Metropolitan Styling Combines Contemporary with Classic in Guest Rooms

Two more rooms with fresh personalities have recently been renovated at the Inn. Similar to the recently completed Metro 14 and 15, Rooms 19 and 21 provide guests with elegance in an efficient space.

I chose a fresh, uplifting apple green wall color for Room 19. The tobacco stained headboard and furniture is beautifully contrasted by crisp white accessories and mirrored frames. The green and naturalistic textures and fabrics are soothing for the stay, as are the fern details on the upholstery and accessories and the textural woven desk chair. In both rooms I strived to feature interesting wall décor. Room 19 has an art deco influence found especially in the lamps and wall décor frames.

 
Room 21 has a more masculine feel with toast colored walls accented by geometric chocolate brown upholstery, suggestive of an animal print. The wall décor is eclectic and interesting, specifically selected for each room’s personality. I particularly love the owl print in the linen frame…he seems so proud and sly in his stature. Again the sable colored furniture pieces are combined with lighter framed wall pieces and modern accessories.
–Jeffrey B. Haines Signature Style of Entertaining

Preview Our Walk-Around Wine Tasting Event

Friday, April 19, 2013 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Wishing to participate in your first retail wine tasting event and aren’t quite sure what to expect? These events are meant to be FUN and informative while allowing you to taste and purchase great wines at great prices. Let me explain to you how our wine tasting events work.

1. When you arrive for the event, you will be greeted in our lobby and welcomed with a pen and book listing all the wines being presented with corresponding table numbers and pricing. You will receive only one wine glass for the evening. Water pitchers will be located on each table if you wish to rinse your glass at any time. Pour water into your glass, swirl, and dump into spit/dump buckets also on each table.

2. Note the wines that you enjoyed while tasting them so you don’t forgot them later in the evening. There will be a retail sheet at each table to select quantities of your purchase.

3. *******You will receive $25.00 credit towards your wine purchase.

4. There will be a wine expert/educator pouring at each table. You don’t pour your own wine; they will pour it for you. Don’t be shy about asking questions, they will be happy to converse with you. Each table will have a theme–wines from Oregon, Brunello’s, Russian River wines, Austrian wines, etc. This will help you find favorites, or perhaps unique wines you haven’t had the opportunity to taste.

5. Wear dark colored clothing, if possible. You or someone else may accidently spill or splash, which is less likely to be seen if wearing darker clothing. White is usually not a good choice, however, you may choose to take the challenge of wearing white while tasting over 60+ wines and upon leaving, not show a trace of evidence that you have been to a tasting event–except for your fabulous mood and a little discoloration of the teeth from the rich, intense red wines.

6. Enjoy the light Hors D’ Oeuvres in the center of the room including cheese, bread, fruit, etc. Please remember to eat while tasting.

7. Please know you can sip or spit (yes, that’s right, you may spit the wine into a wine bucket on each table. You might be surprised if you sip some and spit some, you will be able to conquer tasting more of the wines. Spitting is encouraged! )

8. I will be roaming the room in case you have any questions, and if you wish, you may hand me your orders as well.

9. Orders will be placed the following day and wines may take three days to arrive. I will call you when your order arrives and you may pick it up at your convenience. We will need credit card information and phone numbers/email addresses prior to placing the order, and this information can be left directly with me. When you are notified that your wine has arrived, come into the Inn and let the restaurant manager or myself know that you are here to pick up retail wine. Don’t worry, we will carry your order out to your car for you.

10. The most important thing is to bring your thirst for wines of all kinds.
Call us at 908-766-0002 to reserve your reservation at $50.00 per person which includes $25.00 credit towards the purchase of wines that evening. Phone numbers will be taken as well and if you wish to receive our newsletters with upcoming events your email address may be submitted.

Please do not hesitate to call me directly with any questions at 908-766-7300 x147. I look forward to seeing you! Click here for more information.

Mac and Cheese–The Ultimate Comfort Food

Macaroni and Vermont Cheddar Cheese

CRAVING A LITTLE COMFORT FOOD?

