JEK
Senior Insider
Monday, September 21, 2009
Kara and Robert Brooks, of Eastford in Connecticut’s Northeast Corner, were inspired to open the Still River Café three years ago after writing a book about chefs who own restaurants in the French West Indies.
Couple Serves Up A Drastic Career Change
Former corporate litigators make transition to restaurant business
By DOUGLAS S. MALAN
Attorneys Kara and Robert Brooks had a dilapidated 150-year-old barn on their Eastford property in northeastern Connecticut for several years before they figured out what to do with it. A workshop for Bob? A basketball court for their sons?
Instead, they decided on building a restaurant. For the past three years, the Brookses have been operating the Still River Café in the remodeled and modern barn that stands several feet from their house.
But it’s no typical small eatery. Bob’s lifelong dedication to gardening and Kara’s love of cooking define the restaurant. She cooks what he grows in the one-acre organic garden, and the restaurant’s menu is an upscale reflection of their hard work.
Set in a town of fewer than 2,000 people in Windham County, the Still River Café isn’t exactly easily accessible, so the Brookses have relied on their culinary skills to attract crowds. “We’ve tried to create a destination restaurant for people around New England,” said Kara.
She describes the menu, which changes daily, as innovative Seasonal American cuisine, featuring quail, lobster, rabbit and lamb, along with various dishes based on produce Bob grows. “We like French cooking techniques and Italian sensibilities,” said Kara, noting the restaurant’s reliance on fresh local foods.
The most popular feature at the restaurant is a 10-course chef’s tasting menu, featuring dishes such as egg custard and caviar, Georges Bank cod and escargot ravioli.
But for two former corporate litigators, there’s more to the story than that.
The idea for the restaurant was hatched during a trip several years ago to St. Barthélemy, an island in the French West Indies. Bob was taking a sabbatical from his job at the firm then known as Day, Berry & Howard, where the couple had met and where Bob had practiced more than 20 years. Being interested in various types of cuisine, they were intrigued by the cultural mix of people on the island, especially those who arrived from places such as Great Britain, France and South Africa to open restaurants.
They ended up writing a book telling the chefs’ stories and sharing recipes. “Their stories were so inspiring that we decided [running a restaurant] is what we wanted to do,” Kara said.
Studying In Westchester
So they returned to Connecticut, and, in 2004, began 18 months of renovating the old barn and preparing to transition out of the practice of law.
Kara spent a year developing recipes and cooking techniques, and she commuted regularly to study in the kitchen of a famous farm-based restaurant in Westchester County, N.Y., called Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Cooking had always been a hobby of Kara’s and release from her law practice, which included seven years total with Day, Berry & Howard and Brown Rudnick in Hartford. “It was something I found to be very relaxing, which is not what it’s like when you’re doing it as a professional,” she said. “It’s one thing to cook and another to cook on a commercial level.”
Bob had to expand his garden and greenhouses to produce enough food for the restaurant, which is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Sunday for brunch.
Meanwhile, they quickly found out that running a restaurant is about more than just food. There were times, Kara said, when they ran out of Diet Coke or didn’t have enough change in the register.
But she said they wouldn’t change anything they’ve done because they’ve been able to switch careers and focus on their love of food.
That doesn’t mean their lawyer skills are no longer put to use, though. In fact, a year before the Still River Café opened, the Brookses fought hard for a permit to sell wine and beer; it was a major challenge because Eastford was one of the only dry towns in the state. “Our town has always been dry” going back to the 18th century, Kara said. “We had to convince our town that they wanted to change their history.”
They were successful, and the referendum attracted national media attention.
Now, the Brookses are working to build up a name among food writers, and they’ve been successful with high praise in publications throughout New England and New York.
“It’s hard work,” Kara said. “Everyone thinks lawyers work hard. You do everything on your own when you’re a small restaurant.” •
Kara and Robert Brooks, of Eastford in Connecticut’s Northeast Corner, were inspired to open the Still River Café three years ago after writing a book about chefs who own restaurants in the French West Indies.
Couple Serves Up A Drastic Career Change
Former corporate litigators make transition to restaurant business
By DOUGLAS S. MALAN
Attorneys Kara and Robert Brooks had a dilapidated 150-year-old barn on their Eastford property in northeastern Connecticut for several years before they figured out what to do with it. A workshop for Bob? A basketball court for their sons?
Instead, they decided on building a restaurant. For the past three years, the Brookses have been operating the Still River Café in the remodeled and modern barn that stands several feet from their house.
But it’s no typical small eatery. Bob’s lifelong dedication to gardening and Kara’s love of cooking define the restaurant. She cooks what he grows in the one-acre organic garden, and the restaurant’s menu is an upscale reflection of their hard work.
Set in a town of fewer than 2,000 people in Windham County, the Still River Café isn’t exactly easily accessible, so the Brookses have relied on their culinary skills to attract crowds. “We’ve tried to create a destination restaurant for people around New England,” said Kara.
She describes the menu, which changes daily, as innovative Seasonal American cuisine, featuring quail, lobster, rabbit and lamb, along with various dishes based on produce Bob grows. “We like French cooking techniques and Italian sensibilities,” said Kara, noting the restaurant’s reliance on fresh local foods.
The most popular feature at the restaurant is a 10-course chef’s tasting menu, featuring dishes such as egg custard and caviar, Georges Bank cod and escargot ravioli.
But for two former corporate litigators, there’s more to the story than that.
The idea for the restaurant was hatched during a trip several years ago to St. Barthélemy, an island in the French West Indies. Bob was taking a sabbatical from his job at the firm then known as Day, Berry & Howard, where the couple had met and where Bob had practiced more than 20 years. Being interested in various types of cuisine, they were intrigued by the cultural mix of people on the island, especially those who arrived from places such as Great Britain, France and South Africa to open restaurants.
They ended up writing a book telling the chefs’ stories and sharing recipes. “Their stories were so inspiring that we decided [running a restaurant] is what we wanted to do,” Kara said.
Studying In Westchester
So they returned to Connecticut, and, in 2004, began 18 months of renovating the old barn and preparing to transition out of the practice of law.
Kara spent a year developing recipes and cooking techniques, and she commuted regularly to study in the kitchen of a famous farm-based restaurant in Westchester County, N.Y., called Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Cooking had always been a hobby of Kara’s and release from her law practice, which included seven years total with Day, Berry & Howard and Brown Rudnick in Hartford. “It was something I found to be very relaxing, which is not what it’s like when you’re doing it as a professional,” she said. “It’s one thing to cook and another to cook on a commercial level.”
Bob had to expand his garden and greenhouses to produce enough food for the restaurant, which is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Sunday for brunch.
Meanwhile, they quickly found out that running a restaurant is about more than just food. There were times, Kara said, when they ran out of Diet Coke or didn’t have enough change in the register.
But she said they wouldn’t change anything they’ve done because they’ve been able to switch careers and focus on their love of food.
That doesn’t mean their lawyer skills are no longer put to use, though. In fact, a year before the Still River Café opened, the Brookses fought hard for a permit to sell wine and beer; it was a major challenge because Eastford was one of the only dry towns in the state. “Our town has always been dry” going back to the 18th century, Kara said. “We had to convince our town that they wanted to change their history.”
They were successful, and the referendum attracted national media attention.
Now, the Brookses are working to build up a name among food writers, and they’ve been successful with high praise in publications throughout New England and New York.
“It’s hard work,” Kara said. “Everyone thinks lawyers work hard. You do everything on your own when you’re a small restaurant.” •
