Someone’s in the Kitchen at Buchanan Hall By Ronen Feldman
W
hen Montana Lanier Ruffner took over as director of operations of iconic Buchanan Hall, her focus was always to make the Upperville facility available to the entire community. These days, that also includes several small business owners who specialize in preparing food, but have out-grown their own home kitchens. Ruffner has started a co-op program that allows those foodies to use the facility’s large, commercial kitchen, loaded with all manner of mostly modern appliances—refrigerators, freezers, stoves, burners— plenty of counter and storage space and sinks galore when it’s time to clean up. For a daily rental fee of $150, the kitchen is available to area caterers, ice cream makers, and cookie and cake bakers who need more room to prepare their food in large enough quantities to make a profit themselves using top flight equipment. Rejane Monday is a licensed caterer who runs the successful “My Sweet Thyme” catering service. Rejane creates specialty menus for her customers and has become something of a cooking celebrity in Fauquier County. And thanks to Buchanan Hall’s co-op kitchen, she’s been able to realize her dream of starting her own catering service, and then make a go of it, as well. “When you’re responsible for someone’s big day, you want to make sure you get it right,” Rejane said. “Our greatest joy is to create a menu especially for
Photo by Big Sky Management & Events
Photo by Big Sky Management & Events
The Buchanan Hall kitchen during the 2022 Holiday Bazaar.
Food vendors prepare for the Buchanan Hall Farmer’s Market.
the customer. We get a sense of what they like, and build a menu for them from scratch. If we have to make a choice between making it look good, and actually taste good, we choose taste every time, that’s how you know it’s homemade.” Still, there are some favorites customers insist on, like their Mexican street corn empanadas. Thanks to the co-op kitchen, Rejane never has to worry about where to cook and how to accommodate the events on her packed schedule. Some of the area’s most popular independent caterers and food entrepreneurs like Rachel Windel of “Auntie RaRa’s Ice Cream” and Eric Bradley’s “We Must Be Nuts” are regulars at Buchanan Hall, and often use the kitchen to prepare their own seasonal recipes for the community. In some cases they’re even hired to cater events hosted at the Hall.
Windel sells her ice cream out of a specially designed food truck that also is parked at Buchanan Hall on Wednesday nights from May to November during the wildly popular farmer’s market that Montana oversees. For Montana, it’s all about serving the community and helping people achieve something they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do. “I love this place,” she said. “I love knowing everyone here. I love loving this place. Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, someone’s wedding or Piedmont Pride, I want to make sure everyone feels welcome.” Upcoming events include the Farmer’s Market Holiday Bazaar on Sunday, Dec. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. It will feature local artisans, farmers, and boutiques for all the holiday shopping opportunities anyone could want. And food, of course, some of it right out the Hall’s co-op kitchen.
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MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2023
