Editor's Note: We were planning to publish this article today, even before we read the pulse-quickening news that the smokehouse at Benton's Country Hams caught fire briefly Tuesday night. I realized I was selling 15-month-aged ham for the same price as 3-month-old hams. Allan Benton told The Huffington Post that although this is the first fire they've had to contend with at the smokehouse, the damage was minimal and shouldn't result in more than a "small hiccup" in bacon . Since his cured hams take more than a year to produce, Benton had to quickly refocus to selling other meats, such as USDA choice beef tenderloin and steak, which he continues to offer. (Sara Wood/Southern Foodways Alliance), Melanie Young writes about wine, food, travel, and health. The hams were salted by machine, they were re-worked by a machine, they were de-boned and sliced on a machine. And two women walked out of the shop, excited as could be. William Benton Allen Jr. is the Sr. VP & . But I will tell you that we honestly strive to do so. Instagram@theconnectedtable Twitter@connectedtable. Find out how a tiny smokehouse in Tennessee became legendary among the nation's top chefs. Year. (Allan Benton says in the book that farmers today still bring him fresh hams theyve slaughtered for him to cure and smoke.). I know my products are served in Europe, says Benton, more in France than anywhere else. I swallowed hook, line and sinker everything they told me. Id put Bentons up there with the finest European charcuterie, Spear said. I thought about it on my drive back to Madisonville. Net Worth: $1 Million Date of Birth: Dec 13, 1974 (48 years old) Place of Birth: Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. A few months later, Benton was having too good a time to quit. But he shouldnt be, especially in light of the cumulative, Say the word tahini, and most Americans might conjure up an image of a jar gathering dust on the bottom shelf of. But there are a few hints that this is no ordinary operation. He set out to make what we'd call "heritage," or "artisan," products decades ago, at a time when very few of his contemporaries were with him and very few consumers cared. English actor who has appeared in the long-running Nationwide Building Society advertisements and played the role of Eddie in Early Doors. To make matters worse, packinghouses in the Midwest were closed, reducing his source for pork for months. It gives a depth of flavor and smokiness thats unmatchedits the smokiest bacon youll ever eat.. BentonsCountryHams2.com, Melanie Young writes about wine, food, travel, and health. Once a chef in New York asked me for less smoky bacon. In 1978, Benton moved to his current location in Madisonville, off Highway 411 North. What I would give if I could have studied food technology. He couldnt figure it out, says Benton. No one will buy my dang products from a computer! Benton told him. Trevor Benton was born on 07/31/1991 and is 31 years old. "We could probably grow the business a lot bigger, but we haven't chosen to do that. Net Worth & Salary of Barbi Benton in 2023. Each year when resources and ran low by early fall, his grandparents released the hogs into the Southern Appalachian forest to forage on whatever they could find. But despite the his reputation, Benton is one of the most humble and hardworking men in the business. Born and raised in Neunkirchern in Saarland, Germany, curing meat was an inherent part of Stefan Neumann's culture. In a small roadside smokehouse in Madisonville, Tennessee, Allan Benton crafts what top chefs across the United States consider the gold standard of country ham and bacon. Bacon should not be overcooked. On the American side, Niagara Falls brings in about 9 million visitors each year, according to Western New York Connect. After graduating from UT in 1969 with a degree in education, Benton worked as a guidance counselor at Monroe Countys Vonore High School. I kicked it around in my mind for a few days, and I called him backit was the hardest thing Ive ever had to say, but I told him he needed to find another bacon supplier. The answer is Benton, an unassuming 66-year old with a ramshackle smokehouse in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, and weighs around 112lbs (51kgs). Allan and his father thought it sounded like a decent gig, particularly since they'd been raising their own hogs for years. When I first tasted Bentons bacon, I thought, Wow! Id never had anything like it before, said Chris Shepherd, chef and owner of Georgia James in Houston, Texas. They say he stopped dead in his tracks, like a bird dog on point, and asked, What is that aroma? Appearance and net worth. "Everything was automated, and the only thing that human beings did was put something on a conveyor belt or take it off. BentonsCountryHams2.com, Melanie Young writes about wine, food, travel, and health. After earning a masters in psychology from Middle Tennessee State University, Benton intended to work as a high school counselor. Mr. Benton owns over 16,759 units of UFP Industries Inc stock worth over $8,801,017 and over the last 8 years he sold UFPI stock worth over $4,028,350. Every product we make is like a barrel of whiskey that needs to be aged a certain amount of time, said Benton. Over the last 3 years, insiders at Jacobs Solutions Inc have traded over $2,142,562 worth of Jacobs Solutions Inc stock and bought 10,000 units worth $1,402,200 . Hicks who had just spoiled $25,000 worth of hams and didn't know what had happened was ready to sell the business. In her working years, Barbi Benton made significant savings, and she now leads a better lifestyle. But he kept at it, family recipe and all, resisting the urge to cheapen his process. He is seen as one of the most successful Actor of all times. "I wrote universities all over the country trying to learn more about what I was going to do," says Benton. Since his cured hams take more than a year to produce, Benton had to quickly refocus to selling other meats, such as USDA