Patty's Kitchen Corner: Cook Like A Chef At Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking

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After more than 30 years as a fine dining and corporate chef, David Hussey returned to his love of the outdoors opening Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking.

“I've always loved the outdoors,” David said recalling his grandparents had a farm in the U.K. where he was born. “I used to spend a lot of time there.”

The award-winning chef is now connecting with nature teaching people to cook like a chef on open fire at his seven-acre farm in Trenton, Georgia.

At Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking, guests will learn to create meals with locally curated vegetables and meats and dine in a communal setting in their specially built indoor and outdoor kitchens. “I’ve always been into camping, hiking and cooking outside and this combines my passion of teaching people to cook and being outdoors with nature,” he said.

David gets his meat from local farms like Quail Run Farm, Iron Root Pastures and Dyer Livestock BEEF. “Same with our vegetables,” he said. “It was important to not just live in this community but be a part of the community and support it.”

David and his wife Julie converted their former walkout basement into an indoor kitchen and presentation area. They constructed an outdoor kitchen area with a wood-fired oven and fire pits.

His first class was about a week ago. For now, classes are held on Thursdays and Saturdays. Guests will spend roughly two hours learning how to prepare and cook their meals. Afterwards guests will enjoy the fruits of their labor along with other prepared sides, salads and homemade kombucha, coffee and bottled water. Alcohol is not provided but guests can bring their own for consumption during mealtime only.

On Thursdays, the class begins at 5 p.m.  On Saturdays, it’s 4 p.m. Plan to spend four hours for each session. Be sure to bring your appetite.

“I want people to understand that this is not using fire to cook something like a barbeque,” David said. “This is a truly unique experience, something for a great date night, for true foodies, families and couples.”

Upcoming classes include a session on preparing Indian Tandoori Chicken (from Iron Root Pastures) breast with wood-fired Pilau rice and Saag Aloo potatoes. One that teaches how to make New York Strip Steak (from Quail Run Farms) with smoked garlic and chive hot potato salad and charred lemon asparagus. There is another class for Fresh seafood Paella on the fire. And one for an herb infused whole chicken (Iron Root Pasture) cooked over wood fire and wild mushroom risotto.

“We have a wood fired oven, so I plan to start doing things like pizza classes and doing stuff that's for kids and expand the offerings,” David said.

David said he also plans to provide private culinary classes off-site as well. Being in touch with nature was something David said he missed.

He started his culinary career at the age of 17. He worked in fine dining establishments for 15 years and then went into the corporate world working in private education. Later he moved to London to work in corporate hospitality and investments.

“I realized I was doing less cooking and spending a lot of my time in rooms with no windows,” he said.

In 2019 David returned to the kitchen working as a chef in Bejing. It is where he met Julie who was also in Bejing working as a journalist. The couple met through internet dating and had to endure a long-distance relationship when COVID forced each of them back to their respective homelands.

“I couldn't come to the U.S., and she couldn't come to England,” he said. Once the pandemic restrictions were lifted, David was able to move to New York where he worked as a chef. The couple got married. They both sought a return to nature and the outdoors.

 “Julie had been to Chattanooga before, she's a hiker, and loves the Smoky Mountains,” he said. “We came here for a vacation last October and really loved Chattanooga, and the area. We started looking for property within 30 minutes of Chattanooga and came back in December for a week and found this property in Dade County.”

The couple moved to Trenton in February and immediately started working on opening Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking. Now they’re ready to share their piece of paradise and teach guests how to make incredibly scrumptious meals. Visit their website for a list of classes and book online.

Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking