A culinary adventure awaits you down winding dirt roads and through the woodlands that skirt the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Twin Farms has been a luxurious getaway for individuals wishing to escape the stress and bustle of everyday life for the past thirty years, and they are now ready for their next big moment.
Executive Chef Nathan Rich is meticulous when it comes to food and beverage at the Relais & Chateaux and hotel, and every element is carefully considered to provide guests with the most authentically New England experience possible. The dining experience at the hotel is the definition of farm-to-table, from collaborating with local artisans on the dinnerware to procuring regional ingredients for his meals. That’s why, during the epidemic, the team devised a new dining experience that would build on what they’d been offering for years in order to boost their food program. Twiggs, which opened earlier this month, now offers a relaxed atmosphere with hearty, excellent food.
“We have folks who come for four or five days and we wanted to provide them more dining options,” Rich explained. “It’s considerably more rustic and casual at Twiggs, yet it still stays loyal to the best of Vermont.”
The dining experience at the main house, which has been the focal point of the hotel’s culinary services since its inception in 1993, is unique in that there is no set menu. It’s a daily rotating sampling, so diners are surprised with something different every night. Some of the components are cultivated on-site, while those that aren’t are usually sourced within a few miles. However, as Rich pointed out, sometimes people just want something simple and not a multi-course meal. Twiggs has an a la carte menu that allows diners to grab and go, with hearty classics such as house-made pasta, stews, soups, and individual pies that are cycled out each month.
“When you’ve been flying all day, whether, from New York or Los Angeles, you might not want to unpack your baggage and then sit down for a six- or seven-course tasting menu,” Rich explained. “So you can just come down here and get a burger or some roasted fish to help you relax.”
Interior designer Michaelis Boyd and architecture company TruexCullins renovated the 54-seat restaurant with surprises around every corner, from hidden monkeys in the wallpaper to dazzling splashes of color. There are plenty of earth tones and windows surrounding the space that face out into the manicured gardens and woodlands. The facility is housed in what was formerly the lounge and has roughly doubled in size to incorporate a cutting-edge kitchen. But the possibility to connect with customers while in the kitchen was at the top of Rich and his team’s priority list. “I want folks to feel like they can drop by the kitchen to say hello or see what we’re up to,” Rich explained.
To emphasize such contact, the team decided not to include any doors leading into the kitchen. In addition, they constructed a series of windows from the outdoor patio area that looks into the kitchen, giving guests an inside look at what they may expect when dining at the restaurant. “It’s a little theater,” Rich explained.
The 14-seat bar expands on that concept, with seating filling the whole area. It’s partially contained within the previously enclosed porch that overlooks a water lily-covered pond, but what’s behind the bar is the true draw. While the hotel’s extensive wine collection will still be available, the major focus will be on whiskey and gin—the hotel collaborated with Barr Hill Gin to produce their own cask that’s distilled with honey from their private hive. The objective is to lean towards non-wine pairings that complement your dinner, and both whiskey and gin have complex flavor profiles that do precisely that.
“As a hotel, one thing that is essential to us is that we constantly aim to be whimsical,” Rich remarked. “We try to keep it entertaining and interesting everywhere you go in the hotel and everything you do.”
And I believe they were successful. The team definitely attempts to bring out the joy in everyone, from hosted picnics spread around the 300-acre property with spectacular vistas to cocktails created with their own gin, fly fishing lessons on the lake to yoga by the pond.
‘It’s like adult summer camp,’ remarked one visitor. ‘You’re surrounded by nature, have a variety of activities to select from, and can close up the day with a fantastic meal and a wonderful drink.’