CORE Kitchen partners Sarita Orobio-Wolff and Ray Stalker brought locally foraged mushrooms and locally sourced smiles to their 14-week residency at Dorothy ' s Estaminet at Dottie ' s in Pittsfield. These are some dishes created there: Opposite, potato latke with shaved apple slaw, cinnamon applesauce, horseradish butter; left, asparagus and feta skillet omelette; above, spring onion & potato blini with smoked beets, walnut agridulce and sour cream.
L ong before hashtags and tasting menus, before food became content in the Berkshires and beyond, there were itinerant cooks plying their trade and tantalizing palates while working in the kitchens of others.
Medieval court chefs trailing royal entourages. Maritime cooks armed with exotic techniques and foreign spices coming together into the stews and firepits of distant ports. The wandering chef is no modern invention. But in the Berkshires, and even in neighboring New York’ s
Hudson Valley, this region is enjoying a thoughtful revival under a new banner: the chef residency. The evolution of these residencies mirrors a national surge in immersive, chef-driven dining experiences.
According to the National Restaurant Association’ s 2025 State of the Industry Report, 52 percent of consumers express interest in exclusive, chef-led events. Sixty-four percent of full-service diners and 47 percent of limited-service diners say the experience matters more than the price. Residencies answer that call. They can fuse artistry, intimacy, and innovation into existing dining options.
The Berkshires is benefiting from visiting chefs who are shaping more than menus; they’ re adding chapters to our shared cultural story, leaving traces in the way we eat, remember, and imagine. They arrive with new ideas on flavors and foundational dishes at existing eateries. In their wake, they can leave behind something new and exciting, underscoring that in the kitchen, creativity, technique, and tradition are never lost yet keep moving forward.“ Americans want flavor and experience they can’ t replicate at home,” the report concludes.
Those culinary experiences have been manifesting in our region for a handful of years. Inside the luxurious Canyon Ranch in Lenox, an ongoing series of residencies-as-pop-ups are aimed at the resident foodies under their roof. They’ ve hosted James Beard Award winners like Sean Brock’ s elevated Southern cuisine that is a hallmark of his Tennessee restaurant, Audrey. Chef Mike Bagale brought his skills developed from his time as executive chef of Alinea in Chicago, and Chef Charlie Mitchell ran an exclusive dinner, as well. Mitchell was the only NYC chef to win the James Beard Award in 2024 and was also the first Black chef in Manhattan to carry the“ Michelin-starred” nomenclature after his name, thanks to his contemporary American food at Saga, which received two Michelin stars.
July 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 17