Hello Friends!

We officially opened our doors this past weekend to our new culinary studio in Kingston, NY, and want to extend a huge thank you to those who came out during these unprecedented times to say hi. 

Inspired by our life in the Catskills— mornings on the front porch, days in the garden, nights around the table—we started hosting pop-up dinners and events in the area four years ago. These gatherings led us to dream of a permanent home we could make ours, one where we could continually welcome guests and share our love for upstate living with a focus on food and community. Our Kingston brick-and-mortar studio is the evolution of that dream, a space that embodies the spirit, passion and creativity that surrounds us daily.

At The Upstate Table we are dedicated to nurturing a love for cooking, gathering, and entertaining through workshops and private events, often featuring some of the many talented folks in our area.

While our options are limited at present, we will continue to expand our offerings as the health climate permits.

For now, we have a socially-distanced cake workshop happening this weekend, and we are booking private events as well for quarantine crews. It’s not too late to book a gingerbread house class for your family, or a micro holiday dinner for your pod this month.

Please reach out to hello@theupstatetable.com if you’d like to make an appointment to come see our new space and check out our new website to read more. 

Every month we’ll be sending What’s on Our Table to let you know what’s happening in the studio, as well as the area—which isn’t much these days, but we know will be back to its lively self soon enough. We’ll also highlight a local creative, vendor or product, as well as include a favorite recipe.

Thanks again for your support and we look forward to hopefully seeing many of you in the near future. 

Wishing you a safe and merry December.

With love,

Rebecca Ffrench + The Upstate Table crew

One of the major draws for me to the Catskills is the people who live here, and the artistic energy they radiate. When I called on my unbelievably talented friend Rebecca Thuss to consult about trimming a tree for our new studio, she immediately started pinning to a shared board before I had finished my third sentence. During her decade-long career at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia—including work as the Style Director of Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine and the founding editor of Blueprint Magazine—she received six Society of Publication Designers (SPD) Merit Awards for her styling. I guess it’s no surprise her design skills seem so intuitive.

Drawing on the nature that surrounds us, and taking inspiration from the Nordic style we love, Rebecca had a vision. “You make some cookies and dried orange slices,” she said, “and I’ve got the rest.” Armed with bags of hooks, string, pinecones, and the most beautifully-crafted delicate paper snowflakes you can imagine, Rebecca expertly turned our 11-foot unadorned tree into a magical sparkling masterpiece within hours.

Post-Covid we hope to offer workshops with Rebecca. For now you can check out some of her paper crafts in Paper to Petal: 75 Whimsical Paper Flowers to Craft by Hand, a stunning book by Rebecca and her husband Patrick, who collaborate on studio projects. Their work together encompasses a wide variety of creative disciplines, including creative direction, set design, furniture design, crafting, styling, product design, and graphic design. Rebecca truly defines the creative energy of the Catskills!