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There are many ways to visit us this season. We welcome you to come and enjoy the warmth and joy of the mill here in Freedom.

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It’s a moment and a memory. A space created with love and intention to make you feel warm inside.

Dinner can be so much more than a meal..

A magical meal is so much more than just food. It’s a delicious feeling that fills you up and lasts with lingering, loving memories for a long time.

our latest cookbook

“All you really need is a little imagination, some good ingredients, and a lot of love.”

Big Heart Little Stove is more than just a cookbook. With tips and tricks Erin has used in her own dining room—at home and in the restaurant—this book is your invitation to use what’s around you to create meaningful moments, from setting a table with found treasures to adorning dishes with edible flowers to thoughtful gestures such as offering a cold cloth on a hot day. Full of warmth and spirit, Big Heart Little Stove will show you how to create more joy and connection around your table.

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Meet Erin French on Her National Book Tour for 'Big Heart Little Stove' 

Meet renowned chef and bestselling author Erin French on tour for her new cookbook  Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from the Lost Kitchen .

All tickets include a copy of  Big Heart Little Stove ! Erin will share stories of The Lost Kitchen and her recommendations for cooking thoughtful and meaningful meals at home: start with the best ingredients you can find, keep it simple, and serve with love. 

November 1: New York City The 92nd Street Y with Ina Garten 7:00 PM ET 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128 Buy tickets: 92NY.org TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 2: Boston, MA Brookline Booksmith at Somerville Armory 7:00 PM ET 191 Highland Ave #1c, Somerville, MA 02143 TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 4: Dallas, TX McFarlin Auditorium, SMU — Presented by Arts & Letters Live 7:30 PM CT 6405 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205 Tickets available at  dma.org TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 6: Seattle, WA Book Larder at Fremont Abbey 4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 Evening Event with Aran Goyoaga | 6:30 PM PT - SOLD OUT Afternoon Event | 12:00 PM PT - SOLD OUT

November 7: San Francisco, CA NEW VENUE: Book Passage at Calvary Presbyterian San Francisco 1:00 PM PT 2515 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115 Tickets available at  bookpassage.com TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 7: San Francisco, CA Omnivore Books  4:30 PM PT 3885 Cesar Chavez St, San Francisco, CA 94131 More information at  omnivorebooks.myshopify.com TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 8: Traverse City, MI National Writers Series at City Opera House 7:00 PM ET 106 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684 Tickets available at  nationalwritersseries.org TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 9: Kansas City, KS Rainy Day Books at Unity Temple on the Plaza 7:00 PM CT 707 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64112 Tickets available at  rainydaybooks.com TICKETS SOLD OUT

November 16: Portland, ME Print Bookstore at State Theater 7:00 PM ET 609 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101 Tickets available at  printbookstore.com TICKETS SOLD OUT

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How to Get a Reservation at the Lost Kitchen, One of the Hardest-to-Book Restaurants in America

Erin French's famed Maine restaurant only takes reservations by postcard

In April 2017, the phones at Erin French's Maine restaurant,  The Lost Kitchen , wouldn't stop ringing.

" Reservations got out of control . We couldn't handle it anymore," French, whose memoir  Finding Freedom  was released in 2021, told PEOPLE. "Our phone lines just exploded. Everything just broke down."

French had been running The Lost Kitchen inside a restored gristmill "in the middle of nowhere" for only three years after losing her first restaurant in a messy divorce. She started as a home cook and turned Freedom, a remote Maine town with just a little over 700 residents, into a world-famous foodie destination when the farm-to-table restaurant opened in 2014. People visit from far and wide to taste her elegant but humble cooking style, using whatever produce is nearby and in season.

After the hectic 2017 year, French — whose cookbook,  Big Heart Little Stove , is set to be released on Oct. 31, 2023 — decided to ask people to send a postcard to be entered into a table lottery. She receives more than 20,000 cards a year, making it one of the hardest-to-book restaurants in the country.

There are only 48 seats available per night, four nights a week for six months out of the year, typically from May to October. You'll need some luck to be picked, but there are some things you can do to improve your chances.

How to submit a postcard

The Lost Kitchen

Keep an eye on the restaurant's  official reservation page . French and her team — who also  star on The Lost Kitchen series  on  Chip  and  Joanna Gaines 's  Magnolia Network  (streaming on Max and Discovery+) — open up the call for postcards on April 1st each year. You'll need to follow the directions carefully, as your card needs to include your contact information, party size, dates, and, if you'd like, a note. Sign up for French's newsletter so you don't miss the announcement.