choice beef tenderloin and steak, which he continues to offer. "They would go back to wherever they came from," Benton says, "and my phone would be ringing. They sold out immediately. I said we are going to increase production on aged hams18- to 30-month hams500 percent annually. springhouse. Customers were used to buying mass-produced pork products, not heritage meats, but Benton stayed true to his mission focusing on quality products and his family recipe. And he has remained true to the time-tested family cure of salt, brown sugar, and black and red peppera methodology passed down through the generations. IN THE FALL OF 1973, Allan Bentona 1969 graduate of the UT Knoxville College of Educationquit his job as a high school guidance counselor to start curing, smoking and aging hams in a leased building in Madisonville, Tennessee. For nearly 44 years, Allan Benton has been perfecting the art of curing and smoking pork at Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams. Lucky Benton Net Worth 2022. Through his various sources of income, we believe that Dan has been able to accumulate a good net worth but prefers to keep it private. Dan Benton net worth 42.3 Million Millions of dollars 99% Net worth score Disclamer: Dan Benton net worth displayed here are calculated based on a combination social factors. 2. I just can't compete.' We have estimated Anne Benton's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets. I count my blessings every day that these chefs like what I do, he says. All you see is a sort of run-down retail operation with wood paneling from the 1960s and a not-so-well organized glass case displaying several packages of vacuum-sealed ham and bacon. Chefs and home cooks alike rave about the results. You cant just leave it in the pan and walk away. Stephanie is a popular actress, model, advocate, social activist, and, entrepreneur. Chef John Fleer, then of Blackberry Farm, was the first big name to catch on to Benton's hams and bacon. In the log cabin behind his house,Allans family cured hams. We kept our prices low$4 a pound versus $8 a pound at the grocery storesto help our customers, Benton said. November 2019. Benton, took over the business in 1973 and it was subsequently renamed and moved to its current location in Madisonville. "We're so tiny," he says. He told me that he'd helped turn country ham into a commodity product, where quality was nothing and price was everything, and that he wished that he had done what I'd done and never changed. In the log cabin behind his house, Allan's family cured hams. Chefs and home cooks alike rave about the results. Here, Benton talks about his Appalachian roots, working with celebrity chefs, and why he wont sell to Whole Foods. I sure married over my head, says Benton. Im just an ol hillbilly, Benton likes to say. Around that time, he heard that local dairy farmer Albert Hicks, who'd made decent money selling country hams to tourists, had retired. If I hadnt had the help they gave me, he says, I would never have survived.. Despite all his success, Benton remains unpretentious and grateful to be in business after 47 years. When you walk in to Bentons, its hard to imagine that its now become a famous, sought-after ham (and bacon) wanted the world over. Benton's bacon should not be fried to a crisp. "Unless it was raining. Benton figured out the problem, and then set about to make the best hams he could. ", When Allan Benton says that, he means it. Be advised, though, that high demand and low production volume can add up to a long wait. Smoke. Now, according to the Momofuku cookbook, which has an in-his-own-words interview with Allan Benton, the man who originally started the business was named Albert Hicks. In comparison, Flay's reported net worth is a meager $20 million. You want it to bend a bit without breaking., Bentons Smoky Mountain Country Hams You want it to bend a bit without breaking., Bentons Smoky Mountain Country Hams That was my goal. They were right; he might be. They farmed with horses and mules, and they raised everything they ate. She likes to say, Our dating went downhill from there, Benton says with a laugh. Playing in Division Two he set a Scottish record for the most goals he scored in a season. ", Benton goes through 13,000 or 14,000 hams each year. I'm just going to do it for as long as it lasts and not worry about it.' 2603 Hwy. Net Worth: $113 Billion Salary: $1 Million Date of Birth: Oct 28, 1955 (67 years old) Place of Birth: Seattle Gender: Male Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Profession: Entrepreneur, Programmer,. Benton's uses a traditional dry-curing method. His major source of income is from technology investors. They were married in 1974 at Vonore United Methodist Church. Just terrific. Mr. Benton and his ex-wife Anna Benton still own a penthouse on the Upper East Side that was purchased for $39 million . He says they stack the hams with the cure in this cold room for about a week, then they rework the cure salt, sugar and spices, thats it again. Larger producers like Benton's old friend Virgil Stadler, who was the largest producer of country hams in the world before he sold out to Smithfield, might cure twice as many hams in a week. Benton approached Hicks and asked to lease his old smokehouse. April 25, 2022 MADISONVILLE, Tenn. Allan Benton started selling country hams here in the 1970s, figuring he could make a better living than he did as a high school guidance counselor. $1 Million - $5 Million. The potent, provocative smell of hickory smoke draws in any visitorand anyone who tries the finished product. I had just gotten my Masters and was working as a guidance counselor in Tennessee when I looked at the salary Id make and realized I wasnt going to be able to make a living. He said, 'I wish I'd made it better, not more. Net Worth in 2021. That's not self-aggrandizement; it's aspirational. Its guarantees of the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the, What does it take to forgive someone who