Stone Barns: A Brief History & Quick Glance at Blue Hill

We were invited to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture to tour the property, learn about their Farmers’ Market, and discover more about the facility that some call  a “must see green American landmark” and “the most important restaurant in America”.

Stone Barns is easily accessible from New York City via a quick train ride from Grand Central to Tarrytown.  The train ride, which hugs the Hudson and every five minutes seemed to round a corner to another impossibly stunning view, positively enhanced our trip.  I imagine that the train ride in the Fall is breathtaking.  

History of the Complex

Stone Barns is located on 80 acres in Pocantico Hills, a short drive from Tarrytown. The Rockefeller family’s influence dominates the town; the town is home to the Rockefeller family estate, Kykuit, as well as the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.

Stone Barns Agricultural Center’s building and property were originally part of the massive Rockefeller Estate.  The stone barn was built in the 1930s as a dairy farm so that the Rockefeller family could have fresh milk at all times.  The Agriculture Center opened in 2004, the creation of David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy.  For an interesting perspective, click on this link to read the 2004 New York Times article about the opening of the Stone Barns Agricultural Center.

Impact Today

In the past six years, Stone Barns has successfully navigated the waters from starting as an ambitious venture at a time when ‘farm to table’ was a relatively new concept.  It is now leading the way in local, sustainable agricultural theory through careful cultivation of the land and a deep knowledge of the innate ways animals and plants thrive.  Stone Barns is a destination for children and adults alike:  approximately 7,000 K-12 school children visit each year and 10,000 people come for public tours and programs, such as the ones we participated in.

Stone Barns Center is committed to educating the public about the sources of their food, seasonality, and cultivating a respect for ‘nature’s way’.  In addition to their multitude of public programs (a full calendar is available HERE), for the past two years they have hosted a Young Farmers Conference for young and new farmers.  The conference tackles issues that new farmers will face, such as access to land and knowledge of agricultural skills.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Stone Barns’ biggest purchaser of their products should come as no surprise:  2/3rds of the meat and vegetables grown on the property are used at their restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns.  As the 2004 article I linked to indicates, when the complex first opened, only about 40% of Blue Hill’s ingredients were local.

The cooks and wait staff are just as in tune with seasons and flavors as Executive Chef and co-owner, Dan Barber.  All take turns doing farm chores throughout each season, ensuring that they’ll know not only what the freshest ingredients are, but what they taste like and how they’re grown.  This knowledge is then conveyed both in their cooking and in their communication with guests.  Blue Hill doesn’t have a traditional menu, but rather a list of ingredients that might be used throughout the meal.

As an added perk to working at Stone Barns, each Thursday a family style meal is served for all workers at the Stone Barns Complex.

Coming up Next!

Learn more about the Stone Barns’ agricultural philosophy and why Dan Barber loves cooking with winter carrots.