They truly treat the process like a lottery, randomly pulling cards, but it can't hurt to give yours some cute notes or creative art — if only because it brings French so much joy. 

"I feel we're getting to know these people as we see their cards," she told PEOPLE. "They put themselves into each one. It's always exciting to see whose card it was when you get to meet them, and they come into our world."

What to do if your postcard is selected

If you're chosen, someone will call you to arrange a date and time that works for your group (so look out for a 207 area code!). However, don't lose hope if you don't get a call right away: French selects new postcards later if a party cancels.

She even keeps all 70,000 postcards she's ever received in her attic. "The cards are like love letters," she said. "You can't throw them away. They're people's hopes and dreams."

Once you've secured a reservation, you're in for a treat. 

"Our expectations were so high that we were nervous that once we got there, it would be very hard to live up to. Not only did it beat expectations, but it far exceeded them," said Katie Peter, a Mainer who visited The Lost Kitchen with her sister and cousins. "The food was 100 percent all I dreamed of. And Erin's persona also really elevates the experience."

Come with an appetite and an open mind because no dinner is the same — French creates a new menu each day after seeing what foods are fresh that morning.

How to plan your trip

Celadon Books

Located about halfway between Augusta and Bangor, the town of Freedom is accessible only by car, offering a scenic trip through lush woods and rolling farmlands. If you're flying, the most convenient airport is in Portland, Maine, a 90-minute drive from the restaurant, so you'll need to rent a car at the airport.

If you want to spend the night, French does offer a "breakfast and cabin" stay, but availability is limited, and they book quickly. You can check the website for cancellations or book a room at  The Jeweled Turret Inn , a charming bed and breakfast in Belfast about 17 miles away, or head back to Portland, where there are several hotels to choose from.

For more of Erin French's story, pick up her book,  Finding Freedom , here.

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The Lost Kitchen: A Glimpse Inside Maine’s Most Wildly In-Demand Restaurant

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This is the country’s most talked-about restaurant, but you’ll need to get a little lost—and mail a love letter—to find it.

The Lost Kitchen is an unlikely success story. First, there’s the matter of where it is: in the rural town of Freedom, Maine, 17 miles from the coast, surrounded by farmland and backcountry roads, near towns like Unity and Liberty. You can count the buildings in Freedom on one hand: There’s a general store, a gas station, a post office, and the Lost Kitchen itself, in an 1834 mill building, perched over a stream.

Then there’s the matter of the restaurant’s story. It’s helmed by a self-taught chef, Erin French, a Freedom native who spent her teenage years working at the local diner. She started the Lost Kitchen as a series of under-the-radar dinners in her small apartment, then saved to open a real restaurant, one floor below. The Lost Kitchen took off, until one day French arrived to find padlocks on the doors, her grandmother’s china and every pot and pan locked inside: the Lost Kitchen, lost in a contentious divorce. French rebuilt, renovating an Airstream and serving pop-up dinners across Maine before she got word that the falling-down mill in Freedom had been saved and was in need of a tenant. She moved in and fitted everything herself, sourcing vintage appliances from old farmhouses, building the dining tables by hand, and scouring antiques stores for tableware.

In its current iteration, the Lost Kitchen has eight tables and one seating a night, and French and her team of women servers and cooks do it all: one server grows the flowers, another raises the chickens. French cooks the multi-course meals on the spot, in the open kitchen, with no menu in mind, drawing only from what’s available that day, recipes learned from her mother and grandmother, and the simple flavors of Maine. The ink on the menus is barely dry when guests arrive: They’re printed just before the seating each night—until then, what will be served is in flux.

It’s an unlikely success story, but a wild success it is: In the four years it’s been open, French has written a cookbook, The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine . It used to be that on April 1 the phone lines would open for the summer’s reservations, but after the phone lines crashed, French turned to a more old-fashioned system last year: Prospective diners sent in a handwritten postcard, postmarked between the dates of April 1 and April 10, to be considered for a coveted seat at the table. French received almost 20,000 postcards: They fill buckets in the small office beside the dining room.

Starting today, The Lost Kitchen is accepting postcards for the 2019 season; see all of the details here . Unless you’re one of the lucky few, though, you may never get inside the Lost Kitchen. Consider this a glimpse.

Photography by Greta Rybus for Remodelista.

Landed a spot at the Lost Kitchen, and need a place to stay the night? Might we suggest the guest bedrooms at High Ridge Farm , a 20-minute drive.

Take a look more hidden gems in Maine, as part of The Maine Line issue:

• The House that Craigslist Built: A Bare-Bones Farmhouse in Midcoast Maine
• On Our Radar: 4 Up-and-Coming Ceramicists to Watch in Maine
• Into the Wild: Evangeline Linens in Portland, Maine

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on August 17, 2018.

