Erin French is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen, a 40-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine, that was recently named one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places and one of “12 Restaurants Worth Traveling Across the World to Experience” by Bloomberg. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Finding Freedom, and features in Magnolia Network’s The Lost Kitchen, which is now in its third season. A born-and-raised native of Maine, she learned early the simple pleasures of thoughtful food and the importance of gathering for a meal. Her love of sharing Maine and its delicious heritage with curious dinner guests and new friends alike has been lauded by such outlets such as The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, NPR’s All Things Considered, The Chew, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Food & Wine.
Guest host is Cara McDonald, a writer and the executive editor of MyNorth.com and Traverse Northern Michigan magazine. As a veteran editor of regional magazines, sense of place is her North Star; she happily navigates dinnertime based on seasonal produce and hosts the weekly “Local Eats” segment on 9/10 News. Although she’s a somewhat new-to-the-dinner-party Lost Kitchen fan, she found inspiration in Erin’s work when a friend gave her a copy of Erin’s book Finding Freedom just when she needed a story of creativity, survival and renewal. Cara lives with her family in Traverse City.
Local Bookstores
Bay Books – Suttons Bay
Brilliant Books – Traverse City
Cottage Book Shop – Glen Arbor
Horizon Books – Traverse City
McLean & Eakin – Petoskey
Saturn Booksellers – Gaylord
Event Sponsors
Farm Club and The Little Fleet