DINING
Destination USA
BLACKBERRY FARM, TENNESSEE
Blackberry Farm stands on terrain that sustained the Cherokee and early Appalachians; now, those lands provide for the resort’s forager, livestock team, cheesemaker and preservationist, who, together with a team of chefs, create what Blackberry Farm calls “foothills cuisine”. This refined, elevated take on Southern staples has equal footing in haute cuisine and indigenous Great Smoky Mountains heritage foods, and is so central to the dining experience that it’s trademarked. “Foothills cuisine has been part of the terminology at the farm for a long time. Each chef who’s taken the helm gets to interpret what it means to them,” says Cassidee Dabney, executive chef at The Barn at Blackberry Farm, a distinctive red-walled structure at the heart of the 1,700-hectare property. In spring, she cooks with ingredients that yield bright flavours, such as young garlic, sweet onions and strawberries, before foraging for chanterelle mushrooms in July. In autumn, squash, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts abound, and once winter rolls around, the team gets busy pickling and preserving to stretch the farm’s flavours across all seasons. The farm makes its own beer and seasonal cheeses, and runs tastings and classes in both. You can also taste some of the cellar’s 160,000 wines, dive into the South’s lauded whiskey traditions with a drinks expert, and sign up for activities that include archery, clay shooting, cycling or wakeboarding. In parallel with its on-site culinary programme, the farm welcomes guest chefs, such as Noma founder and champion of the New Nordic movement René Redzepi. It also offers an extensive year-round programme of events – think concerts by the likes of country superstars Emmylou Harris and Kacey Musgraves, and beauty seminars with organic cosmetics entrepreneur Tata Harper – so guests can ensure their visit coincides with an event of personal interest. Tennessee was the first state to cultivate American truffles, and a popular fixture is February’s truffle hunt. Borrow one of the farm’s famous truffle-hunting Lagotto Romagnolo dogs for a week of demonstrations in a nearby orchard, then settle down for a feast of fungus.
THE WILLOWS INN, WASHINGTON
The Washington State coastline is known for its rugged beauty, but Lummi Island, 160 kilometres north of Seattle and 50 south of the 49th parallel, has something else: The Willows Inn. It’s among America’s best restaurants, helmed by one of the country’s brightest culinary talents. Prior to moving to Washington eight years ago – where he was named a best new chef by Food & Wine magazine and collected three James Beard awards – head chef Blaine Wetzel worked under René Redzepi at Noma. You can trace his New Nordic experience in the 20-course tasting menu: each ingredient is sourced from the island and the surrounding waters to create a dining experience that tells the story of its own domain. Pink singing scallops and black radish are followed by just-poached spot prawns crowned with their own roe; meat courses might include elk tartare with wild herbs and rye bread, and whole barbecued lamb with rosemary and anchovies. You’ll also get vegetables adapted to the northern climate and grown at the restaurant’s small farm. Even the bar at The Willows – the only one on the island – reflects the seasons, offering cocktails anchored by infusions that shift as the different flowers and herbs appear. You don’t have to spend the night, but a stay at one of the inn’s eight pared-back rooms or stand-alone suites on nearby farmland, beach or cliff affords more hours to appreciate Lummi’s untamed wildness, fishing, crabbing or spotting the San Juan archipelago’s native orcas. If not, it’s a seven-minute ferry ride between Lummi Island and the mainland.
TWIN FARMS, VERMONT
Vermont has a sensorial connection to seasonality. A glance at its thickly forested mountains (from which the state takes its name) is enough to pinpoint the month – New Yorkers schedule road trips to “leaf-peep” the dramatic autumn foliage – and the produce from its expansive farmlands is legendary. So fresh and abundant is the latter, in fact, that chef Nathan Rich at the adults-only, all-inclusive Twin Farms hotel sources all of his ingredients, most daily, from within a radius of less than 10 kilometres. “Spring is an exciting time,” says Rich. “We have ramps [wild leeks], morels and wild watercress. As we move into summer, I especially love the heirloom tomatoes we grow — the colours and flavours are outstanding.” Guests have an open invitation to bike or walk to visit producers such as Kiss the Cow Farm, where Rich procures ducks, chickens, turkeys, eggs and veal, and Edmunds Maple Hill Farm, which produces maple syrup and seasonal berries, and to enjoy the day’s culinary offering anywhere on the property – perhaps on the terrace cocooned by garden, atop Ski Hill or in the wine cellar – though each season lends itself to certain experiences. In spring, picnic on cold poached Maine lobster, tamari-grilled Cavendish quail and truffled local potatoes in a shady, secluded grove; in winter, enjoy s’mores and cognac in Adirondack chairs around the fire, against a starlit backdrop. “If it’s a late-night grilled cheese sandwich you seek, or a five-course inroom dining experience, where we set up your cottage as if it were a private restaurant, we have you covered too,” Rich adds. No one would blame you for wanting to hole up in your lodgings – Twin Farms offers 20 charming, luxurious accommodations rich in wood and stone, including 10 free-standing cottages, all with fireplaces, screened verandas and art pieces from the owners’ eclectic private collection. But when you do feel like venturing out, 120 hectares of forest, meadows and fully stocked ponds await you, as well as plenty of activities – biking, hiking, croquet, snowshoeing – to help you enjoy it all.
SINGLETHREAD FARMS, CALIFORNIA
Healdsburg in Sonoma County wine country has always been a popular weekend destination for Northern California natives, especially in the last five years as chic, boutique lodgings and stellar places to sip and dine at have proliferated. But when the restaurant, farm and inn SingleThread opened in late 2016, its refined, Californian kaiseki-style tasting menu began to draw well-heeled gastronomes from much further afield. Guided by omotenashi, the Japanese style of hospitality that anticipates a guest’s every need, husband and wife team Kyle and Katina Connaughton, chef and farmer at SingleThread respectively, have designed the experience as an elevated extension of their own home (which, incidentally, is a block away). The dinner experience begins atop the twostorey, white-pillared building at sunset, with champagne and views of the town’s pretty, treelined streets, the Mayacamas mountains and beyond. Diners are then gradually welcomed to the first-floor, 52-seat dining area for the first of 11 courses: a series of light bites, beautifully arranged over a moss-and-flower-strewn piece of driftwood. They’re designed to showcase this moment in Sonoma, particularly on Katina’s two farms – the surrounding rooftop garden and a five-acre plot in the nearby San Lorenzo vineyards – each day. Menus are inherently seasonal, but dishes might include guinea hen with matsutake mushrooms, and black cod Fukkura-san with leeks, chamomile dashi and brassicas, accompanied by a standard and reserved wine pairing anchored by back-catalogue California producers, although à la carte global selections are well represented. “Each course is important, conveying something individually,” explains Kyle, who developed his signature East-meetsWest style of cooking at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Beverly Hills, Michel Bras’ Toya Japon and The Fat Duck in England. “This is the moment when something can be really small, but you can pack something impactful into one or two bites. It’s also part of a large narrative – like the structure of a novella, there’s an ebb and flow to how things build up and come down.”