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The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine

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The Heartbreaking Story Behind The Lost Kitchen, an Incredible Restaurant in Freedom, Maine

In 2013, chef Erin French lost almost everything. Then, in Freedom, Maine, she started anew with her restaurant The Lost Kitchen.

To eat at chef Erin French's critically acclaimed restaurant, The Lost Kitchen , you'll have to jump through a few hoops. First, you'll have to mail in a postcard to enter a lottery to get a table. Then, the next challenge is finding the place: From the mid-coast town of Belfast, Maine , drive 17 miles inland through woods and rolling farmland on a two-lane country road. Watch closely or you'll miss the sign for Freedom. Take a quick left on Main Street, and there's The Mill at Freedom Falls — The Lost Kitchen's once crumbling, now beautifully renovated home. Cross a narrow bridge over a rushing stream, and you're there.

The dining room has sanded plank floors, exposed beams, and suspended mill trestles. A wall of windows looks out onto the stream and bridge. Upstairs is a school for local kids; downstairs, a stone-walled wine store with bottles carefully curated by The Lost Kitchen's sommelier. There are no restaurant liquor licenses to be had in tiny Freedom, but you can buy wine at the store to drink at The Lost Kitchen, or bring your own.

The restaurant opened quietly in 2017 but news of it spread, and customers now come from many miles away. Chef Erin French, who is entirely self-taught, creates unfussy, astonishingly delicious food using as few ingredients as possible in combinations that are both exciting and viscerally satisfying. She doesn't rely on fancy sauces or avant-garde culinary techniques; she is rooted in tradition. She gets some of her recipes from her mother and grandmother, elevating them and making them her own.

French's almost entirely female crew, whom she counts as close friends, are also local farmers. "I get the best produce," she said. "My friend will text me a photo of a cauliflower in her field, and I'll say, 'Bring me 12 of those.' " Later, that friend will serve the cauliflower herself. Another friend who raises ducks taught French how to confit them. A third plates the salad greens she grows. Everything French serves is in season. Even in late-winter months, when local ingredients are scarce, she is resourceful, using wintered-over root vegetables like beets in complex-tasting sauces for braised short ribs , or crisp endive salad brightened with citrus and mellowed with a smoky bacon dressing. The Lost Kitchen is as farm-to-table as it gets. French even made the tables, in classic Maine DIY fashion, out of barn boards and plumbing fixtures.

French herself is as local as it gets. She was born and raised in Freedom. By the time she was 14, she was flipping burgers on the line in her parents' diner located only a mile from the old mill. After college at Northeastern in Boston, she moved to California to become a doctor. At 21, an unexpected pregnancy derailed that dream. She moved back home to have her son, Jaim; her mother was her Lamaze partner.

Returning to Maine proved to be a good decision. French sold her own baked goods and worked for a local caterer for years; then, when she was 30, she started an underground supper club out of her apartment in Belfast and called it The Lost Kitchen. She experimented and studied cookbooks obsessively. Her rigorous autodidacticism paid off — her weekly dinners sold out within minutes. She and her then-husband bought their building, an old bank; after a five-month renovation and build-out, French opened a restaurant downstairs. "It had crazy success," she said. "I had a following."

In 2013, she lost the restaurant and many personal possessions, even her grandmother's china, in a painful divorce. (French has since opened up about her custody battle and addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs in her 2021 memoir, Finding Freedom .) Broke, homeless, and heartbroken, she moved to Freedom with Jaim, back in with her parents ("Thank God for them!"). They helped her raise money to buy a 1965 Airstream. She gutted it with a sledgehammer, then built a kitchen inside and gave pop-up dinner parties across Maine.

A friend, a farmer whose chickens are now served at The Lost Kitchen, told French to check out the town's old mill. The first time she walked in, her jaw dropped. She presented a business plan to potential investors (mostly friends and family), cashed in an inheritance from her grandfather, and signed a lease. Over the next several months, she built out a simple open kitchen behind a polished concrete island.

With symbolic aptness, The Lost Kitchen reopened in 2017. Four nights a week, French cooks with focused but easy efficiency for a sold-out room while her crew moves from the fryer to counter to tables; the feeling in the candlelit space is calm, festive, and homey all at once. Ensconced in her community, French is bringing the world to Freedom. "I've come full circle," she said.

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Erin french with michael dutton and elizabeth poett - big heart little stove (calvary presbyterian sf).

