Finding the Real Lost Kitchen

If you heard of the TV show The Lost Kitchen or seen the cookbooks by chef Erin French you will find this post interesting. We took an excursion last week while our family was on vacation in Maine to The Lost Kitchen restaurant and while there we enjoyed the new shop and the weekly farmer’s market in Freedom, Maine. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend checking out the show especially if you are into food, cooking or entertaining. (It is available on Amazon Prime).

If you aren’t familiar, The Lost Kitchen is a restaurant located in a very small town in the middle of Maine. I was shocked when I first heard about the show and learned about the restaurant’s crazy popularity, as our family has a summer camp (also known as a cabin to those who aren’t “Mainers”) about 20 minutes away from Freedom, and while it’s a gorgeous area, it’s definitely off the beaten path. I discovered the show last winter and quickly binge watched several seasons, fascinated by how successful the small restaurant had become.

The Lost Kitchen restaurant is unique in that they only take reservations for the summer season by postcard, and only for two weeks a year in the spring when they get upwards of 20,000 requests. Needless to say, I haven’t had the opportunity to dine there but last week while in Maine on our summer vacation, my mom, daughter and I ventured over to check out the farmer’s market and the small store on the property. It was quite something to turn off the quiet, country road and suddenly see people and cars literally everywhere, even parking was a little challenging; I am sure that the small, quiet town is feeling a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

The restaurant is in an restored old mill, and they had a large array of local vendors on site selling everything from flowers to fresh meats to maple syrup. I was more than happy to support the local economy and was only sad that we were leaving the next day so we couldn’t take back more of the fresh goodies to enjoy back at our place. I will say that we had some ice cream from one vendor, it easily was the best I’d ever had.

My understanding is that the restaurant is so overwhelmed during the summer season thanks to the show’s popularity that they started this weekly market to give more people a way to visit and enjoy the experience.

It was a beautiful day and despite the crowds I really enjoyed being there. I couldn’t help but notice that several of the restaurant employees featured on the show were just casually working behind the counters at the store, I am sure they are enjoying their new celebrity status!

The store, which is located in the same mill building, was filled with beautiful, quality items, I could have easily overspent and came home with a bag of goodies, notably a pottery salt cellar, a kitchen twine holder and some small egg cups I’ll probably use to serve salt and pepper. The store was full of beautiful linens, luxurious bath products and quality kitchen tools not to mention her cookbook and other books (this one is the story of how she built the restaurant). You can also shop some of the items in the online shop on the website.

I was able to peruse her cookbook while at Christy’s earlier this summer as she owns it, it not only looked beautiful on display on the kitchen counter but it is chock full of recipes I’d love to try. I regret not buying a copy while actually there on site, I don’t know why I didn’t, but good news is that you can get it here on Amazon along with her other books.

If by some chance you head to Freedom, here is what you need to know. The market is on Tuesday from 12-4 during the summer (but check the website to be sure of the details). Parking is tight, but there is a church with parking just passed the mill with an easy path down to the market and mill. There are some food vendors but the lines were long, so don’t come starving. You can pack a picnic as they have places to sit and eat. The small shop located in the mill has a much bigger upstairs so make sure you explore, and be sure to bring your own shopping bags for the outdoor market.

There is really no place like Maine in the summer, and I was thrilled to be able to go back up this year. The coast is gorgeous and the gardens, flowers and natural beauty inland is, in many areas, completely unspoiled. While this is just one of the many interesting things you can do in the area, I wanted to share this as it was a fun excursion. I always tell people to be sure to put Maine on your vacation bucket list, it’s really a very special place.

XO,