Simon Pearce and family craft a way of life
a 2009 article on Kevin Pearce's family. It's not about snowboarding per se, because Kevin's dad is a famous glass artist. The article is about their pretty amazing life as a family.
copypasted from the Boston Globe for your benefit.
HARTLAND, Vt. - Simon Pearce, dressed simply in jeans and a cotton shirt, his hair a bit mussed, is standing at the Wolf range in his kitchen, tending to several bubbling pots. Beside him is his wife of 30 years, Pia. The couple, who do this all the time, move easily through a holiday menu that begins with a Provençal fish stew and ends with a white-chocolate mousse cake. “We’ve built a lot together,’’ says Pia, “just like the cooking.’’
The Pearces own the celebrated artisan glass and pottery stores named for Simon, which now number 10 and include two restaurants. They are also authors of a new book, “A Way of Living,’’ filled with beautiful photos of their tableware, their dining tables at home, the renovated barn they live in, antique furniture from Vermont and Ireland (where Simon was raised and learned pottery; he studied glassblowing in London and the Netherlands), and mementos of their life raising four sons. The light and airy kitchen, which overlooks vast fields rimmed with trees, is a large open space that holds the family dining table and sitting room.
At the stove, Simon is obviously the chief cook and Pia his right hand. “It’s a team effort,’’ he says. This festive meal is an antidote to cold, wet weather and a celebratory toast for the Pearces’ oldest son, Andrew, and his fiancee, Christy Zider, who are visiting. The fish stew is simmering in an old orange Le Creuset pot Simon’s mother, Lucy, gave him when he was 21. In other pots, potatoes bubble and a balsamic sauce is warming, both components of a cod dish with a horseradish crust, mashed potatoes, and leeks that will be fried and used as a garnish on the fish. This bold lunch begins with the southern French fish stew, spinach salad sprinkled with toasted nuts and blue cheese, and Ballymaloe brown bread.
The yeast bread, made with Howards wholemeal flour imported from Ireland, is a recipe from Simon’s mother. She made it in her home in Ireland and took a loaf to the family who owns Ballymaloe House, where the bread is now served. It’s also on the menu at the Simon Pearce restaurants in Quechee, Vt., and West Chester, Pa. Dessert for this celebration menu is blackberry cobbler, which is warming in the oven, and white-chocolate mousse cake, which is sitting on the black granite counter.
Andrew, 28, is the oldest of the sons and manages the Simon Pearce retail operations. Adam, 25, is a snowboarding coach in Park City, Utah; David, 24, who has Down syndrome, works in the Pearces’ glassmaking plant in Windsor, Vt.; Kevin, 22, is a professional snowboarder who won three medals at the 2008 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo.
The timing of lunch centers on the cod; the preparation has several steps, but neither of the cooks seems flustered. “Simon and I really enjoy this, working together in the kitchen and making special meals,’’ says Pia. They dust the cod with flour and dip it in a horseradish-mayonnaise mix that will become a crust.
During the last 15 minutes before lunch, the kitchen is a flurry of activity. Simon fries the cod before sliding it into the oven for a quick finish, then fries sliced leeks to crown the dish. Pia prepares spinach salad. “I want everything to be ready so the salad can be served as a first course,’’ she says. Bowls of grape tomatoes and chopped chives, to garnish the cod, are lined up on the countertop. Andrew and Christy set the old pine table, a handmade beauty designed by Simon and built by Vermont woodworker Steve Sass.
Both Simon and Pia grew up in rural areas in families who valued locally grown food. In the growing season, they harvest vegetables from their garden or go to farmers nearby. “We like to support local Vermont food,’’ says Pia, especially Killdeer Farm in nearby Norwich. The blue cheese on the spinach is Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro.
When lunch is served amid candles and small glass trees, it forms a still life of color, form, and texture. “Enjoying the good company of family and friends and the rewarding conversation that often happens at our table brings meaning and joy to our lives,’’ Pia writes in the book.