Erin French in conversation with  Michael Dutton and Elizabeth Poett

Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from The Lost Kitchen

~ Live In-Person ~ Calvary Presbyterian SAN FRANCISCO   • $42 Tues., November 7, 2023 • 1:00pm PT

Presented in partnership with Calvary Presbyterian San Francisco.

Please note the venue has changed to Calvary Presbyterian at 2515 Fillmore St, San Francisco. It was previously Book Passage Corte Madera.

Big Heart Little Stove  is your new go-to inspiration for cooking thoughtful and meaningful, yet refreshingly simple meals. With more than 75 recipes and her favorite hospitality “signatures,” Erin French—author of  The Lost Kitchen  cookbook and the  New York Times -bestselling memoir  Finding Freedom —invites readers to bring a piece of her beloved restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, home with them. With dishes pulled from French’s family recipe box and the menu at The Lost Kitchen, ranging from irresistible nibbles like Pecorino Puffs and Gram’s Clam Dip; to luscious soups like Golden Tomato & Peach and Potato & Lentil with Bacon and Herbs; to heaping platters of family-style salads and sides like Peach & Blackberry Salad and Green Beans with Sage, Garlic, and Breadcrumbs; to show-stopping main courses like Pickle-Brined Roast Chicken and Wednesday Night Fish Fry; to French’s favorite all-purpose kitchen staples like Kitchen Sink Pesto and Floral Vinegar, this cookbook has all the tools you need for assembling a seamlessly special meal. To round things out, there are beverages to sip as dinner comes off the stove (Fresh Fruit Shrubs, Slush Puppies) and desserts to make your guests feel truly looked after (Salted Caramel Custards, Roasted Peach Pie with Almond and Fennel). And because weekend mornings deserve celebrating too, there are feel-good treats like Sunday Skillet Cakes and Little Nutmeg Diner Donuts. Regardless of whether it’s a dressed-up affair or a quick weeknight meal, French’s recommendations are the same: Start with the best ingredients you can find, keep it simple, and serve with love. But  Big Heart Little Stove  is more than just a cookbook. With tips and tricks French has used in her own dining room—at home and in the restaurant—this book is your invitation to use what’s around you to create meaningful moments, from setting a table with found treasures, to adorning dishes with edible flowers, to thoughtful gestures such as offering a cold cloth on a hot day. Full of warmth and spirit,  Big Heart Little Stove  will show you how to create more joy and connection around your table.

Erin French  is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen, a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine, that was recently named one of  TIME Magazine ’s World’s Greatest Places and one of "12 Restaurants Worth Traveling Across the World to Experience" by  Bloomberg . She is the author of the  New York Times  bestselling memoir,  Finding Freedom , and features in Magnolia Network’s  The Lost Kitchen . A born-and-raised native of Maine, she learned early the simple pleasures of thoughtful food and the importance of gathering for a meal. Her love of sharing Maine and its delicious heritage with curious dinner guests and new friends alike has been lauded by such outlets such as  The New York Times ,  Martha Stewart Living,  NPR’s  All Things Considered ,  The Chew ,  CBS This Morning ,  The Today Show ,  Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe , and  Food & Wine .

Michael Dutton is a recovering New Yorker whose career took him into the depths of the media content universe through such mainstays and bastions of news and entertainment as MTV Networks and the Associated Press. He honed skills as a producer as well as developed a keen understanding of the technical and business sides of the media industry. But in 2013, while still at the AP, Michael met Erin online and with the wink of an eye, his journey north from Manhattan to Maine began.

Today, Michael is Erin French’s husband and partner.  Over the last 10 years, in addition to chopping wood, making fires, putting out fires, tending to chickens, renovating buildings, fixing anything from door knobs to hydro turbines, occasionally cleaning outhouses, and generally supporting the growth and forward momentum of the Lost Kitchen, he is also an executive producer of the Lost Kitchen TV show and manages all the media strategy and public relations for Erin and the Lost Kitchen.  

Erin French photo courtesy of Greta Rybus. Elizabeth Poett photo courtesy of the publicist. 

Location: 

Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from The Lost Kitchen (Hardcover)

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Q&A with Erin French | The Woman Behind the Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine

Seemingly overnight, a restaurant in a tiny Maine town became one of the most sought-after dinner reservations in the country. Meet its owner and head chef, Erin French.

By Ian Aldrich

Sep 02 2018

Erin French, head chef and owner of The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine.

Yankee : You’re speaking to us at the end of your winter break. How did you recharge your batteries and prepare for the new season?

Now that you have some distance from the 2017 season, what do you make of everything that happened, what do you think of the celebrity status that accompanied it all.

