The Pitcher Inn Welcomes Chef Jacob Ennis

Today at the Pitcher Inn blog, we’re asking all of our guests and readers to join us in welcoming a brand-new executive chef to the Inn: Jacob Ennis!

Chef Ennis comes to us deeply steeped in the culinary traditions of Relais & Châteaux hospitality: Ours is the seventh R&C property he’s been a part of. As part of an illustrious resume, Chef Ennis has served as executive chef at such restaurants as the Vanderbilt Grace in Newport, Rhode Island, Topper’s Restaurant at The Wauwinet on Nantucket, and Restaurant Aaron and The Blue Room at the Horned Dorset Primavera, an R&C hotel in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

Most recently, he and his wife Caitlin—whom he met in the R&C White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine—co-owned a scratch sandwich shop and food truck, Daily ‘Wichual, in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Chef Ennis’s Culinary Philosophy & Approach

Valuing hyper-local, sustainable ingredients, Chef Ennis also follows a “less-is-more” credo. “The fewer the ingredients, the better,” he says. “Keep it simple.” His pea soup, already on our menu here at the Inn, is a beautiful example: Its flavorful perfection stems solely from fresh peas, shallots, and salt and pepper.

Besides culling from the bounty of the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market (where he’s already been a regular fixture), Chef Ennis plans on even closer-to-home harvesting to feed our guests: He’ll be rendering the Concord grapes growing in the Pitcher Inn backyard into breakfast jams and jellies, for example.

He’s committed to sustainable seafood such as mackerel and monkfish and loves showcasing wild game in the autumn. The Northeast’s all-seasons foodshed, from Atlantic depths to Mad River Valley farms, provides limitless inspiration for him.

A New, Separate Menu at Tracks

Chef Ennis has an all-out passion for menu creation. At one R&C property, he schemed up a completely new menu every day—365 days a year! One of the major changes he’ll be instituting here at the Pitcher Inn is a separate menu at Tracks, our casual lounge-style eatery that complements our fine-dining restaurant, 275 Main.

The Next Culinary Chapter at the Pitcher Inn

Come join us at the Pitcher Inn to experience the locally anchored, ingredient-focused gastronomy Chef Jacob Ennis will be presenting at 275 Main and Tracks. (We’ll also draw your attention to the turn-down chocolates he’s been making here in the Inn’s kitchen—not to be missed!) Welcoming our new executive chef is going to be a delicious affair…