Lisa’s Story

Growing up in New York City, with its melting pot of food cultures, Lisa was wide eyed and well fed. With a southern nanny cooking up her magic, and parents frequently entertaining and dining out, Lisa learned early on the power of food and hospitality. By the age of fifteen she was learning knife skills and during college, she studied food & nutrition & interior design while on a tennis scholarship.

After stints at gourmet shops – notably Eli Zabars – and as garde manger at The Dune Deck Hotel in Westhampton Beach, Lisa joined a prestigious New York catering firm and found her calling. Lisa incorporated Personal Taste Caterers in 1983 – still in business to this day! In those first 20 years, Lisa’s credentials included food styling, film catering for such movies as Crocodile Dundee and hundreds of corporate and private events. All the while Lisa took classes at Peter Kumps New York Cooking School and enjoyed learning from such chef luminaries as Jacques Pepin and Sheila Lukins of The Silver Palate.

Vermont had always been a sweet retreat for mini vacations and skiing but in August of 2002 it became her family’s home. Housed in what was once a tack room on the property in East Calais, Lisa and her husband Jeff decided to create a café to showcase her culinary talents, hone her skills and promote her new Vermont catering business….. thus The Farmhouse Café & Catering Co. was born in July of 2003!  After three short years the catering business shifted into high gear and the café has now become a venue for occasional private bookings and a showcase room for wedding appointments and tastings. Lisa just finished hosting and producing a weekly food radio show, “Food For Thought” on WGDR, which aired for 5 years and gave her a vocal platform to inspire and inform. Podcasts are downloadable @ WGDR.org. Now Lisa concentrates on her growing business. To be continued…………..