knoxville, but what we’re found to be great is our proximity to so many outdoor activities! So when our friends are coming in for TG this year, I’ll use that as the opportunity to showoff where we live.

Some quick tours of the downtown area are always in order just to get a flavor of the city surroundings… because we all love food, but also pretty picky we aim for those spots that really take a local bent toward their food production!

Patchke Deli is a favorite of ours and we know our friends will love it too! Relaxed, easy setting, good music and an easy location to get to.
Sunday Brunch is a must at the Plaid Apron! again, the location takes visitors to a unique area of Knoxville, and a walk along Cherokee after brunch is a must do!

If you’re in love with open air markets, Saturday at the market square farmers market is a great spot to gather your favorite local ingredients and see just about anything and anyone! while there, our friends from Pastolito’s Cuban Bakery is a must stop and make it early because they sell out quickly! The guava cheese Pastolitos is the best!!

Heading for a great walk or hike is at the 7 islands Bird sanctuary, where over 200 varieties of birds can be seen.

The Smokies are a must of course, it’s kind of a given! have not found our favorite spot yet, but we’re working on it.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My appreciation, gratitude and Thanks will always go to my husband Marc Rotman! From the time we met over 30 years ago, he was behind all my efforts in supporting my 1st business to the ones we run together presently! This includes Eat my Granola!

Website: https://www.eatmygranola.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatmygranolanow

Linkedin: Debbie Meritsky

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatmygranolanow

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutTennessee is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.