What are you excited about for the new season?

Is there anything you’re nervous about, do you really pay attention to that stuff.

Your new reservations process requires people to mail in a card, and if it’s drawn at random, they’re among the lucky few who will get to eat at your restaurant. What was your thinking behind the change?

Do you ever foresee a time when you’ll open another lost kitchen, or another place that features your food, so that more people can have access to your cooking, recipe: graham cracker pie.

Ian Aldrich

Ian Aldrich is the Senior Features Editor at Yankee magazine, where he has worked for more for nearly two decades. As the magazine’s staff feature writer, he writes stories that delve deep into issues facing communities throughout New England. In 2019 he received gold in the reporting category at the annual City-Regional Magazine conference for his story on New England’s opioid crisis. Ian’s work has been recognized by both the Best American Sports and Best American Travel Writing anthologies. He lives with his family in Dublin, New Hampshire.

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In 'Big Heart, Little Stove,' Erin French gives tastes of The Lost Kitchen experience

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Erin French 's The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, is one of the hardest restaurants in the country to get into.

In her new book " Big Heart, Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals and Moments from The Lost Kitchen ," she shares tips and recipes to create that restaurant's ambiance and menu at home.

This segment aired on November 1, 2023.

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The Lost Kitchen

With grace and grit, Erin French finds her way back to Freedom.

Just before dinner is served at the Lost Kitchen, owner Erin French stands in the center of the simple dining room. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her slim jeans are tucked into Bean boots. She wears a black linen apron, made  by her mother, over a black t-shirt. French taps on a glass and diners turn their heads to pay attention. “It boggles my mind that you all keep showing up,” she says. “Thank you for proving everyone wrong. Thank you for coming to the middle of nowhere.” Her words are heartfelt as she continues, “I feel safe, I feel loved. Cheers to Freedom. There’s no place I’d rather be.” With a gentle clinking of glasses, dinner commences.

Getting to Freedom takes time. There’s no hurrying on the country roads east of Waterville and northwest of Belfast. It’s a journey over hills and past tumbledown barns, open fields, and family farms. Freedom is French’s hometown, and it’s been a long road back, with many lessons learned along the way. She left for college with dreams of medical school, but an unexpected pregnancy brought her back to Maine instead. Her career in the kitchen took hold when she began working for Trillium Caterers in Belfast. “Karen Ruth really opened my eyes to seeing food as beautiful,” says French.

After her thirtieth birthday, French reassessed her career trajectory. “I had to push forward and be my own boss,” she says. She created a donation-only supper club in a Belfast apartment, serving 24 people at a time on Saturday nights. It was hugely popular, with friends and eventually strangers jockeying for a place at the table. A year later, in the space below that apartment, French opened a restaurant she called the Lost Kitchen. There were no signs, and patrons had to search for the door. Still, the reputation of her fine food brought acclaim and even a prestigious invitation to cook at the James Beard House in New York City. But success is a double-edged sword, and can bring stress in many forms, including strain on a marriage. It was a painful time for French, culminating in a contentious divorce in which she lost every single thing but the rights to the restaurant’s name.

You can hear the gratitude in French’s voice when she speaks of her return to Freedom and her parents’ home. With their help, she took time to regroup both personally and professionally. Much of her healing process took place in the kitchen; eventually the instinct and desire to cook for others took over. She purchased a 1965 Airstream trailer with the intention of turning it into a mobile restaurant, and soon was back in business. With staff from the Lost Kitchen offering help, she hosted pop-up dinners in and around Freedom, always with an eye towards a more permanent arrangement.

It wasn’t long after that when a space in Freedom’s old grist mill became available. The landlord had rehabilitated the space without knowing who the future tenant might be. “The space was empty, just walls and a floor and a waterfall outside the window,” she says. Her do-it-yourself attitude is now evident in every corner of the room. Tables have been crafted from wood salvaged from a bar down the street, legs on the communal table in the room’s center are made of metal piping from a home improvement store, and Windsor chairs, purchased unfinished, are painted dark pewter.

On one wall is a gorgeous, six-burner Lacanche range, the only one in commercial use in the country. It’s both a centerpiece and a workhorse. French refers to it as her piano because “it sometimes looks like I’m playing it when I cook,” she says. A smooth concrete-topped island with a selection of cookbooks separates the kitchen from the dining area. I take one of four seats at the counter, which gives a full view of the culinary magic just a few feet away. I feel as if I’m watching a caring friend cook dinner for me in the big kitchen of an elegantly simple farmhouse.

