In A Family Farm in Tuscany, Sarah Fioroni, chef, cooking instructor, sommelier, and manager of her family’s organic farm near historic San Gimignano, shares stories of family traditions and daily life at Fattoria Poggio Alloro, founded in 1955. In addition to her engaging anecdotes that reveal how life at Poggio Alloro changes from month to month, Sarah shares more than fifty traditional Tuscan recipes that are prepared daily in the kitchen using the farm’s seasonal ingredients—from hearty winter dishes to salads and risottos featuring garden vegetables to holiday breads and desserts.

Sarah Fioroni, a native of San Gimignano, has worked full time at Fattoria Poggio Alloro since her graduation from high school. Now the farm’s general manager and executive chef, she is also an AIS-certified sommelier, president of the Associazione Strada del Vino Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and a certified teacher for the Fattorie Didattiche program for schoolchildren.

Sampled wines will be available for purchase at Rayr wine shop in Rockport and Lily, Lupine and Fern in Camden.  The Hartstone Inn is located on 41 Elm St. in Camden.

Benedetta Vitali is a chef who has lived and worked all her life in Florence, Italy.  Benedetta is the author of the James Beard Award finalist Soffritto: Tradition and Innovation in Tuscan Cooking, in which she makes a compelling case for learning to cook as Italians do by fully engaging all of one’s senses and paying close attention to the transformation of ingredients that occurs during cooking rather than by following recipes slavishly. She has taught cooking classes across the United States as well as in Florence.

This cooking week package is only available to guests of the Inn and includes lodging for 5 evenings ( Sunday – Thursday) and breakfast for two each morning. The package is based on a single participant joining us for the course (second person course cost is an additional $525) which includes lunch each day, 6 cooking courses, 2 tastings, Sunday welcome dinner, Hartstone Inn apron and welcome amenity.

The week long package also includes:

* Private Welcome Dinner Sunday evening: Maine Lobster Bake on the beach at Michael and Mary Jo’s House with Italian favorites

* Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Making class at the State of Maine Cheese Company

* Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar tasting at Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars

* Wine Tasting and Private Tour of the Cellardoor Winery

Traditional Room: $1250 / Superior Room: $1500 / Suite: $1650. The course is limited to 14 participants

Click here for more information.

We are excited to be part of this unique event!  For the adventurous foodie, the Camden Gourmet Adventure features two fabulous courses in two different restaurants and an after party with desserts, live music and dancing hosted by Cellardoor Winery and Megunticook Market at the Winery. The four participating restaurants are 40 Paper, Francine Bistro, Hartstone Inn and Natalie’s. Here’s the hook. Four excellent restaurants are involved, but guests will dine at only two. You won’t know where you’re eating (or what culinary surprises await) until you are delivered to the door of the restaurant!  

Guests of the event are asked to park/meet in the Camden Harbor Landing parking lot. You will be delivered to the restaurants, then to Cellardoor Winery, and then back to the lot.

Tickets cost $79 per person and are inclusive of transportation, dinner, tax, gratuity and the after-party. If you are part of a group please purchase your tickets as a group, we will do our best to keep you together.

To perfect the menus for the evening the chefs need to know of food allergies and intense food dislikes. Two quick questions about allergies and dislikes are included in the ticket order process.

It’s going to be a dining adventure like no other event in Maine, and it’s all thanks to the creative minds at the restaurants, Megunticook Market and Cellardoor Winery.

Find more information or purchase tickets here.

Below is the 2012 class schedule.  Any one of these classes can be added on to our Gourmet Getaway Package to add some extra fun to your time away!  Not interested in baking?  Cooking classes are offered too!

February 5^th – Valentine Sugar Cookies: Learn to make sugar dough & create beautiful holiday cookies.

February 12th – Chocolate Mousse Cake:  Make and bake a chocolate cake and fill/frost it with chocolate mousse. Fun chocolate decorations will be made to decorate your cake! Just in time for valentines day!

February 18^th – Hors d’oeuvres – Hot & Cold: For the people that like to entertain and are tired of cheese and crackers.

February 26th – Pizza: Learn to make different pizza dough’s with lots of topping ideas. Great affordable ideas to make with the whole family!

March 1st – Rolled Fondant: Learn to cover a cake with this edible clay. You’ll be shown different techniques. (All the cakes Steve created on the food network challenges were covered in fondant)

April 1st – Basic Cake Decorating: Learn to put buttercream on a cake like a professional and decorate with different ideas shown in class. Additional $15.00 charge for take home pastry bags and tips.

April 15th – Fun with Pies: Cream pie, chiffon, meringue, lattice, custard, 2 crust and different pie shell options.

April 29th – Sugar Cookies: Make and decorate your own cookies. Over 500 cutters to choose from. Each person will get to make at least 10 cookies!

All classes are limited to 10 people and are hands on!  Must be 12 years of age or older must bring your own rolling pin and apron if class requires. Classes start at 3pm and last approximately 2-3 hours.  $40 per person.

Photo credit: Maine Magazine

Our guests often ask where they can find good Thai food. Long Grain restaurant, which is located only a few doors down from the Hartstone Inn offers that and so much more.

Owners Paula Palakawong and Ravin “Bas” Nakjaroen who are from Bangkok, offer a wide range of Asian food with a Maine touch.  They incorporate seasonal Maine ingredients into traditional Asian cuisine and make nearly all their dishes from scratch.  They serve both lunch and dinner and offer a both beer and wine.  We think this restaurant is worth considering on your next trip to Camden!

