Fine dining by the Lakes

Milford husband-and-wife chef team takes over Pavilion in Wolfeboro

In just a few short years Chris Viaud has established himself as a leading New Hampshire chef, beginning in the spring of 2019 with Greenleaf, the seasonally inspired, locally sourced farm-to-table restaurant off the Milford Oval. Last fall, following more than a year of hosting successful monthly pop-up dinners, Viaud and his family opened Ansanm just one street over, offering authentic Haitian cuisine on a regular basis for the first time along with some new items.

Along the way, Viaud has picked up a James Beard Award nomination, and he even traveled to Portland, Oregon, to compete on Season 18 of Bravo’s Top Chef, which aired in 2021.

Now, Viaud is building on his success even further, this time up in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. He’s the new owner and executive chef of Pavilion Food & Spirits in Wolfeboro, and his wife, Emilee, will serve as the eatery’s executive pastry chef. Pavilion is scheduled to reopen with the Viauds at the helm on Thursday, March 23, and will start with dinner service from Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are preferred, with walk-ins possible depending on availability. Starting around mid-May, days of operation will likely expand from Wednesday through Sunday.

smiling black man, arms crossed, leaning against column in front of multi-story building, hanging sign with word Pavilion
Chris Viaud. Courtesy photo.

The new acquisition is something of a full-circle moment for Viaud, who originally toured the space that is now Pavilion some five years back, prior to opening Greenleaf. Pavilion opened in December 2020 and is directly adjacent to Wolfeboro’s Pickering House Inn, its name in honor of the town’s Pavilion Hotel, which was built in the mid-1800s by Daniel Pickering.

“It was probably back in about August or September when the owners of Pavilion had presented the opportunity of doing a collaboration between their project and ours,” Viaud said. “They saw the incredible growth that we’ve been having, and we’ve been communicating back and forth not about the possibility of doing a partnership, but more of a transfer of ownership. … It’s definitely a wonderful addition to everything that we’ve been building over the past few years.”

At Pavilion, Viaud plans to unveil a menu that, like Greenleaf’s, will reflect ingredients from local farmers and vendors that change across New England’s seasons. Among the available items out of the gate are beef tartare, roasted pork loin, smoked clam and coconut curry chowder, scallop crudo, confit delicata squash and crispy skin duck breast.

“Greenleaf, I would say, is more of an upscale casual comfort fine dining [experience], whereas Pavilion offers a higher-end type of dining,” Viaud said. “I will transfer that same kind of relationship that I’ve built with all the farmers … and [we’ll be] expanding from southern New Hampshire all the way to northern New Hampshire, and in Maine, as we’re heading closer to the border. … So we’re definitely going to focus on … just doing the best that we can to incorporate all of those ingredients into the dishes that are presented in an extremely beautiful fashion.”

Emilee Viaud, meanwhile, will oversee Pavilion’s pastry program. She plans to keep her own business, Sweet Treats by Emilee, on the side for now, until the return of hot cocoa bomb season.

Despite Pavilion’s being more than 70 miles north of his two Milford restaurants, Viaud said it will remain business as usual at both Greenleaf and Ansanm — earlier this year he named Justin O’Malley the new chef de cuisine of Greenleaf, while at Ansanm his parents, Myrlene and Yves, primarily run the back of the house. His sister, Kassie, serves as the director of operations across all of the brands under the Northern Comfort Hospitality Group umbrella.

“Chef Justin … has built an incredible support staff behind him who is continuing to elevate and execute his vision in terms of that kind of upscale comfort dining that he has going,” Viaud said. “Emilee and I have this crazy schedule of running back and forth between northern New Hampshire and southern New Hampshire, just making sure that everything is continuing to run smoothly across all companies. It’s a lot to kind of take on, but we’re excited for the opportunities and just tackling each journey as it comes.”

Part of the acquisition of Pavilion, he added, allows them to work exclusively with the owners of the Pickering House Inn on some of their dining projects. Overall, Viaud said it represents not only a unique opportunity for the continued growth of his company, but an opportunity to continue to keep the Granite State on the map as a respected culinary destination.

“Having the ability to expand from southern New Hampshire to northern New Hampshire just really enforces what we’ve been trying to build,” he said, “just trying to kind of elevate the cuisine and push the envelope, to which people have a more inviting and enticing dining experience.”

Northern Comfort Hospitality Group
Here’s a look at each of the restaurant brands under the Northern Comfort Hospitality Group umbrella, owned and operated by Chef Chris Viaud.