French has decorated the room simply with free and foraged items, including large glass cylinders filled with cut birch logs and sprays of red berries. At one end of the room, a salvaged Hoosier cabinet holds glassware. Tables are set with charmingly mismatched vintage china and flatware scored at auctions and tag sales, with a few pieces that belonged to her grandmother. Gray linen napkins were sewn by French’s mother, Deanna Richardson.

Richardson proudly fills the role of her daughter’s right-hand assistant, handling napkin-ironing, procurement, menu- printing, reservations, and, perhaps most importantly, buying and selling wine. An old-fashioned law in the town of Freedom prohibits the sale of alcohol in restaurants, but the pair have turned that problem into the loveliest solution. Below the dining room, they have created a small wine cellar in the stone foundation of the mill, displaying bottles on top of barrels and antique shelving. The evening’s menu is printed out for guests, so that they may choose a bottle from Richardson’s carefully curated selection that best complements the food.

While guests are visiting the candlelit cellar, French is upstairs, still at work on tonight’s dishes. When we first arrived earlier in the day, she was still unsure of what would be on tonight’s menu. A large saucepan of pears is slowly poaching on the stove, in an aromatic mixture of cinnamon, bay leaf, wine, and cognac. “I’m just making it up,” she says, having not yet decided what the fruit will be used for. “And I screwed up the gougères again,” she says unapologetically, taking it in stride. She quickly mixes up a new batch and pipes the savory dough onto baking sheets.

It’s important to note that Erin French is a self-taught cook. She learned the fundamentals and the joy of creating food while working at her father’s diner, starting at the age of 12, but soon realized she wasn’t satisfied with the standard fried chicken and burgers. “Not going to cooking school has been a blessing in disguise,” she says, “Instead, I’ve been able to develop my own style. I cringe at the title of chef.” Her style is loose and unpretentious, driven by the availability of local ingredients. “They’re the stars and I just let them shine,” she says, arranging bright watermelon radishes alongside salted butter, bread, and olives on a “welcome board” fashioned from wood scraps left over from making the dining tables. French will serve these herself as a way of greeting guests.

There is one seating a night at the Lost Kitchen, and dinner is a single prix fixe meal of four courses, but French can’t seem to keep herself from expanding, usually into eight courses. She tries to explain: “We keep finding goodies at the market that I want to include.” Each extra is an enchanting surprise, starting with the new batch of pecorino gougères served with a ramekin of lemony crab salad, presented on a scrap of newspaper upon a slate tile. Next, a pair of sparkling-fresh Damariscotta oysters is enhanced with a tangy and sweet apple mignonette. Afterwards, French presents us each with a palate-cleansing apple cider and fennel sorbet, possibly the most delicious, refreshing single spoonful I’ve ever tasted. And we haven’t been served a single item from the set menu yet.

Those pears that were poaching on the stove? French has determined that they belong atop a salad of arugula and mustard greens with toasted hazelnuts, blue cheese, and cider-shallot vinaigrette. She admits that she’s never made this particular salad before, but her instincts are spot-on. The sweetness of the pears plays well with the bitter greens. It’s this sort of unbound, experimental approach that makes each meal a revelation. Now French is back at the stove, tending to eight smoking-hot cast iron pans. She sways gracefully as she places fish fillets in the sizzling butter, seasoning as she goes, then moving them to the oven. It’s a joy to watch her and the all-female staff work together like choreographed performers, elegantly in synch with French and her “piano.” One server spoons out parsnip puree, another piles on a bit of carrot salad, and Richardson stands by with sprigs of thyme for garnish. French places the delicate fish just so, and finishes the dish with buttery pan juices. Tonight’s dessert is a light and creamy frozen orange terrine with a crunchy vein of salted pecan brittle and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. But for good measure, French pulls a batch of gingersnaps from the oven and serves them to us, chewy and warm.

To say that the Lost Kitchen is just about this evening’s dinner, or the glory of any particular dish, would be to diminish the experience. From the arrival at the old mill, to the hidden wine cellar; from the first glimpse of the unpretentious, gracious dining room to the last warm farewell from Erin French and her attentive staff; it all adds up to a celebration of creativity, excellence, and genuine hospitality. Freedom is the location of the Lost Kitchen and it is also French’s current state of mind. “I figured out how I want to live my life and I’m so happy. I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” she says.

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Miriam Green

Author, poet, blogger, the lost kitchen, reflections and recipes, from an alzheimer's caregiver, stories from the heart, poetry for the soul, and recipes to remember..

Praise for The Lost Kitchen

Linda stern zisquit, ritual bath.