View two recent press articles on Long Grain by visiting the links below.

Long Grain - Bangor Daily News March 2011

Long Grain – Maine Magazine December 2011

Event date/time:

Saturday, January 14th, 1-3 pm

Are you a beer enthusiast? Join us at Shag Rock Brewing Company in Rockland for a brewery tour and a presentation of the beer brewing process.  Your host for this adventure is Richard Ruggiero, a veteran brewing expert and Brew Master at Shag Rock Brewing Company.  There will be a tasting of seasonal hand crafted Ales and Lagers (10-12 offerings), while evaluating their styles, origin and history.

Weekend packages at the Hartstone Inn are $352 – $542.  They include two nights lodging, breakfast each morning, afternoon cookies and tea, a gourmet candlelit dinner for two and enrollment for one in the cooking class. Additional enrollment in this event is $45 per person.

Join local cake decorator Patricia Moroz, of Starlight Custom Cakes, in the Hartstone Inn kitchen. Patricia’s edible creations are awe-inspiring with edible flowers that look so realistic, you’ll look twice before devouring. During this two-hour (plus) cooking class you will decorate your own 6-inch specialty cake. Patricia will teach you her secrets for creating the most beautiful fondant and gum paste flowers, butterflies and decorative borders which you will apply to your cake. You will leave the class with the knowledge, skill and confidence to create an extra-special cake in your own home.  Weekend Cooking Class Packages are $352 – $542 and include two nights lodging, breakfast each morning, afternoon cookies and tea, a gourmet candlelit dinner for two and enrollment for one in the cooking class. Additional enrollment into the cooking class is $65 per person.

“Fresh”, a new restaurant in Camden recently received it’s AAA Three-Diamond Award.  We know how our guests love to experience new restaurants!  Here is some information on the restaurant. 

From their website…

“Fresh, located in Bay View Landing, one of Camden’s most scenic and popular waterfront neighborhoods, transforms the essence of American contemporary dining. Led by a team of accomplished culinary experts, the kitchen reinterprets the bounty of the surrounding area, exploring an ingredient-driven cuisine that begins in the rediscovery of fresh local products and redefines what it means to cook and eat in Maine.

We work with our local farmers, growers and purveyors to source products with integrity, flavor and soul, and incorporate these seasonal offerings into our menus nightly. The result is food that is honest, straightforward and pays homage to the bounty of the mid-coast region we are so privileged to call home. Using ingredients at their peak and preparing them minimally and with respect allows us to capture the essence of the season and bring it straight to your table.”

View their menu lunch and dinner menu.

From their website:

“Enjoy a guided tour of the Mid-coast in the comfort of All Aboard Trolley & Limousine’s specially outfitted vehicles and learn about wine making from grape to glass as you visit three area wineries; Sweetgrass, Savage Oakes and Cellardoor.  Tour the vineyards, learn about the artistry of making wines and distilled spirits, and sample wines along the way.  Lunch will be available for purchase at our last winery, Cellardoor.  After Cellardoor our last stop will be a scenic trip to the top of Mount Battie for amazing coastal views and photo opportunities.

The tour includes round trip transportation, with pickups at select inns between Camden and Rockland, tours of the wineries, tastings and a souvenir glass.  Please contact us for more details including pickup locations, tour times, pricing and reservations.  Reservations are strongly suggested.

Tours operate Monday through Friday from May to October. Price: $30 per person.”

From their website:

“This magical weekend begins Friday, September 30th at 5:30pm with a four-course dinner-dance in the Vineyard. Each course is prepared by a local star chef and paired with Cellardoor wines. Dinner is followed by dessert and a very special performance by R&B singer Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds. Saturday festivities begin at 10am and include grape stomping, a home winemaking competition, food and wine pairings, live music, cooking demonstrations by local star chefs, and many more surprises. This is the time of the year to celebrate the harvest and Maine’s beautiful fall weather.

October 1, Schedule of Events
10 – 5 Antique Tractor Display and Competitive Demos
10 – 3 Coffee & Donuts presented by Tim Horton’s
10 – 3 Scarecrow Decorating Competition
10 – 3 Home Winemaking Competition Submissions/Judging
10:30 Mini Pumpkin Hunt for Kids of all ages
11 Ratatouille Movie in the big tent
11 Cooking Demo – Chef Lisa Sojka of Prism Café
11 – 3 Horse Drawn Wagon Rides
11:30 Grape Crush Demonstration with The Winemaker
11:30 – 2 BBQ presented by Riverfront BBQ
12 Cooking Demo – Chef Christina Sidoti of Paolina’s Way
12 Grapestomping with The Winery Owner
1 Cooking Demo – Chef Kerry Altieri of Café Miranda
1 Chocolate Movie in the big Tent
1 – 4 Savory Treats & Wine Pairing with Lani Temple of Megunticook Market
1 – 4 Chocolates and Wine Pairing with Sweet Marguerite’s
2 – 4 Mr Magic magic tricks and balloon creations
2:30 Grape Press Demonstration with the Winemaker
3 Tortilla Soup Movie in the big tent
3 Home Winemaking Competition Results & Prizes
3 Scarecrow Decorating Results & Prizes
3:30 Grape Stomping with the Winery Owner”