Tasting Counter X Près des Prés– Collaboration Dinner –
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a year since we closed our restaurant. Recently, we invited members from our past team to come together for a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience. Chef Abby Duck (who as many of you will remember used to work with us at Tasting Counter) is now the chef of Près des Prés in Gordonsville, VA and invited us for a special collaboration dinner. We were thrilled to have this unique opportunity to get back together again with this team!Locally foraged items were the main attraction in this hyper locally-sourced two-night dining event. Abby and Peter worked together with a local forager, Gabrielle Cerberville, who sourced countless items from around the area for the menu, such as wild ginger, wild watercress, cow parsnip, sweet woodruff, aniseroot, cedar, stinging nettles, garlic mustard, chickweed, beach rose, mugwort, sochan, spruce tips, field garlic, knotweed, magnolia bulbs, and edible flowers, especially violets, cherry blossoms and black locust flowers. Gabrielle even brought her own mugolio syrup made from last year’s pine cones.It was wonderful to have everyone together again, with everyone graciously contributing to the unique process. The dinner resonated incredibly well with the guests, many of whom had never considered these foraged items as edible. In true collaborative spirit, the weekend was a synergy of Chef Abby’s restaurant style with some TC classics, such as gremolata dumplings (made with foraged field garlic, garlic mustard and sochan) with sea urchin sauce and schisandra berries as well, however this time in sorbet form.We reactivated the TC spirit as we took over the kitchen and dining room, assuming familiar roles in an unfamiliar setting. Being alongside one another again, engaging in creative food discussions, and rebuilding that muscle memory from our time together was truly restorative. Our synergy was fully activated as we shared this new experience with the familiarity of time and work that now felt different from before. Until next time!
WE'RE MOVING TO THE BERKSHIRES!
Aside from our recent collaboration dinner (with more to come), we’ve been busy planning our next restaurant. Well over 10 years ago, when we were first scouting for the original location of Tasting Counter, we began our search in Great Barrington, MA. The “farm to table” ethos of our restaurant was always meant to be surrounded by kitchen gardens and farmland, not limited to a grow wall in a repurposed factory. Life has a way of creating opportunity and we took a leap of faith opening in Somerville.Now we’re aspiring toward our life-long dream of building our restaurant in the countryside with a direct connection to nature, focusing on Southern Berkshire County, a community already ripe with dense farmland, great restaurants and an eager dining audience. This is where cultivating our food will be fully integrated into the dining experience, ideally situated equidistant between Boston and New York City.With a whole systems approach to food sourcing, service, and industry culture, we aim to transform the experience of connecting through food for our staff, guests, purveyors, and beyond. We’re actively searching for 20+ acres of land to be the location of our new restaurant, which will ultimately be surrounded by kitchen gardens and a small farm.As we continue to reach out and develop networking connections with local stakeholders in the area, we are also looking for unique off-market opportunities for our restaurant project. The hunt is on for anyone looking to transform their land into a truly one-of-a-kind dining destination!
A Taste of Great Barrington
With our visits to the Berkshires in search of land, we've also been touring the food scene, getting to know area restaurants and discovering new flavors of the region. It's been so invigorating to meet those who share our passion for serving guests by sourcing locally to support local farmers and focusing on fresh, natural flavors.We had a really great dinner at Cafe Adam, where between courses we discussed the lack of local housing for hospitality workers with our server. We then headed over to MoonCloud to sip on some delicious cocktails as we chatted with Chef Josh Irwin, echoing issues related to the housing shortage, however, this time about Josh's involvement with regional community organizations to secure affordable rent. The next day, we had a wonderful brunch at No Comply Foods and spoke with Chef Steve Browning. Among several poignant topics, we discussed pay standards for hospitality professionals and again, how that related to securing affordable housing within the vicinity of the workplace.We gained such high hopes from our conversations as we continue to explore the region and meet people who share our ideas on how to evolve the hospitality industry. It's the same regenerative principles we used to create a conscious and equitable kitchen culture that we're now discussing with other restaurant stakeholders, which we will continue to integrate into our next restaurant project. But the very first step is to understand the current challenges and learn about the work that is already underway toward transforming the local hospitality industry.Step by step, we're making connections and starting to build the foundation for the future of Tasting Counter in the Berkshires!
