From Nigerian cuisine to the tastes of the Southwest, Chile, and Black Americana, the new lineup will have you making reservations — and ordering meal kits.
Blue Hill and Stone Barns have officially launched the first ‘season’ of its new chef-in-residency program, and it even includes DIY options.
Read More: Blue Hill at Stone Barns Is Launching a Brand-New Chef Residency
This past summer, Westchester’s foodie community rose into a furor amid rumors that Blue Hill at Stone Barns might be closing — rumors which almost immediately proved spurious as the newly Michelin-crowned farm-to-table restaurant announced the launch of a brand-new chef-in-residency program in partnership with the Stone Barns Center that promised new, rotating flavors and personalities from internationally acclaimed chefs. Now, we’re getting our first taste of the kitchen lineup, including what you can expect from these talented chefs.
Chef Shola Olunloyo has the distinction of kicking off the first season of Chef in Residence at Stone Barns, which runs until May 2021. Olunloyo leads the kitchen through February 6, using the farm’s bounty to create unique dishes drawing from the roots of Nigerian cuisine. Dishes include spiced carrot soup, steamed cranberry bean cakes with lobster, fish with green mango tapenade, and spiced goat. To celebrate the inauguration of the residency, Obama-era White House pastry Chef Bill Yosses complements the dinner with pre-colonial traditional Nigerian sweets for dessert.
“It’s an honor to partner with the farmers, chefs, and artisans across Stone Barns for this program,” says Olunloyo. “The possibility of moving the food system in a health-conscious, sustainable direction both for people and the environment is evident when you get farmers and chefs engaged and committed to novel approaches with synergy.”
The season will continue with Esquire‘s 2020 Chef of the Year Chef Omar Tate (February 7 through March 13), featuring a Black History Month-apropos menu exploring traditional African American cuisine; Chef Johnny Ortiz (March 17 through April 10), formerly of the three-Michelin-star Saison, spotlighting indigenous southwestern cooking; and Chef Victoria Blamey (April 14 through May 8), New York Times three-star former chef of Gotham Bar & Grill, exploring the palate of her Chilean heritage.
Chef Dan Barber, co-owner of Blue Hill, says, “Each of these chefs will explore the intersection of cooking and farming — but also culture, identity, community, and health — as they cook their way to a vision for food that is so much greater than the sum of its parts.”
“It’s critical for us as farmers to partner with the chefs who bring the fruits of the earth to life on the plate,” adds Stone Barns Center Farm Director Jack Algiere. “We are excited to explore what a truly sustainable food culture could look like by collaborating with these groundbreaking culinary innovators.”
Dinners will be served Wednesday through Sunday and lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets for each sitting are $250 per person, or $1,000 for a full four-chef combo.
If you’re still not comfortable or able to dine socially distanced (or if you’re balking at that price tag), have no fear: Each chef’s residency also includes a meal kit-styled resourcED box, allowing residents to pick up carefully selected ingredients and craft a chef-inspired menu right in their own homes. The Olunloyo box includes veggies, grains, and proteins all ready for you to enjoy a Nigerian-flavored dinner for two, all for just $75.
