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Downtown Greenville brewery adds chef with James Beard pedigree

Krys Merryman //May 8, 2023//

Downtown Greenville brewery adds chef with James Beard pedigree

Krys Merryman //May 8, 2023//

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A popular craft brewery in Greenville recently welcomed a chef with a James Beard pedigree.

Fireforge Crafted Beer added Alex Morgan to its team as chef of the brewery’s in-house culinary program, according to the brewery’s news release.

Morgan, who started cooking while growing up in Wilmington, N.C., has spent the last two decades working with a host of James Beard award-winning restaurants and chefs across the country — to include Raleigh, Denver, and Portland, Maine, where he worked at Eventide Oyster Co. and The Drifter’s Wife, which was named one of Bon Appetit’s “Hot 10 Best New Restaurants” during his tenure.

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After he and his wife landed in Greenville in 2019, he was chef de cuisine at the James Beard-nominated restaurant, The Anchorage, in addition to his time as chef at Mr. Crisp in Greenville, before joining Fireforge.

Fireforge Crafted Beer added Alex Morgan to its team as chef of the brewery‰Ûªs in-house culinary program. (Photo/Provided)Morgan said one of the things that attracted him to Fireforge is the pride that the co-owners take in everything they do, which is sometimes hard to find in the food and beverage industry.

“It’s all about passion. It’s about creating something they love that hopefully other people will love, too,” said Morgan.

He plans to build on Fireforge’s curated taproom menu of shareable snacks, sandwiches, sides and desserts while expanding efforts to create fare from scratch utilizing locally sourced ingredients. It’s that commitment to the guest experience that recently found Morgan making pastrami in-house, the release said.

“We brine whole beef brisket for 7 days, season it and smoke it over hardwood, then sous vide it low and slow for 48 hours,” he said.

The result is a tender pastrami that elevates Fireforge’s “reuben sandwich vibe.”

Launched in 2018, Fireforge Crafted Beer is a small-batch brewery, taproom, kitchen and biergarten, with more than 20 brewed beers on draft, along with other craft beverages, small plates, sandwiches, and desserts.

“Welcoming someone with Alex’s impressive culinary background to our team is exciting,” said Fireforge Cofounder Nicole Cendrowski. “He shares our vision of creating the best experience for our guests from pint to plate.”

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