{{Short description|American chef (1976–2016)}} {{for|the American football cornerback|Sam Beal}} {{Infobox person | name = Sam Beall | birth_name = Samuel Erasmus Beall IV | birth_date = {{birth date|1976|08|21}} | birth_place = Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|02|25|1976|08|21}} | death_place = Beaver Creek, Colorado, U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Chef and restaurateur | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = University of Tennessee, California Culinary Academy | period = | subject = <!-- or: | subjects = --> | movement = | spouse = Mary Celeste Beall | partner = <!-- or: | partners = --> | children = 5 | years_active = 2000&ndash;2016 | known_for = ''The Blackberry Farm Cookbook'' (2009),<br /> ''The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farm'' (2012) }} '''Samuel Erasmus Beall IV''' (August 21, 1976 – February 25, 2016) was an American chef and restaurateur. He ran Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, a Beall family business which has been rated as among the best resorts in North America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wbir.com/news/local/coroner-rules-sam-bealls-death-an-accident/66878990|title=Coroner rules Sam Beall's death an accident|website=WBIR-TV|date=March 3, 2016|others=}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024}}</ref> He was a major proponent of having American restaurants focus on regional cuisine for their menus.<ref name=NYT>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/sam-beall-a-restaurateur-who-took-fine-dining-to-the-farm-dies-at-39.html|title=Sam Beall, Farm-to-Table Restaurateur Right on His Farm, Dies at 39|last=Grimes|first=William|date=February 27, 2016|journal=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Beall was born in 1976, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Samuel E. (Sandy) Beall III, the founder of the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain, and his wife, Kreis.<ref name="NYT" /> The couple bought the property, located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, in December 1976 and ran it as a small country inn. Sam, who was four months old at the time of the purchase, spent his earliest years on the farm. When his father sold the restaurant chain in 1982, the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he was raised.<ref name=NYT />

As a young man, Beall studied first at Hampden-Sydney College. and graduated from the University of Tennessee.<ref name=WSJ>{{Cite journal|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/offduty/2016/02/29/remembering-sam-beall-the-farm-to-table-visionary-of-blackberry-farms/|title=Remembering Sam Beall, the Farm-to-Table Visionary of Blackberry Farms|last=Kracklauer|first=Beth|journal=Wall Street Journal|date=February 29, 2016}}</ref>

==Career== After graduating, Beall moved to California, where he studied at the California Culinary Academy, following which he worked at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, and went on to study French cuisine at The French Laundry in Yountville, California.<ref name=NYT />

Returning to his family home, Beall took over management of the farm and built the Blackberry Farm Inn into a culinary destination for "farm-to-table cooking" focusing on what he called foothills cuisine. He recruited kitchen staff and developed the attached FarmStead to produce ingredients, such as heirloom vegetables, charcuterie, and cheeses, for the food offered at the inn.<ref name=WSJ /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eater.com/2016/2/26/11120666/sam-beall-blackberry-farm-death|first=Daniela|last=Galarza|title=Remembering Sam Beall, Owner of Blackberry Farm, Who Died in a Tragic Accident|website=Eater|date=February 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.thedailytimes.com/news/blackberry-farm-proprietor-sam-beall-dies-in-skiing-accident/article_3f9e831c-2791-592d-83bf-bf2b929e3fd5.html|first=Melissa|last=Erickson|title=Blackberry Farm proprietor Sam Beall dies in skiing accident|journal=The Daily Times|date=February 27, 2016}}</ref>

==Death== Beall died in 2016, at the age of 39, of injuries he suffered from an accident while skiing at Beaver Creek, Colorado.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/sam-beall-proprietor-of-blackberry-farm-dies-in-skiing-accident-2caeffc0-38da-6e45-e053-0100007f8d0e-370263401.html|title=Sam Beall, proprietor of Blackberry Farm, dies in skiing accident in Colorado|work=Knoxville News Sentinel|first=Mary|last=Constantine|date=February 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29570452/owner-blackberry-farm-killed-skiing-at-beaver-creek|first=Katy|last=Canada|title=Owner of Blackberry Farm killed skiing at Beaver Creek Ski Resort|journal=The Denver Post|date=February 27, 2016}}</ref> The local coroner determined that he had hit a wooden sign post located between the ski runs and died of blunt force trauma to the chest. After his death, his widow, Mary Celeste Beall, assumed management of the inn.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.thedailytimes.com/business/blackberry-farm-announces-mary-celeste-beall-will-assume-proprietor-role/article_f7a6c78a-9624-501d-a746-b954284b0175.html|first=Melissa|last=Erickson|title=Blackberry Farm announces Mary Celeste Beall will assume proprietor role|journal=The Daily Times|date=February 27, 2016}}</ref>

==Works== *''The Blackberry Farm Cookbook: Four Seasons of Great Food and the Good Life'' (2009). *''The Foothills Cuisine of Blackberry Farm: Recipes and Wisdom from Our Artisans, Chefs, and Smoky Mountain Ancestors'' with Marah Stets, Clarkson Potter, New York (2012).

== References == {{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beall, Sam}} Category:1976 births Category:2016 deaths Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:People from Blount County, Tennessee Category:Writers from Mobile, Alabama Category:Hampden–Sydney College alumni Category:University of Tennessee alumni Category:American restaurateurs Category:Chefs from Tennessee Category:Writers from Tennessee Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:American cookbook writers Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:American hoteliers Category:Skiing deaths Category:Sports deaths in Colorado Category:California Culinary Academy alumni Category:21st-century American male writers Category:Chefs from Alabama