Shakespeare & Company presents noted food expert Francine Segan

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Lenox, Mass — Francine Segan, noted author, lecturer, all-around culinary expert and Shakespeare & Company’s official food historian, returns for another of her very popular lectures on Saturday, October 25 at 4pm (following that afternoon’s performance of The Canterville Ghost), including food demonstration and a delicious tasting.

Admission is $25. It takes place in Studio 3, one of Shakespeare & Company’s new, state-of-the-art rehearsal studios in its Production and Performing Arts Center. This special presentation and tasting is inspired by The Canterville Ghost, an Oscar Wilde adaptation currently playing at Shakespeare & Company.

Segan will tackle the topic of the mid-1800s culinary delights, a fascinating time period when high society was at its peak and choosing the proper salad fork was no laughing matter. Attendees will discover the sorts of foods, elaborate etiquette, and enchanting entertainments enjoyed then, taking a delicious tour of a time of calling cards, horse-drawn coaches, high tea, cotillions, lawn parties, and formal dinners—a time when even picnics were served on fine china. Learn the 1850’s meanings of giving a lady a tulip instead a rose; discover the most popular toasts of the 1850s; and when it was proper to remove your gloves or tip your hat.

The 45-minute talk, including a trivia contest about the uses for dozens of unique but now-obsolete objects from the era, will be followed by a demonstration on creating easy but festive 19th century garnishes and, of course, a delicious tasting of popular 19th century tidbits. This is a great way to prepare for your upcoming holiday entertaining. The delectable ingredients for these tasty dishes are provided by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, just up the road in Pittsfield.

Segan is the co-author of Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook, The Opera Lover's Cookbook: Menus for Elegant Entertaining, and several other essential titles for food lovers interested in tasting the best cuisine of days gone by, today. The Canterville Ghost is directed by Irina Brook and was adapted from the Wilde story by Brook, Anna Brownsted and the cast. It plays in Shakespeare & Company’s brand new Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through November 9. Tickets are available by calling the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or going to www.shakespeare.org. Berkshire residents get 40% off ticket price for any performance.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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