F
ood destination hotels are a hot item these days. People travel far and wide to eat farm-to-table foods— homegrown, healthy, and delicious. But when you combine autumn in Vermont with a charming 1792 inn and offer gourmet food— both casual dining and five-star, sevencourse meals—you’ve got a true gem. Just 20 miles south of Woodstock, my husband and I wended our way along country roads, passing farms, wildflowers, and grazing cows. Almost missing the sign, we turned down a tree-lined drive and got our first glimpse of the inn, looking very much like a Southern mansion with its imposing facade of two-story white columns and a wide porch. This unique inn and its 12 guest rooms are inviting and comfortable, with all the modern conveniences (flat-screen TV, gas fireplace, private bathroom). But its crowning jewel might be Chef Jean-Luc Matécat. Just 33, he is well on his way to becoming a renowned chef.
Around 1900, a two-story porch addition gave the inn its Southern style.
“I am married to my job,” he says, and it shows. He is passionate about his creations and devoted to preparing the finest-quality foods he can find and delivering them to diners with stunning presentations. Working with fresh produce and meats from the local farms well into the night to prepare his culinary delights, Jean-Luc is exacting. He even planted his own gardens in raised beds at the back of the inn. “I’m crazy for home-grown tomatoes!” he exclaims. The leeks he planted were his grandmother’s seeds from France. “All the vegetables I grow are heirloom.” His Parisian father, Patrick Matécat, was the longtime executive chef of The Common Man in Waitsfield and a former NECI culinary instructor. Jean-Luc’s mother is from Norwich, Vermont, and one of the reasons he is living in the Green Mountain State. “I graduated from culinary school in California and went to work at The Pearl restaurant in Nantucket for eight years. During the off seasons, I cooked in Thailand, France, and at Clio and No. 9 Park in Boston. But I always wanted to come back to Vermont. It was a lifestyle choice,” he says.
Creating an Experience The Weathersfield Inn has changed hands many times over the years. Marilee and Richard Spanjian, originally
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