tried to kill you? Allan Benton is a lot humbler than a man who's built a porcine empire with his own two hands need be. Allan Benton is a lot humbler than a man who's built a porcine empire with his own two hands need be. There may have wrong or outdated info, if you find so, please let us know by leaving a comment below. Previous to Trevor's current city of Fort Worth, TX , Trevor Benton lived in North Richland Hills TX. His dry-cured and smoked hams and thick-cut bacon, made by hand the way his grandparents did, can be found on the menus of leading chefs throughout the South and beyond, including David Chang and Tom Colicchio in New York and Chris Shepherd in Houston. Dan came into the limelight of the media because of his wife Stephanie March. His. According to her full date of birth, her zodiac sign is Scorpio. According to different reports, Benton has an approximate net worth of around $8 million. In 2018, Benton bought a $34.62 million penthouse in a Manhattan building along with his wife Stephanie March. Bentons grandparents cured country hams in a log smokehouse behind their house. Serious, serious smoke. Tomato Head in Knoxville was the first downtown restaurant that I ever sold to. Never Say NeverWe tap into the ingenuity and grit at the heart of every American to prove that a little faith goes a long way. Jed Portman is a food journalist who has written articles about Southern cuisine and culture for Serious Eats. It was 1973 when Allan started looking around for a new job opportunity. But the story of how a former high-school guidance counselor went from side-of-the-road anonymity to international culinary superstardom, with nothing but word-of-mouth to boost him, is an unlikely one. Sharon Benton married the country ham and bacon curer Allan Benton, of Madisonville, Tennessee, right around the time he left the schoolhouse for the smokehouse. "Allan Benton might be the nicest man on earth." In 2023, Glen Benton's net worth was estimated to be $400 Thousand. I heard about a gentleman out in the country by the name of Albert Hicks, who had a tiny little country ham business in his backyard that he quit about six months earlier. Barbi Benton reportedly has a net worth of $20 . Darrell Benton is a radiologist with the Abercrombie Group in Knoxville. Over the ensuing decades, and her own long career in education, she has contributed to her family and community in ways that are comparable to her husband's hard work but may go unrecognized by people who merely know Sharon as the ham . The only disappointing news we heard out of Arthur was that Bentons doesnt get its hams locally. All night long chefs kept coming up to me and asking me if I could sell them that product. I was giving my product away. After wed made our purchases, we were toying with the idea of heading over to Blackberry Farm for lunch before going on the rest of our journey. Estimation. But despite all the recognition, Benton still describes himselfin his thick Southern drawlas a country hillbilly just trying to make a great quality product.. #westminsterdogshow #bestinshow #bestinbreed #tacocat #familyviewing. Salary in 2020. And despite his god-like reputation among chefs and ham enthusiasts the world over, he must be one of the least pretentious figures in the culinary world. But instead, as you can see here, see the smokehouse is just off a rural highway. 411 North, Madisonville, Tenn. Tom Colicchio was the first chef to take Benton's products back to New York. A poke around at some of the press clippings, photos and other knick knacks: While we were deciding what we wanted, Arthur told us hed been working at Bentons since before Allan Benton took over. He was flabbergasted. (Unless you count, I guess, the hams that Allan Benton was talking about that farmers bring him to cure.) Bobby Flay's former wife Stephanie March has found love again with hedge funder Daniel Benton, . We had outdoor toilets. She hosts the weekly shows The Connected Table LIVE! and Fearless Fabulous You! (on iHeart and other podcast platforms) and is food editor for Sant Magazine. Dan Benton Investor. Was I ever amazed!, The coolest thing was inviting Allan and his wife, Sharon, to Blackberry Farm for the first time for dinner, and having him see us using his product in ways he would not have imagined, Fleer said. At one point, he called and said hed been playing around with my product, and he wanted to develop a menu at Blackberry around our products and was wondering if it was OK to put my name on the menu. He is a white man, registered to vote in Wake county and affiliated with the Democrat Party since January 1 1984. He brought them over in an old blue pickup with a cab on the back., Benton said: Back when chef Fleer called me up, I had no idea what Blackberry Farm was. As a successful rapper, he had amassed a sizable portion of his net worth. They stay in the cold room for about two months: After that, they hang the hams upside down in netting, which gives them a prettier shape. They stay that way for between one to two months, then he flips them over to hang by the shank, because they dry better that way and by then theyve got the right shape.. When East Tennessee had slaughterhouses in the area, a hog would be butchered on Thursday, cut on Friday and delivered to Benton on Monday. Before the pandemic, Bentons cured between 17,000 and 18,000 hams a year in its 18,000-square-foot building. And without refrigeration, they had to process the meat quickly. We 're so tiny, '' he says, I thought about it on my drive back New., Spear said or 14,000 hams each year in his tracks, like a dog. It. will buy my dang products from a computer chef to take Benton products! Thought about it on my drive back to Madisonville the results sell that. Urge to cheapen his process take it off hams a year in its 18,000-square-foot building in Houston,.... Was that Bentons doesnt get its hams locally work as a successful rapper, he says Tennessee... 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