The wisdom of [Miriam's] words and the compassion, understanding and even humor in her responses to her mother’s illness teach us what it means to navigate the struggle and remain buoyed up by one’s own resources.

BERNARD KOPS

The hamlet of stepney green.

The joys of desire and the crying of family love woven together in a happy mix. It comes alive and speaks to you directly. You awake and sing and cry all at once.

TAMAR GENGER, MA, RD

Kosher network international.

A moving and inspirational story of memories—past and present, lost and found—set in and around the kitchen table. 

About Miriam

Miriam Green is the author of  The Lost Kitchen: Reflections and Recipes from an Alzheimer's Caregiver . She writes a  weekly blog  about her mother’s Alzheimer’s and related recipes. Her blog has also appeared on the

Alzheimer’s Association website .  Her poetry has been published in several journals, including  Poet Lore, Ilanot Review, The Barefoot Review, Red Wolf  Press,  and  Poetica Magazine.  Her poem, “Mercy of a Full Womb,” won the 2014 Jewish Literary Journal’s 1st anniversary competition. Her poem, “Questions My Mother Asked, Answers My Father Gave Her,” won the 2013 Reuben Rose Poetry prize. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University, and a BA from Oberlin College. 

Miriam  is the mother of three sabras and a grandmother of one. A 28-year resident of Beer Sheva, Israel, Miriam lives with her loving husband, Jeff, Zipper the very fat cat, and a snake named Popcorn.

Looking for a dynamic speaker for your group or next event? Miriam speaks about her family's journey with Alzheimer's, and on the subject of writing and publishing. She can also lead a cooking demonstration or talk about aliyah.

Miriam will be touring the US with her book in the near future. She'll be stopping in Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and California. Contact us if you'd like us to add a stop in your home town.

If you'd like to arrange for Miriam to speak in Israel, contact us here.

Two Toothbrushes

by Miriam Green

S he sang that crazy song

when I was five:

two toothbrushes fall in love,

marry in haste, share the same toothpaste.

How I’d brush and brush

just to keep her singing.

I am the blue toothbrush and she, the pink.

She is such a sweet toothbrush.

We’ve met somewhere before,

by the bathroom door

of my memory,

my elbow jutting gently into her side

with each brushing motion,

and once I was the pink toothbrush

glowing from her attentions,

my nylons bristling and whistling.

I tell myself this song keeps her healthy.

Or maybe I’m singing to relive that moment

when I was still her child.

Practical Tips

from The Lost Kitchen

Live in the now. The power of the present allows Mom to laugh and sing and enjoy life fully without the pressure of having to remember the past or plan for the future.

When in doubt, sing. We have a song for brushing teeth and washing hair, a song for putting on Mom’s medicinal patch, walking songs, eating songs, sleeping songs, songs for good moods, silly songs, and old favorites. Tap into their early memories and sing away. It doesn’t matter if you can’t carry a tune. Definitely learn the words to “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts.”

Change the way you speak. Alzheimer’s patients don’t remember things. It is pointless to ask, “Do you remember…” It places needless stress on Mom.

Buy this book!

Share this link, visit the website, read the blog.

Designed with pride by Miriam

www.thelostkitchen.org

Miriam Performs at TEDx Shenkar College, May 2019

Finding joy in alzheimer's.

The Lost Kitchen in the News

Jewish Week Wine and Food

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Guideposts Magazine

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The AlzAuthors Website

Mother's Day, The Alzheimer's Association Blog

Living in the Moment, Ami Magazine

Alligator preserves podcast, fearless fabulous you podcast, the write way cafe author interview.

Baltimore Jewish Life

The Washington Jewish Week

Erin French welcomes food lovers from around the world to The Lost Kitchen.

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• About the Show
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You can soon enter the postcard lottery to eat at Maine's The Lost Kitchen

by Ariana St Pierre , WGME

FILE - Erin French opened The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine, in 2014. (WGME)

FREEDOM (WGME) -- Get your postcards ready: The world-famous restaurant The Lost Kitchen in Freedom will announce details for its reservation system on March 19.

The popular Maine restaurant owned by Erin French transitioned to postcard bookings in 2018 after becoming overwhelmed by calls and visits to secure a table.

People send in postcards and then the restaurant chooses from those, reaching out to people to book reservations.

• Also read: Dinner at Maine's The Lost Kitchen now costs $250 per person

Details for the 2024 postcard reservations system will be announced on The Lost Kitchen’s website on the first day of spring, which is March 19.

According to the Bangor Daily News, in 2023, dinner at The Lost Kitchen cost $250 per person.

The $250 cost for the 5-hour, multi-course dinner doesn’t include tax, tips or drinks.

