vermont C ountr y inns
Destination Dining
The Inn at West View Farm draws guests
with cozy accommodations and fine fare.
T
he i n n at w est v iew
Farm is a double destination.
Many guests come to spend
a night, or a quiet weekend, in the
country-luxe village of Dorset. But
almost everyone—tourists and locals
alike—comes for the food.
Christal Siewertsen and her hus-
band, Raymond Chen, bought the
white-clapboard inn in February
2000. They had lived for years on
the Upper East Side of Manhattan,
where Christal was a financial ana-
lyst for Bear Stearns, and Ray was
the lead line cook at The Mercer
Kitchen for culinary superstar Jean-
Georges Vongerichten.
“I wanted to change careers,
and we wanted to have a baby,” says
Christal. “We were looking for a
completely different lifestyle. We
had spent a lot of time in Vermont,
on vacation, and we knew it would
be a great place to buy a business and
raise a family.”
With the help of a broker, they
started searching for a restaurants or
an inn to purchase in Vermont. After
rejecting several other places, they
bought the Inn at West View Farm,
Raymond Chen and Christal Siewertsen with their son, Raymond.
moved into an adjacent home on
the property, had a son (Raymond,
who’s now six), and acquired the unoffi-
cial State Vehicle of Vermont (a Subaru
Outback, of course). “All we need now is a
dog,” says Raymond. “We’ve got a guinea
pig, so we’re working on it.”
The 10 guest rooms were in good
shape, so the couple turned their immedi-
ate attention to the kitchen. “We scrapped
the menu and gutted the kitchen,” says
Raymond. The restaurant opened in June
2000, and curious locals, lured by the
58 november / december 20 0 7
“under new ownership” ad campaign,
stopped by for a bite. The food was fab-
ulous—contemporary American cuisine
with a French twist in the main dining
room, and informal, Asian-inspired “little
dishes” in the tavern.
Notable meals include braised beef
short ribs, pan-seared diver scallops,
mussels steamed in sake, and sautéed
mushroom and mascarpone ravioli.
“People who swore they would never eat
As seen in Vermont Magazine. Copyright 2007
Story by Kathleen James
Photograph by Joseph Healy
here again started telling their friends
about it,” says Raymond. “We got
great reviews right away from the
locals, and word of mouth started
working for us.” Accumulated acco-
lades include the Wine Spectator
Award of Excellence, every year since
2001; a “Best New Restaurant” des-
ignation by the American Institute
of Wine; and the short-ribs recipe, by
reader request, in the April 2007 issue
of Bon Appetit.
“We’ve been coming to Ver-
mont for many years, and we’ve eaten
at excellent restaurants all over the
country,” says Cheryl O’Connor,
who owns a second home in East
Rupert and lives in Wilton, Connect-
icut. It was O’Connor who wrote to
Bon Appetit, asking for the short-ribs
recipe to be published. “I can honestly
say that the food at West View Farm is
some of the best I’ve ever had. It’s con-
sistently superior, absolutely phenom-
enal. And the short ribs are to die for.”
The inn itself is a rambling 1870
farmhouse that’s cozy and nicely
appointed, without being affected
or fussy. The inn is just down the
road from the picture-postcard
Dorset green, a few miles from the
shops and restaurants of Manchester,
and an easy drive to the nearby ski resorts
of Bromley and Stratton.
“This house has a long history of
accepting guests and serving wonderful
meals in a peaceful countryside setting,”
says Christal. “We’re happy to continue
that tradition.”
The Inn at West View Farm is on Route 30, a half-
mile south of the Dorset town green. Call 1-800-
769-4903 or go to www.innatwestviewfarm.com.
www.vermontmagazine.com