Today is no different.
original page:
see a picture of their kitchen here
copypasted from the Boston Globe for your benefit.
HARTLAND, Vt. - Simon Pearce, dressed simply in jeans and a cotton shirt, his hair a bit mussed, is standing at the Wolf range in his kitchen, tending to several bubbling pots. Beside him is his wife of 30 years, Pia. The couple, who do this all the time, move easily through a holiday menu that begins with a Provençal fish stew and ends with a white-chocolate mousse cake. “We’ve built a lot together,’’ says Pia, “just like the cooking.’’
The Pearces own the celebrated artisan glass and pottery stores named for Simon, which now number 10 and include two restaurants. They are also authors of a new book, “A Way of Living,’’ filled with beautiful photos of their tableware, their dining tables at home, the renovated barn they live in, antique furniture from Vermont and Ireland (where Simon was raised and learned pottery; he studied glassblowing in London and the Netherlands), and mementos of their life raising four sons. The light and airy kitchen, which overlooks vast fields rimmed with trees, is a large open space that holds the family dining table and sitting room.
At the stove, Simon is obviously the chief cook and Pia his right hand. “It’s a team effort,’’ he says. This festive meal is an antidote to cold, wet weather and a celebratory toast for the Pearces’ oldest son, Andrew, and his fiancee, Christy Zider, who are visiting. The fish stew is simmering in an old orange Le Creuset pot Simon’s mother, Lucy, gave him when he was 21. In other pots, potatoes bubble and a balsamic sauce is warming, both components of a cod dish with a horseradish crust, mashed potatoes, and leeks that will be fried and used as a garnish on the fish. This bold lunch begins with the southern French fish stew, spinach salad sprinkled with toasted nuts and blue cheese, and Ballymaloe brown bread.
The yeast bread, made with Howards wholemeal flour imported from Ireland, is a recipe from Simon’s mother. She made it in her home in Ireland and took a loaf to the family who owns Ballymaloe House, where the bread is now served. It’s also on the menu at the Simon Pearce restaurants in Quechee, Vt., and West Chester, Pa. Dessert for this celebration menu is blackberry cobbler, which is warming in the oven, and white-chocolate mousse cake, which is sitting on the black granite counter.
Andrew, 28, is the oldest of the sons and manages the Simon Pearce retail operations. Adam, 25, is a snowboarding coach in Park City, Utah; David, 24, who has Down syndrome, works in the Pearces’ glassmaking plant in Windsor, Vt.; Kevin, 22, is a professional snowboarder who won three medals at the 2008 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo.
The timing of lunch centers on the cod; the preparation has several steps, but neither of the cooks seems flustered. “Simon and I really enjoy this, working together in the kitchen and making special meals,’’ says Pia. They dust the cod with flour and dip it in a horseradish-mayonnaise mix that will become a crust.
During the last 15 minutes before lunch, the kitchen is a flurry of activity. Simon fries the cod before sliding it into the oven for a quick finish, then fries sliced leeks to crown the dish. Pia prepares spinach salad. “I want everything to be ready so the salad can be served as a first course,’’ she says. Bowls of grape tomatoes and chopped chives, to garnish the cod, are lined up on the countertop. Andrew and Christy set the old pine table, a handmade beauty designed by Simon and built by Vermont woodworker Steve Sass.
Both Simon and Pia grew up in rural areas in families who valued locally grown food. In the growing season, they harvest vegetables from their garden or go to farmers nearby. “We like to support local Vermont food,’’ says Pia, especially Killdeer Farm in nearby Norwich. The blue cheese on the spinach is Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro.
When lunch is served amid candles and small glass trees, it forms a still life of color, form, and texture. “Enjoying the good company of family and friends and the rewarding conversation that often happens at our table brings meaning and joy to our lives,’’ Pia writes in the book.
Today is no different.
original page:
see a picture of their kitchen here