Macaroni and Vermont Cheddar Cheese

Shaking off winter’s chill is a bit easier if you’re reaching for comfort foods to warm the heart and soul. Macaroni and cheese may not seem like gourmet fare, but Executive Chef Corey Heyer’s recipe for the Vermont Cheddar variety of this classic comfort dish will have you reaching for more!

Macaroni and Vermont Cheddar Cheese

Recipe from Corey Heyer

6 TBSP Butter, Cubed
¼ Cup Flour
3 Cups Whole Milk
1/8 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Salt
¾ # Sharp Vermont Cheddar Cheese, Grated
½ # Macaroni, Cooked and Drained
¾ Cup Panko Breadcrumbs, Pulverized in Food Processor
1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme, Chopped

Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in heavy saucepot. Add Flour and mix well. Slowly add milk, whisking continuously to incorporate well and make a smooth sauce, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper, cheese, and salt to taste. Add cooked pasta to sauce and coat well. Put macaroni and cheese into a large casserole dish or 4 small dishes. Combine breadcrumbs, thyme, and 2 Tbsp. melted butter, mix well. Cover macaroni with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Envisioning a Signature Style Wedding

Planning a wedding takes an extreme amount of coordination of details. But who comes up with the overall design and vision for the wedding? And who pays attention to the details of the various elements and ensures that they are coming together to tell a story? In many cases, the bride and groom have snippets of ideas that they want to include in their dream wedding, maybe a color or the style of the wedding dress, but they struggle in how to pull it all together.

Several years ago, I developed the Jeffrey B. Haines Signature Style of Entertaining, exclusively at the Bernards Inn. Having worked with clients over the years on various galas, parties, and personally my eldest daughter’s wedding, I understand the importance of the details. I truly enjoy the opportunity to design for an event. I approach it like my interior design projects, yet knowing that this is for one moment or evening adds an extra flair and challenge…yet it never hinders the transformation of the space.

   Recently I have been working with a couple on their wedding at the Bernards Inn. Once again, it has been a pleasure to coordinate with Diane Carr, General Manager at the Inn to develop the event. I have also enjoyed working with the talented event vendors which Diane and I selected. The beginning inspiration came from the couple’s sophisticated color theme of black and white, which we suggested to “tweak” to black and cream. From here we began to envision a new environment for the ceremony and reception.

The imagery of the bark from a birch tree has provided much inspiration and the basis for the event. I found three beautiful ribbons which I loved and had hand-sewn to create custom ribbon to be used for the bouquets and various details. The texture of the birch trees has led to a vision of transforming the ballroom into an elegant city park at night. In my next blog I look forward to sharing more of the story and images from the wedding.

–Jeff
Jeffrey B. Haines Signature Style of Entertaining

Sommelier’s Sojourn to Wente Vineyards

On a recent wine trip to California, my travel plans included visiting Livermore Valley which is located about one hour south of Napa Valley and 30 miles southeast of San Francisco. Livermore Valley is an AVA (Approved Viticultural Area), which is one of California’s oldest wine districts. This AVA is 15 miles long and 10 miles wide.

There are many wineries in Livermore Valley, but one of the most popular is Wente Vineyards. Wente also boasts a wonderful restaurant located at the entrance to their beautiful Greg Norman PGA golf course. If you play golf on this magnificent course, and your game includes some golf shots with some slice, you’ll find yourself searching for your ball in the vineyards as there are vines planted throughout the course.

Wente is the oldest family run winery in California– founded 125 years ago–and is now run by 5th generation (and soon to be 6th generations) .The Wente family owns over 3,000 acres and uses only estate grown fruit, (meaning vine to bottle, owner grown, produced and bottled).

Riva Ranch is the name of the family’s vineyard in Arroyo Seco in Monterey where they have been growing Chardonnay since the 1960s. Wente Vineyards was the first California winery to produce a wine labeled as Chardonnay in 1936. Today, many of the great Chardonnay vineyards in California are planted with the Wente clone.

The Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay is a rich, golden color, with aromas of ripe apple, vanilla butter and pear. Luscious mouth flavors of vanilla, butterscotch and finishes long and smooth. We offer this wine by the glass and by the bottle, and it is also poured with the sweet potato ravioli on our fabulous Tasting Menu.
$9.95 glass- 6 oz or $14.75 9 oz (glass and a half) $39.00 bottle

The Wente Reliz Creek Pinot Noir is named after the creek that runs through the estate vineyards “Reliz” Creek. All the fruit is handpicked as well as hand sorted. Beautiful aromas and flavors of cherry, strawberry, vanilla, toasted oak, earth and cigar box. Delicate wine with delicate tannins followed by a soft fruity finish.
$11.25 glass- 6 oz or $16.75 9 oz (glass and a half) $45.00 bottle

Through the eyes of an Intern

Intern Bryna McEntee

Every day is different in the hospitality industry. I knew that was the only thing I could count on when beginning my internship at The Bernards Inn. My internship began in the sales and catering office where I saw how a single phone call triggered the entire event planning process.

While working in banquets, I was able to sit in on client consultations and then observe how the events came together. Working at the front desk allowed me to see a whole different side of the Inn. I was able to interact with guests the night before their events and assist them again the following day at the actual celebrations. By working in these various positions I was able to experience completely different situations.

At school our professors teach us about different aspects of the hospitality industry. We have the opportunity to listen to stories of their own experiences in different areas. Hearing their stories is very educational for us, but getting to experience the day-to-day life in the industry is even better. At the Inn, I was able to call upon the knowledge I had gained in class and combine it with real-life experience. In this way, I was able to gain a better understanding of how all the departments and staff worked together.

I never expected to learn so many new things while at The Bernards Inn this summer. Each day at the Bernards Inn brought something new. Thank you so much for a fantastic experience!

~~Bryna McEntee

BURGUNDY WINE DINNER DELIGHTS ALL

As a sommelier, it will likely come as no surprise that wine dinners are one of my favorite parts of the job. Wine dinners are such an amazing way to experience, enjoy and learn more about wine and food, all within the company of enthusiastic wine drinkers, and more often than not, foodies! The recent Girardin Burgundy Wine Dinner was no exception—it was an intimate and friendly evening that was enjoyed by all.
Our guest host for the evening, Marco Caschera, Export Director from Meursault France, was eager to share his passion and knowledge about the Girardin wines. I personally enjoyed all the wines, however, I thought the Meursault Les Narvaux and the Pommard 1er Cru Les Grand Epenots were exceptional. I was surprised the Meursault had wonderful weight and texture and the Pommard was just exquisite. We served the Pommard (quick reminder, this is Pinot Noir) with cheese, and just for fun, we also poured the Chassagne Montrachet white ( quick reminder, this is chardonnay) with the cheese as well. It was fun to see the different preferences for each individual whether they preferred the white or red. Both worked well, but Marco preferred the white, and the rest of the group had mixed preferences.

Marco was quite complimentary on the temperatures at which the wines were served. He explained that he has spoken at many 4- and 5-star Michelin restaurants and other high end events, often be disappointed on the incorrect temperature of the wines when served. Meaning, the white was too cold and the red was too warm. He explained that the delicate pinot can be hurt and therefore may not show well by being served too warm, which happens more times than not. In order to show well, (no matter what you are showing, dogs, horses, wine, etc.) you must be at your best.
Both the red and the white were stored at 43 degrees prior to this event. About 45 minutes prior to the guests’ arrival, the wines were brought out and kept in the room to allow them to slowly come up in temperature for the proper enjoyment. The whites were left off of ice, which then allows the true flavors of the wine to shine through without being disguised by the cold. The reds were allowed to come up to about 55-60 degrees with just a slight chill to them which allows the delicate pinot noirs to shine. Thank you to Marco for recognizing our strong concern and commitment to proper wine service and storage.
We look forward to hosting another wine dinner very soon! Stay tuned for upcoming events!