CUISINE
V
ermont’s Mad River Valley is home to Sugarbush Resort and Mad River Glen—arguably the best skiing in the Northeast. In any season there’s a heart to those vales, and it is adorable Warren, Vermont, with the finest covered bridge you ever
saw, the beloved Warren Store, and The Pitcher Inn. Handsomely composed outside, few expect the imaginative design within. It can only be the work of the Smith family, creators of exceptional Winvian Farm. As The Pitcher Inn marks 20 years in 2018, everyone’s talking about Chef De Cuisine Michael Bove. A protégé of Winvian’s illustrious Chef Chris Eddy, Bove belongs
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to an elite new group of chefs making their mark on the Relais & Châteaux stage. His domain is the Inn’s superb restaurant, 275 Main. “I was immersed not only in culinary creativity, but in Chef Eddy’s ‘seed-to-table’ philosophy,” Bove says. “When I think about food and what excites me now, I come back to the idea of ‘simple elegance’—ingredients done in a way that can be enjoyed sensorily.” Intriguing items like beet salad bursting with citrus, ultra-light ricotta gnocchi, and flawless duck breast in a Concord grape-port reduction accentuate his
the point of smaller menu choices that are made perfectly each time, allowing guests to truly enjoy.” That joy follows you to bed. In the Trout Suite, for example, a decoupage whopper hangs in a freecasting fantasy, forest details everywhere, vintage fishing tackle, a grand hand-carved bed, and a babbling brook below. All 11 rooms and suites are similarly, astoundingly ingenious. —Owen McDonald
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PITCHER INN; CHIVES: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
“My goal is to keep it fresh and delicious,” Bove says. “Fresh to
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TOP PHOTO: COURTESY OF MAGEE HOMESTEAD; BOTTOM: CHaTEAU PEYFAURES
tasteful vision.