Phoebe Cole-Smith
grower. gatherer. MAKER.
Phoebe Cole-Smith’s love of farming was kindled at her family’s farm in Illinois, stoked at The Putney School (a working farm) in Vermont, and continued to be fueled at Dirt Road Farm in Weston, Connecticut, which she owned and operated with her husband, former NHL executive Mike Smith, until the fall of 2021. The pair produced wood-fired maple syrup from their 425-tap stand of sugar maples, kept honeybees and laying chickens, grew herbs, vegetables and fruit on their 5 1/2 rocky, hilly acres, and she hosted farm-to-table barn suppers and private culinary experiences. Her affinity for cooking began in childhood with appreciation for her mother’s hearty, seasonal, made-from-scratch fare. Her palate was cultivated through early years of restaurant work during high school summers and throughout college, as well as on her travels throughout the US and abroad. She also credits her appreciation of food with exposure to the high/low dining she encountered living in New York City during the 80s and early 90s — first, while working in book publishing on an extremely limited salary (pizza + pierogis), then later as a sales rep in the commercial film industry with an unlimited expense account (truffles + foie gras). Her formal training at The French Culinary Institute (now ICC) in NYC led to an internship at the restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. Phoebe has sat on the Board of the Fairfield County CT Farm Bureau, and been a member of CT NOFA, Chefs Collaborative, the Backyard Beekeepers Association and the Town of Weston CT Select Committee for Sustainability. Her children, Sophie Cole and Walker Cole live and work in the film industry in Los Angeles, California.
Phoebe Cole-Smith Gallery
“One of the things we love most about Phoebe Cole-Smith is that she is a chef who ‘walks the walk’. That is, she divides her time between her farm (DIRT ROAD FARM) and her chef business (PICNIC). The synthesis between the garden and the kitchen lends itself to her deeply creative menus — where deep knowledge about one enhances successes in the other”