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Big Heart Little Stove: Bringing Home Meals & Moments from The Lost Kitchen Hardcover – October 31, 2023

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Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! Big Heart Little Stove is your new go-to inspiration for cooking thoughtful and meaningful, yet refreshingly simple meals. With more than 75 recipes and her favorite hospitality “signatures,” Erin French―author of The Lost Kitchen cookbook and the New York Times -bestselling memoir Finding Freedom ―invites readers to bring a piece of her beloved restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, home with them. With dishes pulled from French’s family recipe box and the menu at The Lost Kitchen, ranging from irresistible nibbles like Pecorino Puffs and Gram’s Clam Dip; to luscious soups like Golden Tomato & Peach and Potato & Lentil with Bacon and Herbs; to heaping platters of family-style salads and sides like Peach & Blackberry Salad and Green Beans with Sage, Garlic, and Breadcrumbs; to show-stopping main courses like Pickle-Brined Roast Chicken and Wednesday Night Fish Fry; to French’s favorite all-purpose kitchen staples like Kitchen Sink Pesto and Floral Vinegar, this cookbook has all the tools you need for assembling a seamlessly special meal. To round things out, there are beverages to sip as dinner comes off the stove (Fresh Fruit Shrubs, Slush Puppies) and desserts to make your guests feel truly looked after (Salted Caramel Custards, Roasted Peach Pie with Almond and Fennel). And because weekend mornings deserve celebrating too, there are feel-good treats like Sunday Skillet Cakes and Little Nutmeg Diner Donuts. Regardless of whether it’s a dressed-up affair or a quick weeknight meal, French’s recommendations are the same: Start with the best ingredients you can find, keep it simple, and serve with love. But Big Heart Little Stove is more than just a cookbook. With tips and tricks French has used in her own dining room―at home and in the restaurant―this book is your invitation to use what’s around you to create meaningful moments, from setting a table with found treasures, to adorning dishes with edible flowers, to thoughtful gestures such as offering a cold cloth on a hot day. Full of warmth and spirit, Big Heart Little Stove will show you how to create more joy and connection around your table.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Celadon Books
• Publication date October 31, 2023
• Dimensions 7.69 x 1.12 x 9.5 inches
• ISBN-10 1250832314
• ISBN-13 978-1250832313
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

"I love Erin French’s simple, elegant food. This gorgeous book is filled with recipes that I’m going to make over and over again!" ―Ina Garten “I would say it tastes like home, only it’s better… delicious seems like too puny a word to use under these circumstances.” –Harry Smith, The Today Show " Big Heart Little Stove . .. guides readers through recipes that go beyond simple instructions to include the small touches that make a meal feel special." – The Cut “...the recipes read like the ones we all wish our grandmother had handwritten and passed down to us. They are written by a homecook for a home cook―meant to be made and shared again and again.” –Epicurious “Any home chefs looking to host a joyful, delicious dinner party need look no further than the lovely Big Heart Little Stove. ” –Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Celadon Books (October 31, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250832314
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250832313
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.19 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.69 x 1.12 x 9.5 inches
• #6 in Party Cooking
• #8 in Christmas Cooking
• #81 in Celebrity & TV Show Cookbooks

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About the author

Erin french.

Erin French is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen, a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine, that was recently named one TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places and one of "12 Restaurants Worth Traveling Across the World to Experience" by Bloomberg. A born-and-raised native of Maine, she learned early the simple pleasures of thoughtful food and the importance of gathering for a meal. Her love of sharing Maine and its delicious heritage with curious dinner guests and new friends alike has garnered attention in outlets such as The New York Times (her piece was one of the ten most read articles in the food section the year it was published), Martha Stewart Living, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Food & Wine. She has been invited to share her story on NPR’s All Things Considered, The Chew, CBS This Morning, and The Today Show. Erin was featured in a short film made by Tastemade in partnership with L. L. Bean, which won a James Beard Award, and The Lost Kitchen Cookbook has been named one of the best cookbooks by The Washington Post, Vogue.com, and Remodelista and was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award.

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Whales Have an Alphabet

Until the 1960s, it was uncertain whether whales made any sounds at all..

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Ever since the discovery of whale songs almost 60 years ago, scientists have been trying to decipher the lyrics.

But sperm whales don’t produce the eerie melodies sung by humpback whales, sounds that became a sensation in the 1960s. Instead, sperm whales rattle off clicks that sound like a cross between Morse code and a creaking door. Carl Zimmer, a science reporter, explains why it’s possible that the whales are communicating in a complex language.

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Scientists find an “alphabet” in whale songs.

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