Chef Evan Hennessey launches new travel culinary venture, Finding Thyme
- Chef Evan Hennessey of Stages at One Washington launched 'Finding Thyme,' a culinary travel experience blending food, leisure and outdoor activities.
- Activities will vary by location and include foraging, hiking, cooking demonstrations and farm-to-table dining experiences.
- Hennessey aims to reconnect people with nature, local food sources and artisans.
DOVER — Chef Evan Hennessey, owner of Stages at One Washington restaurant and a three-time "Chopped" champion, has launched a new culinary travel experience, called Finding Thyme.
It is billed as blending locally sourced food, leisure, outdoor adventures and community. The first experience will kick off in Jackson, Wyoming, in September on a remote ranch, and a second event will be hosted at Top of the Ridge Farm Bed & Breakfast in New Durham, New Hampshire, an Italian-inspired B&B. The two different destinations will offer a variety of experiences, including dinner prepared by Hennessey, hiking and a pasta-making demonstration.
Q&A with Chef Evan Hennessey about Finding Thyme
Hennessey shared all the details of the new venture in the following interview, which is lightly edited for length and clarity.
What is 'Finding Thyme,' and where did inspiration come from?
Hennessey: It's kind of an idea turned reality. How it started is I've always been very connected to the natural world. I hike a lot. I trail run, rock climb, so I do a lot outdoor things. And for about 30 years now, I've been cooking. I've always enjoyed some version of travel, and the nutshell of this was a really inspiring way to put a lot of these things together, because I realized the connectivity and the intimacy of cooking, and how it brings people together.
So I wanted to create something that brought people back to the natural world, slowed everything down and gave them a great sense of time and place, as well as being able to absorb into their environment. It's a lot about being present and intentional where you are.
If you were to describe the program in one, sentence what would it be?
Hennessey: It's a connection to the natural world, to the connectivity and intentionality of food and cooking.
What's on the itinerary for Jackson, Wyoming?
Hennessey: We're able to link up with members of the Shoshone Tribe, who know the land that's out there, so [the program] looks to experts in that area that could help us connect to it and find the best things. There's fly fishing, which I won't be leading, but I'll be a part of it, horseback riding [will be] available. As far as cooking over live fire, I definitely will be the guy on that. I'm super enamored with live fire cooking, so I want to bring that into all these different experiences. So I'll be cooking over live fires, and then we'll maybe do a cooking demo. Sometimes I'll just make a casual dinner and everybody relaxes around the fire, and the next day it's not formal, but more of a sit-down dinner. I love the idea of family style, like using food to bring people together.
What can guests expect from the New Hampshire destination?
Hennessey: I'm going to lead a hike up South and Middle Moat Mountain, which tops out around seven miles. So there's obviously sort of a hiking experience level involved with that. Then we will drive a very short distance to Tamworth and link up with the wonderful people at New Hampshire Mushroom Company. I've been working with them and buying mushrooms from them for almost 13 years, and I think [owner Eric Milligan] is going to be able to come out on the hike with us and help identify mushrooms out there.
And then we will also do a tour of the farm, which is a great connection back to the restaurants. The nice thing about that is people have the ability to buy things there, if they want to. Then we're going to Tamworth Distilling for the same general idea, nice little tour and tasting of what they do there. And we will bring products back to the inn, and incorporate them into a dinner that evening, which I will cook.
What sets this experience and your restaurant apart from others?
Hennessey: I feel the concepts I have are just flat-out different from most of the restaurants around. We bring our guests into the kitchen, we break down barriers of traditional formal dining, we have high-level interaction with the guests to the chefs, and I think that is so different. Like Stages. We have a six-seat kitchen counter, and so a lot of time, and I love when this happens, is that you have three parties of two come in, nobody knows each other, and by the end of the night, everybody's chatting and is friends. And that's just like it to me. That is literally what a restaurant is all about. That's the community, that's the people, that's what food does, and it's such an 'old world' thing that in many ways, has been lost. I think it's just more personalized.
What do you hope guests take away from the experience?
Hennessey: It's to be more intentional with their diet and their dollar, so when they are looking for a good coffee, there's a ton of roasters around here, or whatever it is. There's definitely a market, there's definitely a farm that grows that thing that you weren't sure about cooking. All of that is definitely there. And I think that's my point, is that people have been looking too far; there's so many wonderful things so close to us. There's great painters, potters, farmers. And literally, if you can think of it, it's got to be around here, or some version of it.
Do you feel presence is more important given our fast-paced world?
Hennessey: Because of technology and [what] we'll call the "need for speed" idea of sourcing, you can literally get anything you want whenever you want. And because of that, we've completely lost touch with our local surroundings. Linking up with local food sources and local artisans, we have the ability to really connect people to that area.
How will Finding Thyme tie all the facets together?
Hennessey: I definitely want to connect people to the food sources (and people) that are right there. Whether it's working with the group of the Shoshone Tribe, there's got to be something very special, very cultural, ingrained in that area that is unique that I feel is super special and representative of that specific area. I'm hoping for guests that are there, able to listen to the stories, listen to these people with open eyes and open ears. Then hopefully it continues to open our worlds. So that's kind of [the] bigger picture.
Finding Thyme's program pricing is venue-related. New Hampshire's program is $1,500 per room based on double occupancy for an all-inclusive weekend, with the exception of alcohol. Wyoming's location is also venue-related pricing. To book or have questions, email Evan@Stages-Dining.com.