Ansanm
20 South St., Milford, 554-1248, ansanmnh.com
Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 8 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Ansanm, which gets its name from the word meaning “together” in Haitian Creole, opened in October 2022 in the former Wicked Pissah Chowdah storefront on South Street. The eatery continues the success of the Viaud family’s restaurant concept following nearly a year and a half of hosting monthly pop-up dinners, featuring staples like griot (marinated pork) and poule nan sós (braised chicken in Creole sauce) in addition to some new spins on classic flavors.

Greenleaf
54 Nashua St., Milford, 213-5447, greenleafmilford.com
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.
Greenleaf is a seasonally inspired farm-to-table restaurant that opened in the former space of an old 19th-century bank in May 2019. The menu changes all the time, and that’s because it’s based on what the chefs can get for product from the farms they partner with. But you’ll almost always find some type of beef, pork, chicken, duck or vegetarian dish. In January of this year, Lowell, Mass., native and Culinary Institute of America graduate Justin O’Malley was named Greenleaf’s new chef de cuisine.

Pavilion Food & Spirits
126 S. Main St., Wolfeboro, 393-0851, pavilionwolfeboro.com (reopening March 23)
Anticipated hours: Thursday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m.; expanded hours likely coming soon
Directly adjacent to Wolfeboro’s Pickering House Inn, Pavilion Food & Spirits opened in December 2020. The restaurant gets its name in honor of the town’s Pavilion Hotel, which was built in the mid-1800s by Daniel Pickering. Earlier this month, Chris Viaud of Northern Comfort Hospitality Group announced the company’s acquisition of Pavilion — he’ll serve as the eatery’s owner and executive chef, while his wife, Emilee, will run its pastry program.

Featured photo: Pavilion Food & Spirits in Wolfeboro. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 23/03/23

News from the local food scene

• A wine wonderland: Join the Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester) in welcoming LaBelle Winery owner and winemaker Amy LaBelle on Sunday, March 26, from 4 to 6 p.m — she’ll be there to present her recently released debut book, Wine Weddings: The Ultimate Guide to Creating the Wine-Themed Wedding of Your Dreams. At a total of 10 chapters, the book offers advice on planning and hosting weddings of every size and type, covering everything from choosing invitation designs and wedding favors to creating your own menu of signature drinks and wine choices. It’s also filled with photographs taken at weddings hosted at both of the winery’s locations, in Amherst and Derry, and LaBelle even shares the details that went into planning her own wedding. Admission is free and the event will include a free wine tasting at the conclusion of LaBelle’s presentation. Visit bookerymht.com.

• Spring into flavor: Enjoy the flavors of a new season at a special Welcoming Spring grand tasting on Saturday, March 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Beer & Wine Nation (360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack). More than 50 varieties of beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails will be available to sample from around 10 different vendors. Admission is free and open to all attendees over the age of 21. Beer & Wine Nation, which opened June 2021 inside Merrimack’s 360 Shopping Plaza, features one of the largest selections of beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails under one roof in the area, with more than 2,000 craft and domestic beers and more than 1,300 from around the world. Visit beerandwinenation.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @bwnmerrimack to keep up with the newest product arrivals.

• Pizza at Presto: Manchester’s Presto Craft Kitchen (168 Amory St.) is introducing a pop-up craft pizza menu, which will be available on Thursday, March 23, from 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., while supplies last, in addition to its regular menu. Specialty options will include, among others, the three-cheese House Pie with aged balsamic and basil; the Hungry Hornet, featuring locally sourced honey, pepperoni and a secret “stinger” seasoning; and the Dracula, which has garlic cream, provolone, fresh mozzarella, confit garlic and aged balsamic. According to a recent Facebook post announcing the pop-up menu, the goal is to begin offering it on a monthly basis. Visit prestocraftkitchen.com or find them on Facebook @prestocraftkitchennh to view the menu.

• Seventeen years in the making: Save the date for a special apple brandy release party at Flag Hill Distillery & Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee) on Friday, April 7, at 7 p.m. The event celebrates the release of Flag Hill’s apple brandy, which has been slowly aging for 17 years — in addition to a cocktail hour with upscale hors d’oeuvres and sample sips of the brandy, there will be live music and a three-course meal, featuring your choice of peppercorn-crusted filet or chickpea and kale portabella as an entree. Tickets are $80 per person and the dress code is cocktail attire. Visit fhapplebrandy.eventbrite.com to reserve your spot.

On The Job – Nancy Birn Struckman

Professional editor

Nancy Birn Struckman is a professional editor based in Hollis. Her business, Editing for Style (345-3348, [email protected], editingforstyle.com), provides editing and proofreading services for graduate students, business professionals and writers.

Explain your job and what it entails. 

I edit books, blogs and newsletters, dissertations, manuals and websites. For dissertations, I do line- and/or format editing pre- or post-defense, so the dissertations can be published. For the other types of writing, I edit for grammar and spelling, consistency page-to-page and continuity.

