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Media Contact: Where Farm to Table is a Tradition, Not a Trend Twin Farms, 2010 - Dining is a huge part of the Twin Farms experience, and with room rates including all meals, wine and liquor, the culinary excellence has played an important role in the resort’s annual Forbes 5-Star (formerly Mobil) status. Thanks in large part to the wonderful food, Twin Farms has also been ranked Number One Small Hotel in the Nation by the Zagat Survey and Number One US Hideaway by Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report. Today the terms “localvore, natural, farm to table, organic, and farmer’s market,” are tossed about haphazardly as restaurants seek to cash in on diners’ interest in eating food that is both better and better for you, but in Vermont and at Twin Farms this is no recent fad: the Green Mountain State has long blazed the path for small organic farmers, healthy specialty products, natural livestock, and pure dairy, and the tiny state is home to more artisanal cheesemakers than any other. For 11 years, Chef Ted Ask, a graduate of the prestigious New England Culinary Institute (NECI), has been combing the back roads of northern New England to find the very best such purveyors, and what he can’t get, he and the Twin Farms staff grow themselves in the resort’s extensive gardens. While many hotels have added herb gardens, Twin Farms takes this idea to the extreme, with many finished menu items literally produced from the ground up: for instance, Chef Ask makes his polenta from corn grown, dried and ground entirely on site; his myriad house made pastas use Vermont’s famed King Arthur flours and are often flavored with arugula, spinach and other vegetables grown and dried on-site; even the compound butters served alongside house made breads and rolls are infused with flavors straight from the Twin Farms’ gardens. It’s a simple fact of cooking that everyone from the grandest 3-Star Michelin French chefs to the foodie customers agree on: the best meals start with the best ingredients. To this end, Chef Ask focuses on fresh, which typically means local, natural, and reliable, forging relationships with the region’s best famers and food craftsmen. Most days his dinner menu is not set until a morning trip to nearby organic Fable Farm, where he is the sole commercial customer. Alongside the farm’s owners, he picks the day’s perfect produce from which to craft meals. Likewise, all the beef and lamb served at Twin Farms is grass fed and naturally raised, from New England Family Farms, the pork from locally raised heirloom breeds, the poultry from Vermont’s natural Misty Knoll Chicken farm. Even the quail and venison are locally and sustainably raised. This concept is not limited to food: the wine glasses and coffee cups are locally made by master glass blower Simon Pierce and cheese boards come from nationally renowned custom furniture maker Charles Shackleton, both located just down the road. “We are in the best place in the entire country for local food,” explains Ask. “It is not a fad, it’s a movement, and Vermont is leading the way. The biggest problem for the small farmer is getting their products to the restaurant’s door. They might grow the most perfect apples you can imagine, but they have just 20 trees, so I spend a lot of time driving around to these places. I think of Fable Farms and our other growers as an extension of my kitchen walk-in, and I am out there in the fields with my order pad.” Even the resort’s elaborate plating presentations start at the soil. “I wanted to garnish a dish with a trio of ultra-fresh cherry tomatoes still on the vine, so I had them picked that way, in threes, that day. You just can’t get that in any store.” Of course, perfect ingredients alone do not make perfect meals. For that Twin Farms relies on its incredibly well equipped kitchen, a large experienced staff led by Chef Ask, and impeccable service. No detail is overlooked – linens, placemats and table decorations are changed daily to provide different experiences, and from spring to fall, floral centerpieces are all picked from the resort’s flower gardens. These are the culinary highlights of the Twin Farms guest experience:
The typical day at Twin Farms is never typical, but might start with the house breakfast specialty, lighter than air soufflé pancakes filled with seasonal fresh fruit, and might end with a special order of warm cookies delivered to the cottage. In between, guests experience a world of flavors representing various cuisines, but built on the freshest, purest ingredients possible, presented where and when they want, and accompanied with a wide selection of fine wines, house pressed juices and Vermont micro-brewed beers. This experience does not end at check out – every guest who wants to leaves armed with a carefully packed lunch for the road, reflecting the basic principles that win the kitchen at Twin Farms acclaim and awards, year after year. About Twin Farms: Twin Farms is a unique country estate get-away for all seasons situated on over three hundred acres of wildflower meadows, hardwood forests, ancient gardens and private ponds in Barnard, Vermont, just ten miles north of picturesque Woodstock. The twenty accommodations of Twin Farms are comprised of 10 Suites in the Main House, Lodge and the Farmhouse at Copper Hill and 10 individual free-standing cottages privately situated on our three hundred country side acres. The architecture of Twin Farms honors the classic New England tradition in building and design, every structure serene and balanced. Exteriors of stone and pine, maple and brick evoke the classic Vermont Cape-style farmhouse. Twin Farms holds the following accolades: Rates begin at $1300 per day for two and are fully inclusive. Reservations can be made by calling (800) Twin-Farms (894-6327) or via email at info@twinfarms.com. |
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Tel: 800-894-6327 Email: info@twinfarms.com
