Special culinary events at this tucked-away Middleburg inn.

Lightly cured king salmon with avocado, pickled cucumber, buckwheat, and apple.
Photos by Jennifer Chase

The Conservatory.

Foie gras with beets and cranberry bread.

Fireplace in the lounge and bar.

Chef Jan Van Haute in his garden.
Last month, the Goodstone Inn in Middleburg hosted its first four-hands dinner. Executive chef Jan Van Haute, who joined the Goodstone team last year, welcomed Johnny Spero, executive chef of Reverie in Washington, D.C., to the charming hunt-country resort for the event.

Chef Jan Van Haute
The evening began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres—including Chincoteague oysters and bite-size foie gras BLTs—in the inn’s cozy lounge outfitted with both a bar and a fireplace. The dinner then moved to the Goodstone’s gorgeous window-encircled Conservatory dining room. The chefs dived the five courses with Spero taking the first two and the final and Van Haute charged with the third and fourth. Spero and Van Haute introduced each course, walking through guests through their ingredient choices and thought process. Stephen Elhafdi, wine director and sommelier for the Goodstone, presented each course’s wine pairing with notes on the origin and flavor profile. Spero began the meal with bright dishes from the sea: a Scandinavian-inspired scallop with buttermilk and dill followed by cod with sunchoke and caviar. Van Haute highlighted rich, winter flavors with his squab with fermented carrot and périgord winter truffle followed by Randall Lineback beef with salsify and Goodstone honey. Spero finished the night by returning to lighter fare with a grape-studded yogurt dessert.
Van Haute, who previously served as the executive chef to the Ambassador of Belgium to the United States and has helmed kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, says he had wanted to host a four-hands dinner since he first came to the Goodstone, one in which chefs could share and collaborate, “not the old French way of hiding recipes.” He adds that it allows the chefs to learn from each other as well as expose their food to a new audience. Expect more four-hands dinners to come at the Goodstone. Goodstone.com
For more on the Goodstone Inn and Middleburg, pick up a copy of our April 2020 issue.