A SPRAWLING
COLLECTION of
counties, upstate
NewYork’s Hudson
Valley has become a hub of urban
distilleries, artisan breweries, hillside
vineyards, small-scale farming operations
and paddock-to-plate dining experiences.
As a result, where once the notoriously
high cost of living in Manhattan pushed
young people into neighbouring Brooklyn
and Queens, the next generation is
now migratingnorthtothehomeof
’
forward-thinking of its time. Since opening
in 2004, his purposeful approach to food
and agriculture has permeated the ethos
of restaurants around the world. Barber
considers the farm and restaurant equal
counterparts; a symbiotic relationship
where one cannot exist without the other.
Produce is grown both locally in the
Hudson Valley and at Barber’s family farm
in Massachusetts, and dishes are curated
by the chefs daily depending on what is
in season and available.
At BlueHill,guestsareinvitedtodishes: wedges of just-dried peach with
a smattering of poppyseeds; a corn
cob-infused ‘lemonade’ that takes the
concept of waste-free to the next level;
and a lip-smacking savoury pepper and
watermelon gazpacho that makes me
completely reassess my stance on cold
soup. A curious dish of sunflower ‘marrow’- made by extracting the gummy white
plant flesh from the stalk – enthralls. The
creamy marrow is served with the raw
fresh seeds and delicate yellow flower
petals. Waitstaff theatrically shepherd the
human-sized flowers around the dining
room as they explain the dish, allowing the
ingredients to tell the story of the land.
It’s a dining experience that combines
extraordinary elegance with precision
and playfulness. Our first 10 courses are
served without cutlery, and as the meal
progresses, we’re invited to eat slices of
beef served on the polished shoulder
bone of a cow, alongside slices of
trombocino squash that has been
preserved and air-dried in a waxy layer of
the beef fat. By course 18, we’re plucking
fried duck feet from a pile of dried grass
and confidently discerning between the
flavours of two single-udder house-
churned butters from Blue Hill cows Alice
and Billy. A mid-meal excursion delights,
with a plate of deliciously ripe summer
tomatoes accompanied by a bouquet of
herbsandmilkygoat’scheeseserved in
CHARD
BOLL
STONE
BARNS
STAFF
PHOTOGRAPH
JADE
NINA
SARKHEL