Horned Dorset’s Acclaimed

Cuisine Delivered Locally

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Hot cheese dip, baked polenta, a rack of lamb and a chocolate bombe…the only thing the Horned Dorset can’t provide with to-go dinners is live jazz.

“It would be hard to have a live band with social distancing!” said Chef Aaron Wratten.

Reacting to COVID-10 stringencies, the French fine-dining establishment – famed for many miles around – has begun offering pick-up dinners, with weekly dropoffs in Cooperstown, Hamilton, New Hartford and Syracuse on Friday and Saturday nights.

“Location is the biggest challenge,” said Wratten. “We’re centrally located in the middle of nowhere. So this is an opportunity to bring dinner to our diners, and expand our audience.”

That said, it seems the reach is well beyond those four communities, judging from last Saturday’s pickup at The Cooperstown Distillery. Jonathan and Lois Sastic drove up from Oneonta. Dan Ayres, the Helios Care CEO, came all the way from Delhi.The restaurant was founded in 1977 by Wratten’s father Kingsley and his uncle Bruce, as well as partners Harold Davies and Donald Lentz. Aaron and his wife, Maddalena Molli, run the business now, offering locally sourced, seasonal fare.

But when the pandemic started, the restaurant closed.

“We took it as a time to take a deep breath and rethink our business model,” Aaron said. “In other parts of the industry, restaurants are using their contacts to pivot, to rebranding as meal kits or even grocery stores.”

For Wratten, moving to take-out meals was “the obvious pivot.”

“People kept asking when we were going to reopen, but we have to see how the situation evolves,” said Molli. “If we did open, we’d have to have the waiter, the sommelier in a mask and face shield. Do you want to have fine dining with that kind of atmosphere?”

But with their rural location and customers all across the county, traditional delivery wasn’t going to
cut it.

So they brought their food to the customers. “It’s convenient for the guests and saves a delivery driver from having to find all those rural houses,” he said. “It’s more efficient this way.”

Every Monday, the restaurant posts a limited menu, designed to serve two – three appetizers, three main courses, vegetable sides and, of course, the famous Chocolate Bombe dessert. “We’re famous for our Hot Cheese Dip,” he added. “It’s a coveted recipe, so we’ll always have that on the menu.”
Orders are taken through Thursday, and pickups are determined by location.

“In Cooperstown, Gene Marra was very kind to give us space in front of the Cooperstown Distillery,” said Wratten. (To Marra, it’s a happy combination: “He’s grassroots,” Gene said. “We try to stay local. Canajoharie grain, local barrels. We liked what he was doing: Uptown in quality and style. It works both ways.”)

The food is chilled and packaged, and all the diner has to do is reheat it. “We had people who sent us pictures of a nicely set table, with candles and wine,” Aaron said. “They were recreating the Horned Dorset experience at home.”

The first weekend, Friday-Saturday, May 28-29, the dinners sold out. “It was very successful, and we were very pleased,” said Molli. “People who have come for 40 years, we have a relationship with them, so it was good to be able to say ‘hi’ and chat, even from across the table.”

And because the fare is seasonal, the offerings will expand every week. “Spring is always difficult because not a lot is available,” Wratten said. “But in the coming weeks, we’ll be able to bring in a lot more elements.”

And though they’re only delivering to four locations, they hope that as word spreads, they’ll be able to welcome new customers too.

“If we see a demand, we’ll expand,” he said. “We see ourselves doing this for a long time.”