About LG
Lilly-Gray has had a camera or cooking utensil in her hands for nearly her entire life. Born in Raleigh, she spent a significant amount of time in Eastern North Carolina, primarily on the coast. These early years on and near the ocean had a large influence on her photography, cooking and overall upbringing.
Many know Lilly-Gray for her career in food & wine. Graduating from East Carolina University with a bachelors in Hospitality Management, she went onto working in fine dining as a chef for many years followed by various jobs in the wine industry with her final role as a Cellar Master for a top 100 winery in the world.
In 2016, Lilly-Gray traveled to Oregon to work her first harvest as a cellar assistant in a winery with no more than a 60L hiking backpack and a 6wt fly rod in tow. This departure from North Carolina inspired Lilly-Gray to continue her travels and pursue freelance work for a number of years. Her work took her from Oregon to Seattle, then Florida to the Caribbean and back. All the while, never forgetting her roots in Eastern North Carolina.
Lilly-Gray is currently rebuilding her farm from the ground up - she is focusing on building a regenerative and sustainable farm program. Right now, she is raising heritage-breed ducks as layers, rebuilding soil structure through the use of cover crops, clearing invasive plants from the future flower patch, and getting a new home ready for the bee boxes that are due to arrive in the fall of 2023.