About Your Hosts

Guided by a combined 30 years in hospitality, we bring a warm and personalized experience, filled with a detailed understanding of the region through its natural landscapes, species, growers, and foods. There is a unique humanity to how we welcome people, whether they have arrived from near or far away.

Our property is chef-led, with the natural landscape as our foundation: we showcase pollinator and native plant gardens, heirloom and wild foods, and a naturalist’s eye to our physical footprint. Each layer builds onto the next with organic and sustainable textiles, thoughtful landscaping which prompts conversation, and background stories to soulful food on the plate. All of this culminates in a one-of-a-kind experience for guests. A visitor isn’t simply checking into a room or being served at a restaurant. They are being welcomed into a world.

Melina Hammer

Melina is the driving force behind what happens here. She is an award-winning cookbook author (get her latest book here), food photographer and stylist, recipe developer, and writes a weekly Substack. She tends the medicinal, herbal and edible gardens surrounding the cottage. More of her work is at melinahammer.com.

Jim Lafferty

Jim is an editorial and commercial photographer with nearly two decades in the photo industry. Prior to his career in photography, Jim developed an appreciation for great food and esoteric ingredients working FOH with famed chefs and restauranteurs such as Tom Collicio, Amanda Freitag, and Mark Meyer and Vicki Freeman. He runs a regional photo production service, Hudson Valley Portraits. More of his photo work is at jimlafferty.com.