Charles Hudson (The Chef) Founder & President
Charles Hudson has over 25 years of experience in the food industry, the last 8 of which have been exclusively in value added food product research and development.  Charles is certified by the Association of Food & Drug Officials to train individuals in designing and managing seafood Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point monitoring programs. His other areas of expertise include  Grant Research, Grant Writing, Grant Management, and Business Planning.  He holds an AS in Culinary Technology from Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College and a BS in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. 

Sally Hudson (The Farmer) Vice President 
Sally has worked in the Aquaculture Industry for almost 30 years.   As CEO of her family’s 3rd generation farm, she has brought the company to that of being nationally recognized, reaching annual sales of more than $2 million.  She is a self-proclaimed “disaster management specialist”.  In that role, she has had to lead her company through several unexpected disasters, bringing about positive change as a result of those struggles .  Sally also enjoys acting as consultant on any aspect of business, and she enjoys public speaking.  She is drawn to new challenges, hence this venture with Charlie as “chef and farmer”.  Says Sally, “I have worked with Charlie for 9 years.  During that time, I have come to appreciate his tenacity, penchant for solving big dilemmas, attention to detail, and remarkable vision.

Ashley Hayes, Sales Manager & Social Media Marketer
Ashley has over 18 years of retail and wholesale sales experience, and most recently worked  Inside Sales at Brasstown Beef. She is passionate about the food industry and attended classes at Guilford Tech’s culinary school. Her husband Adam is the Executive Chef at Canyon Kitchen, and together they have two children, Vivian and Jackson. In her free time, Ashley enjoys freelance design work with furniture companies and blogging at A Fashion Foodie. She enjoys working at Sunburst Chef and Farmer because the company is family-oriented and appreciates high quality food.

Erica Blumenfield
Erica is our newest full-time member to the team working as our Greenhouse Manager. She has over 8 years of agriculture experience, mainly in organic vegetable production. She has a BA in Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College and a Masters in Agricultural Education from NCSU. She has worked on farms all across the country, and most recently relocated back to Asheville from farming and skiing in Montana.

Lurrisia Hendrix "Poof", Executive Assistant
​Lurissia has spent the past 20+ years in the Financial Industry before finally escaping this year. During her career in Community Banking, she held many positions which included: Customer Service, Branch Manager, Corporate Secretary, Marketing, Shareholder Relations, Event Coordinator and Human Resource Director.  Lurrisia met Sally in 2006 when she (as a Bank Officer) and Sally (as a Bank Director) were part of an organizing team that opened a local "Start-up Bank" in Western North Carolina. It was during that time, Sally and Lurrisia talked of working together someday and finally in 2016, circumstances finally allowed it.  Lurrisia loves new challenges and is a explorer by nature. She is a self-described realistic optimist. She earned her trail name "Poof" (AKA Poofadora) from her best hiking buddy. He says she always brings a little magic with her.

August Forbes, Special Projects
August comes from a background in education and taught high school social studies in Ware Shoals, South Carolina for three years prior to moving to Asheville. She holds a BS in History and Secondary Education from Lander University and is certified in AP US History, gifted and talented education, and Teacher Cadet. During college,  August worked as the Assistant Director of Education for Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston, SC; She is currently a volunteer driver and Board Member for Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County and a member of the Junior League of Asheville.