Fearrington House is ringing in the New Year with a number of projects designed to improve the guest experience.  Here’s a sneak peak at our first completion: a handsome new upstairs reception space at the Restaurant.

If you’ve dined upstairs, it’s probably been in RB’s Office, a large room seating up to 20 people with windows on three sides. To get there, you’ve passed through a cozy upstairs landing area and may have seen another dining room to your left. While RB’s Office gets positive reviews, the small size and low ceiling height of the other rooms in this former farm house, made them a bit unappealing. More...

In the garden, Allium tuberosum (garlic chives) really pulls its weight this time of year. It takes the heat in the Piedmont, reliably blooms a spray of white blossoms about now, attracts butterflies and bees, and as we'll discuss below, is a welcome addition to many dishes.

This past weekend, the buds began opening here in the White Garden.  Each bud contains many individual flowers arranged in an umbel.  The buds, flowers, leaves and bulbs of this Allium are all edible and, to garlic lovers, delicious.  In about a month, as the seed pods begin to mature but before the seeds are black, the tiny green three-lobed pods give the strongest garlic flavor of any part of the plant.  More...

The Fearrington Granary, one of the Triangle’s most popular lunch and brunch restaurants, announces a significant expansion of the restaurant. Changes include a diverse and exceptionally delicious bar and grill menu; an expansive community bar area; and evening hours starting today! Details include:

• Evening service Mondays through Saturdays; lunch hours now 7 days a week;
• A dinner menu designed by Executive Chef Colin Bedford emphasizing Grilled Steaks, Pork Chops, Smoked Chicken and Fresh Fish, with the choice of 6 house-made Sauces; 12 small plates (from Deviled Eggs to Truffled Parmesan French Fries to Roasted Beef Tips w/Madeira Sauce); 10 salads (including The Wedge, Shaved Fennel and Grilled Flank Steak Salads or Grilled Chicken Salads); 7 sandwiches (Pulled-Pork Sliders to a magnificent Croque Monsieur); and 7 House-made Desserts (including the mini Beltie Ice Cream Sandwich and Chocolate Banana Pudding with Caramel Ice Cream).
• Wines and draft beers selected by Max Kast, the Fearrington House Sommelier, offer a range in price, from $4 pints and $5 glasses.
• A full service bar created by noted Chapel Hill designer John Lindsey. More...

Spring is finally here at the Fearrington House! I know what you’re thinking - spring has been here a while, but for the chefs in the kitchen we've wanted to get the new menu just right as we flood it with the new bounty of the season’s vegetables and fruit.

Spring for any chef is exciting, a time for us to stop using the starchy heavy winter produce and to move over to Chef Bedford’s favorites, including peas, a vegetable he would fight for! Especially when Fish and Chips are concerned. A dish that goes hand in hand with the pea (this is how we do it in England, however in America, coleslaw is the usual accompaniment).

We’ve had the menu written for almost 2 months now, but when on paper we never quite know how its going to work out, so its taken time, testing each dish and improving upon it. The new dishes include: Seared Tuna, Avocado Beignets, Spring Garlic, Fennel Relish and Cumin Pickled Cucumber (pictured) as well as Monkfish and Iberico Chorizo, Acquerello Risotto, Fava Beans, Basil and Pepper Puree.

Hopefully we've tempted your taste buds and you want to come try these dishes out before we switch to the summer menu in July! We look forward to seeing you at The House in the not so distant future.

No going back now the menus are written, recipes formulated and I’ve met the necessary dietary requirement for the kids; what a Rollercoaster. I was approached about four months ago to see whether I was up for the challenge of being the “Jamie Oliver” for Chatham County. One thing led to another and we agreed on the three chefs and set some deadlines. The Chatham County Chef Challenge was on.

Relatively easy so far, I thought. Then I began to think what was really involved in the Challenge that I had agreed to do without batting an eye lid. Like initiating any project, you go straight for that reference point or accrued experience that you rely on, but not this time. A few things I do know is that what we practice at the restaurant is you feed the kids as fast as possible so they are entertained, no hot plates, ketchup in close proximity and under NO circumstance use “posh” herbs that we like to call micro greens! Pretty much all I can take from this is feed the kids as fast as possible. I will go out on a limb and say that those little people have an extremely strong opinion on what they will eat and what they will not. More...

Like pieces in a band, each station in the kitchen helps to compose the night. When we individually impose the highest standard of care in what we produce and how we produce it, together we put forth a well presented and exceptionally satisfying experience. 
Our dinner team is divided into five stations to execute the evening’s menu; cold appetizers, hot appetizers, entrée vegetables, entrée meats and sauces, and pastry. Having worked almost all of them, I can tell you that each station has its own challenges, but no matter where you are, the motto in this kitchen is ‘Communicate, Cook, Clean!’

The appetizer course is split into cold and hot. Cold apps are all about plating and organizing. The station is responsible for sandwiches for afternoon tea, organizing the room service menu for the Inn, and the first course on the menu for dinner. The nice thing about the cold side is that as long as all of the prep is done and you are organized, your sole responsibility is to make beautiful food. Hot apps are equally enjoyable, but an entirely different experience…There’s something about cooking over those flames that gets the adrenaline going during a busy night. And because you’re making the whole dish from vegetables to meat, timing is everything. More...