One frigid morning in December, a modest Revolutionary War-era wooden house in the center of Kent, Conn., was abuzz with activity. In the rear of the building, home to the newly opened restaurant Swyft, employees were tidying and prepping the night’s menu of wood-fired pizzas, fresh pastas and small plates. In a front extension, carpenters were banging away amid the elegant, putty-colored walls of Ore Hill, a fine-dining restaurant that will open early this summer.
Nimbly presiding over it all was chef Joel Viehland, who crisscrossed the space, gesticulating to builders on the Ore Hill side, then darting over to Swyft’s prep stations and nudging his staff to “feed Sour Girl”— a term of endearment for his prized long-fermented sourdough starter.
Viehland’s schedule for the past year has been a balancing act, preparing for the unveiling of his two distinct yet interconnected restaurants. In many ways, the concept, a combination of the casual and the formal, is not unlike the working relationship behind it, between Viehland and the philanthropist Anne Bass. After the James Beard–nominated Viehland, who has cooked at Noma and Gramercy Tavern, left his most recent post at the acclaimed Community Table in New Preston, he began brainstorming ideas with Bass, a longtime local resident, who just happened to be purchasing this building in Kent. “We started asking questions,” Viehland explained. “Do we need a casual restaurant, or do we need a fine-dining restaurant?” They decided that Litchfield County — with its growing number of quietly chic shops (including Plain Goods, George Home and Privet House) and its roster of marquee fashion- and art-world residents (Jasper Johns, Agnes Gund, Diane von Furstenberg) — could use both.
At Ore Hill & Swyft, the balance between approachable and upscale will be key. On the Swyft side, the interior is relaxed and warmly inviting, clad in pine with the original 1780 post-and-beam construction beautifully preserved. Ore Hill, its fine-dining counterpart, will be more dressed-up but similarly low-key, furnished with Shaker-inspired tables and chairs. Behind both spaces are a number of design stars: Walter Moberg, who restored the fireplaces at the palace of Versailles, was brought in to consult on the fireplaces; the architect Yvette Adams, the landscape designer Arne Maynard, the lighting designer Craig Roberts and the art director Richard Pandiscio also all had a hand in the look and feel of Ore Hill & Swyft, as did Amy Mellen, the former creative director of Calvin Klein Home.
The menu at Swyft is Southern Italian-based, but with plenty of global references. “It’s a pretty average Joe menu,” said Viehland, humbly underselling his selection of lush Bolognese, agrodolce-topped burgers and beef-tallow fries, “but we’re trying to do the best version of these classic items. It’s affordable food, but with elevated flavor profiles making things taste amazing.” Those expansive flavors come courtesy of Viehland’s precisely calibrated pizza dough made with five artisanal flours and his waste-nothing, skin-to-seed approach to produce (his kitchen shelves are brimming with apple peels, pepper skins and other discards that have been dehydrated, charred or ground up to be used as spices).
A dizzying array of Swyft’s (and eventually Ore Hill’s) produce comes from Rock Cobble Farm, Bass’s nearby organic farm. “Anne has always been a passionate horticulturalist — she really knows a lot about plants,” said Viehland. “The level of this farm is crazy high.” There are 34 varieties of tomatoes alone, including Black Opal, Indigo Rose and Green Zebra, as well as cardoons, artichokes, husk cherries, tomatillos and black raspberries. But the real surprises are greenhouse-grown citrus such as yuzu, limes and kumquats, as well as lemongrass and ginger, which make their way into Swyft menu items such as crudo with yuzukoshō and pickled celtuce.
When Ore Hill opens this summer, it will likely be offering experimental tasting menus. “I want to do some more creative, avant-garde stuff that you could only do in a fine-dining atmosphere,” Viehland said. To that end, Rock Cobble Farm is growing some unusual plants such as huauzontle (or “Aztec broccoli”) and hard-to-find varieties of melons such as Charentais and Prescott Fond Blanc. Viehland stressed, however, that he intends to keep the upscale part of the venture accessible to all. “I want to do a version of fine dining that’s not pretentious and overbearing but really warm, like we’re welcoming you into our home. There should always be a yin and a yang to these things.”
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