How long have you had this job?

I started the business 10 years ago, but I have been doing this type of work for years.

What led you to this career field and your current job? 

I started editing dissertations while working for a university in central New York, worked as a managing editor for a small local newspaper, and love editing other people’s work. Starting my own business gave me flexibility.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I have a B.A. in English and a really good eye for spelling and grammar and consistent writing. Many of the academic editors I know have master’s [degrees] or Ph.D.s, but they’re not necessary for the work I do.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire? 

A T-shirt and jeans.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Graduate students and other customers usually have tight deadlines so I have to turn over their work quickly. Another challenge is getting the word out. People have to trust me and my expertise to know I will take care of their editing needs.

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

That I would be lucky enough to end up doing what I love.

What do you wish other people knew about your job? 

I believe in retaining my customers’ voices. I really do edit for style, adding or subtracting verbiage so their writing is clearer and more concise. For fiction, especially fantasy, I make “family trees”: a page of relationships, physical characteristics, and for the consistent spelling of brand new words from the author.

What was the first job you ever had?

In high school in Queens,besides babysitting, I worked in a jeans store during the disco era, selling jeans to people who spoke many different languages, only a few that I could speak or understand.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you have ever received? 

Be confident in your abilities and don’t believe in impostor syndrome.

Five favorites

Favorite book: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Favorite movie: Young Frankenstein
Favorite music: Anything but heavy metal.
Favorite food: Sushi and ravioli, definitely not at the same meal.
Favorite thing about NH: The interesting people and the many outdoor activities available close by

Featured photo: Nancy Birn Struckman. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 23/03/23

Hi, Donna,

I have attached pictures of two tables I acquired from my parents. I believe my mother (born 1931) received them from her parents (born 1904 and 1906). Anything you might be able to tell me about them would be great. The round table has inlaid pearl.

Thank you very much.

Sandi

Dear Sandi,

Let’s do one table for now. It’s a sweet Victorian-style table. The inlaid pearl and wood design is not so uncommon in that style table.

Your dates could be right or it could be from a little earlier, the mid to late 1800’s Victorian period.

It looks to have been very well taken care of. It also appears to have been refinished. I have no problem with that. When furniture is from the early 1800’s or late 1700’s then always leave it in the original condition.

The value of your table should be in the $300+ range, but it’s tough to call it in the market today. The style is not so popular in today’s design themes.

Nice table, Sandi, and I hope you’re still using it in your own home.

Kiddie Pool 23/03/23

Family fun for the weekend

Showtime

• The Broadway classic Singin’ in the Rainis being performed by the Palace Youth Theatre Company at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester) on Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m. The show follows silent film actors as they learn to adapt as “talkie” movies become increasingly popular. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for kids ages 6 to 12. Visit palacetheatre.org

• Have a magical night at the Hatbox Theatre (270 Loudon Road., Concord) Discovering Magic with Andrew Pinard on Sunday, March 26, at 2 p.m. The family-friendly magic show by Pinard will feature everything from sleight-of-hand tricks to lessons in history and science while the master magician beguiles his audience. Tickets are $22 for adults, $19 for students, seniors and members, $16 for senior members. Visit hatboxnh.com.

• Be our guest as the Bedford Youth Performing Company presents Beauty and the Beast at Derryfield School Theatre (2108 River Road, Manchester) on Friday, March 24, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 25, at 1 and 7 p.m. Join Belle as she learns that there is more to people, or Beasts, than meets the eye. Tickets cost $17.50 for general admission, $15 for students and seniors. Visit bypc.org for more information or to purchase tickets.

• A teen version of the cult classic movie turned off-Broadway show Heathers the Musical is being performed at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester) by the Palace Teen Company on Wednesday, March 29, and Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m. The show follows Veronica as she tries to find her way through school and deal with her new mean-girls friend group, the Heathers. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for kids ages 6 to 12. The Palace website notes that the show contains mature content including mentions/depictions of suicide, school violence, and the use of a prop gun. Visit palacetheatre.org.

More maple

• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia) is celebrating Maple Month with its Maple Express event on Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, March 26, with entry times starting at 10 a.m. featuring a ride to the sugar shack, where you can watch the syrup making process, get a look at tree tapping, meet farm animals and taste syrup on silver dollar pancakes, according to the website. Admission costs $22 per person and can be purchased in advance at visitthefarm.com.

• Ben’s Sugar Shack has two weekends left in their educational maple tours at the Temple Sugar House (83 Webster Hwy., Temple). Saturday, March 25, and Sunday, March 26, are the last days to try out the location’s maple doughnuts and maple ice cream. Tours run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekend. Visit bensmaplesyrup.com for more information.

