THE NEW ENGLAND PRIVATE CHEF SERIES | NO. 01
There is a moment every year when New England begins to change.
The mornings become cooler. Farm stands begin transitioning from summer tomatoes and corn to apples, squash and the deeper colors of fall. The first leaves turn, fireplaces are lit again, and mountain towns begin preparing for one of the most beautiful times of year.
Fall in New England isn’t simply something to see. It’s something to experience.
For many travelers, that means gathering the people they love and renting a beautiful home, mountain lodge or countryside property for a few days away.
You spend the afternoon leaf peeping. You stop at the farm stand. You explore a small New England town. Maybe you hike, visit a local market or simply sit outside with a cup of coffee and enjoy the view.
Eventually, though, someone asks the inevitable question: What’s for dinner?
That’s where a private chef can completely change the way you experience your New England getaway.
STAY IN—AND MAKE THE EVENING PART OF THE VACATION
When you’ve rented a beautiful property in New England, there is something counterintuitive about leaving it every time you’re ready to eat.
You chose that home for a reason. Maybe it’s the long dining table, the mountain view, the fireplace, the beautiful kitchen or simply enough space for everyone to finally be together.
A private chef allows you to enjoy it.
Instead of coordinating cars, finding a restaurant that can accommodate your entire group and navigating one of New England’s busiest travel seasons, dinner comes to you.
Chef AJ arrives at your home or vacation property prepared for the menu we’ve planned together. We handle the preparation, cooking, serving and cleanup while you get to enjoy the property—and your people.
WHAT DOES A PRIVATE CHEF ACTUALLY DO?
This is one of the questions people often have when considering a private chef experience.
The simple answer? Quite a bit more than cook dinner.
Before we ever arrive at your property, your experience has already begun. Your menu is planned around your gathering, preferences, dietary considerations and number of guests.
Ingredients are sourced with quality at the forefront. Depending on the season and menu, that can mean local farms, farm stands, fish markets and trusted purveyors throughout New England.
Then we arrive prepared to execute your dinner. Chef AJ handles preparation and cooking while we take care of getting dinner to the table and keeping the evening flowing. When dinner is finished, we handle the kitchen cleanup associated with our service.
You get to enjoy dinner without having to run the restaurant from your vacation home.
VACATION RENTAL KITCHENS ARE ALL DIFFERENT—AND THAT’S OKAY
Some vacation rentals have incredibly well-equipped kitchens. Others have the basics.
We know that.
Our focus is making sure we have what is necessary for your particular menu. We come prepared with the cooking utensils and serving pieces needed to properly prepare and serve your dinner.
You shouldn’t have to spend the beginning of your vacation opening cabinets and wondering whether the rental has the right pan.
If there is something specific we need to know about the property, we’ll discuss it with you while planning your experience.
FALL TASTES DIFFERENT IN NEW ENGLAND
One of our favorite things about cooking throughout New England is watching the ingredients change with the seasons.
Summer has its own personality—tomatoes, fresh corn, herbs, berries and beautiful seafood. Then fall arrives, and the table changes with it.
Roasted vegetables. Apples. Squash. Root vegetables. Beautiful cuts of meat. Fresh fish. Herbs. Warm sauces. And, of course, maple.
Chef AJ’s menus evolve with those seasons.
Some guests want something created specifically for their gathering. Others prefer choosing from seasonal menus we’ve already developed. Either way, the goal is the same: create a menu that feels right for the people, place and season.
And when fall arrives, there is one Coastal & Countryside favorite we especially love bringing back to the table: Chef AJ’s New Hampshire Maple Bread Pudding.
Warm, distinctly New England and exactly the kind of dessert that belongs at the end of a cool fall evening.
FROM LOCAL FARMS TO OUR COASTAL WATERS
The name Coastal & Countryside represents much of what inspires the way we approach food.
New England gives us working farms, beautiful produce, local markets, fish markets and some of the best ingredients our coastal waters have to offer.
When the season and menu allow, we love incorporating those ingredients into the experience.
Quality matters to us.
Sometimes the ingredient that gets the biggest reaction at the table isn’t the most complicated component of the dish. It’s the tomato that actually tastes like a tomato, a beautiful piece of fresh fish or a vegetable picked at the height of its season.
Great cooking begins with something worth cooking.
THE LUXURY IS HAVING YOUR TIME BACK
Luxury doesn’t always mean extravagance.
Sometimes luxury is simply not having to think about dinner.
It’s walking back into your vacation rental after an afternoon exploring New England and smelling dinner being prepared.
It’s sitting beside the fireplace while someone else is in the kitchen.
It’s opening the wine instead of opening your phone to search for restaurants.
It’s watching the kids play instead of asking everyone what they want to order.
It’s sitting around the table after dessert because there isn’t another reservation waiting for it.
And it’s ending the evening without a kitchen full of pots and pans waiting for you.
That is the part of private dining that can easily get overlooked. You aren’t simply hiring someone to prepare food. You’re creating space to be present.
GOOD FOOD HOLDS MEMORY AND EMOTION
After decades spent in food and hospitality, one thing has remained incredibly clear to us: good food holds memory and emotion.
You may forget exactly what time dinner started or which bottle of wine you opened, but you’ll remember everyone gathered around the table.
You’ll remember someone taking the first bite and immediately reacting.
You’ll remember the smell coming from the kitchen.
You’ll remember laughing long after dessert was served.
Food becomes part of the story of a place. And when you’ve traveled to New England specifically to make memories together, dinner shouldn’t feel like an interruption to the experience.
It should be part of it.
WHY PRIVATE DINING WORKS SO WELL FOR GROUP GETAWAYS
One of the best things about renting a vacation home is having everyone under the same roof. Private dining allows you to keep them there.
For families traveling with children, there’s no pressure to keep everyone quietly seated in a restaurant. For multi-generational families, nobody has to worry about a late reservation or driving home afterward. For groups of friends, the evening doesn’t get interrupted by coordinating multiple cars and restaurant logistics.
Everyone can simply settle in.
Private dining can work beautifully for family vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, friends’ weekends, intimate celebrations, leaf-peeping trips or simply one special evening during a New England getaway.
You don’t always need a special occasion.
Sometimes having everyone together is the special occasion.
FROM THE COAST TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
There is a reason we named our business Coastal & Countryside.
New England gives us both.
We have incredible coastal communities, rolling countryside, working farms, mountain towns, ski destinations and beautiful vacation homes tucked among all of them.
Our approach to food and hospitality is influenced by those surroundings.
We believe in sourcing thoughtfully. We believe presentation matters. We believe people should feel cared for when they sit at the table.
And we believe some of the most memorable dining experiences don’t happen inside restaurants at all.
They happen at home.
PLANNING A NEW ENGLAND FALL GETAWAY?
If you’re traveling through New Hampshire, Vermont or another New England destination this fall, consider making one evening of your trip something everyone can experience together.
Maybe it’s a birthday, anniversary, family reunion, friends’ weekend or leaf-peeping getaway. Or maybe it’s simply Saturday night with everyone you love under the same roof.
You choose the property.
You gather your people.
We’ll take care of what’s for dinner.
Coastal & Countryside Private Chef
Private chef experiences for homes, vacation properties, intimate gatherings and celebrations throughout New England.
Explore our private chef experiences, seasonal menus and availability at coastalandcountryside.com.
CONTINUE THE SERIES → NO. 02
Hiring a Private Chef for Your Vacation Rental: Everything You Need to Know
Take the scenic route. We’ve got dinner covered.
