In March, Charlotte’s Philo Ridge Farm officially became a nonprofit after a multiyear process, during much of which its on-farm restaurant and market were closed to the public. This summer, both will reopen under a new leadership team.
Now known as the Philo Ridge Farm Foundation, the nonprofit has announced the hire of Bryan Flower as executive director and Marc St. Jacques as director of food and beverage and executive chef.
St. Jacques began his role on March 24, and Flower will join the farm on June 9, according to a press release. An opening date, hours, and details about the market and restaurant will be announced in early June.
Flower comes to Vermont with a 20-plus-year, globe-spanning career in leadership and food systems, including his most recent role as assistant director for food systems innovation at Northern Illinois University, where he led the NIU Edible Campus initiative and Sustainable Food Systems Innovation Challenge.
Appropriately for his new place of employment, he’s also a chef and farmer, with a background in “raising livestock, developing sustainable farming practices and building community food programs,” the release said.
St. Jacques, who is originally from Canada and has been the owner and executive chef of Bar Bête in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood since 2019, will “help set the culinary vision for the reopening of the farm’s dining spaces,” according to the release.
“Andrew Talks to Chefs” podcast host Andrew Friedman praised St. Jacques’ menu at Bar Bête, calling it a “lusty, robust style of bistro food” and noting that he doesn’t “know anyone who could push the limits of garlic, fat and salt as far as he does without going into overkill.”
At Philo Ridge, “our cooking will be rooted in mostly European technique,” St. Jacques said in the release, “showcasing vibrant flavors of ingredients harvested that same day” with “refined, yet approachable menus.”
Diana McCargo and Peter Swift bought the 400-acre former dairy off the intersection of Mount Philo and Hinesburg roads in 2012 and invested heavily in restoring both the buildings and the land through regenerative farming practices. Their successful work to become a nonprofit “fulfills our vision to ensure that the farm will be a multigenerational community asset for Vermont,” the couple said in a March announcement.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bryan and Marc to Philo Ridge Farm,” McCargo said in the release. “Their combined expertise in sustainable agriculture, food systems, and culinary excellence will help us fulfill our mission, while providing exceptional experiences to our community.”