Spring celebrations

• Celebrate the Irish in you at the Manchester St. Patrick’s Parade on Sunday, March 26, at noon. The parade will start at the corner of Elm and Salmon streets and end at the grandstand on Central Street. The parade will have pipe-and-drum bands, Irish step dancers, school marching bands, police motorcycles and more. Visit saintpatsnh.com for more information.

• Join the Greater Merrimack and Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce for the Southern NH KidsFest on Saturday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Westwood Park Branch of the YMCA of Greater Nashua (90 Northwest Boulevard, Nashua). In addition to kids’ games, activities and live music, parents and caregivers can learn more about year-round classes, summer camps, and businesses that cater to kids. Visit gmsvcc.org.

Pruning fruit trees

Use good tools and don’t overdo it

Ask a farmer, “When should I prune my apple trees?” and you will most likely hear, “March.” That’s an old tradition, but not because it is the only time to prune. You can prune any time. But March is a month on a farm when not so much is happening outdoors and farmers have time to prune their apples. Me? I often prune in the fall, or later in the spring when the ground dries out and it warms up. I say, “Prune when you have the time and inclination.”

Pruning serves a number of functions. First, for many of us, it helps to create a work of living sculpture. Next, pruning opens up a tree and lets sunshine hit every leaf so that it can produce food for the roots and fruits. A well-pruned tree will be healthier and produce tastier fruit. My pruning mentor told me decades ago that a bird should be able to fly through a well-pruned apple tree without getting hurt.

When pruning a fruit tree it’s important to know which branches will be blossoming and producing fruit. Look for fruit spurs on apples and pears. These are roughly 3- to 6-inch-long protuberances with buds on them. As you prune you will have to make choices about which of two branches to cut. Look for those fruit spurs, and be guided by them.

In general when making cuts on an older, neglected tree, it’s better to remove a few larger branches than to make many smaller cuts.

It’s important to know where to make your cuts. If you cut off a branch flush with the trunk you will create a bigger wound than if you cut it off a little farther out from the trunk. Notice that most branches swell a bit at their base. That swollen, wrinkled area is called the branch collar, and it is where healing takes place. Cut just beyond the collar. But if you cut too far out on the branch, you leave a stub which will not heal quickly — it will have to rot back to the collar before it can scab over.

Start by removing any dead or damaged branches. Cut them back to the trunk, or to a larger branch where they originate. Heavy wet snow and high winds this winter have created lots of broken branches. Clean them up. Knowing if a small branch is alive is easy: scrape it with your thumbnail. If it shows green, it is alive. Bigger dead branches will have flaky, discolored bark and will not be flexible if bent.

Remove any branches that are rubbing other branches. Keep the best-looking branch and remove the other. Remove any branch that is headed into the center of the tree instead of growing toward the outside.

Or perhaps you’d like to begin with the easiest branches to remove, the water sprouts. These are vertical shoots coming up from a more-or-less horizontal branch. They are very numerous in some trees, not so much in others.

Water sprouts are generally a tree’s response to a need for more food for the roots. Trees that haven’t been pruned in years have many of these as there are many leaves shaded out and not producing much food for the roots. Or after a heavy pruning, a tree may produce lots of water sprouts to replace food-producing branches that have been removed.

If water sprouts are not removed when they are the thickness of a pencil or a hot dog, they will become as thick as your arm or leg and be difficult to remove. Clean those up every year.

You can change the angle of growth of a branch that is only an inch or less thick. Once winter is over, attach string or rope to a branch and tie it to a peg in the ground or to a weight to bend it down. A half-gallon milk jug works well. Just add water until you have the correct angle on the branch. Forty-five to 60 degrees off vertical is fine. You can remove the weights in June. Branches that are 45 degrees from the horizontal produce more fruit than more vertical branches.

If you have to remove a bigger branch, do it in two steps. First make a cut 2 or 3 feet out from the trunk to reduce the weight of the branch. Then make a second cut just outside the branch collar. Use one hand on the saw, one hand supporting the weight of the branch. That will prevent tearing the bark on the trunk if it falls before you finish the cut.

When pruning, don’t overdo it. Trees need their leaves to feed the roots and fruit. In any given year don’t take more than 25 percent of the leaves (woody stems don’t count when calculating how much you have taken off). In winter you just have to estimate how much live wood you can take off.

A few words on tools: The basics are a good pair of hand pruners, kept sharp. A good pair of geared loppers for medium-sized branches. A good hand saw with a tri-cut blade for branches bigger than an inch or so. Don’t buy the cheapest you can find. Buy the most expensive you can afford. My new curved Stihl hand saw went through a 3-inch apple branch like a hot knife through butter. With the leather sheath, it cost about $65 and is worth every penny.

Featured photo: Fruit spur on an apple tree will produce fruit and leaves. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!