THE LOST KITCHEN: One of the Toughest Reservations in America

Erin French | AMERICAN FOOD

City: Freedom, Maine. 22 Mill St, Freedom, ME 04941

BITE WORTHY | REVIEW | MAINE

The Michelin-esque Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine has preferred to stay off the grid, literally. The only way to book a reservation at this farm-to-table hideout is via an old-fashioned postcard, postmarked within a specified 2 week period in spring. They don’t take phone reservations, nor online. If you want a shot to dine there, you’ll have to do it the snail mail way, and mail in a postcard, and hope your postcard is the lucky one pulled from the stack in the lottery.

– 60,000 postcards received for 2023.

– 53 seats and one seating per night.

– Serving two nights a week.

– Open 5 months a year.

= one of the hardest reservations to get in America. They promised a memorable experience and they really did 110% deliver! Unquestionably, it was a whole experience of a weekend getting lost in Freedom, Maine.

The Drive

Most people would think us crazy, but despite the hurricane alert in the Northeast area that weekend, we got on the road at 6am on Saturday morning. We drove 8 hours, stopping every 2 hours for a stretch and Starbucks break. Fortunately, we made good time and arrived just in time to check into our B&B, and make it to the 4:30pm call time. Before we knew it, it was 10:30pm. Not surprisingly, our bellies were full. Magic was in the air. And reluctanly, just like Cinderella’s ball… we knew the moment was coming to an end.

The clock had not quite struck midnight, but the tables were all cleared. The kitchen was cleaned and scrubbed down. The extra tall candlesticks that started the evening had burned down to a short stub. At this point, it was mostly just Erin and her husband hanging out to personally chat with each group. Slowly, as the guests got their hug and autograph from the inspirational Erin French herself, one by one people started to trickle out.

PHOTOS | THE LOST KITCHEN

The Mill

The meticulously restored riverside mill has the feeling of a dinner party at your BFF’s farmhouse— in 2019 roughly 1,100 cards were pulled from the nearly 20,000 received. Fast forward to 2023, and the number of postcards received by The Lost Kitchen has tripled to over 60,000, thus greatly diminishing our odds of nabbing a future spot.

The bridge & shop

Finally… making our way across the famous bridge that leads to the restored mill, and the hardest reservation to get in America – The Lost Kitchen. First up is a visit to the store, where you can browse and purchase everything from cookware to fresh produce depending on the time of day.

Wine cellar

Then we get directed to the TINY Lost Kitchen wine cellar below… and I mean tiny. There are no restaurant liquor licenses in tiny Freedom, Maine so guests can select and buy wine in their wine cellar, and carry it upstairs in a cute little wicker basket to drink at The Lost Kitchen.

Entrance

In 2013, chef Erin French lost almost everything. Then, in 2017, she started anew with her restaurant The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine. Click here to read about the heart warming story of how The Lost Kitchen came to be.

French is entirely self taught, and her story is a heartbreaking one. However, it does conclude with a fairytale ending as evidenced by her success with The Lost Kitchen. Divorce, painful custody battle, addiction to alcohol, broke, homeless and heartbroken, she moved back home to Freedom, Maine with her parents. Picking herself back up, she raised enough money to buy a 1965 Airstream. French gutted the Airstream to build a kitchen inside to do pop-up dinner parties across Maine.

Fast forward to 2017, French opened The Lost Kitchen. And today, she is running one of the most sought after restaurants in America. Her crew is almost an entirely female crew, which she counts as close friends. Basically, a few nights a week she gets to do what she loves most! Which means cooking up the most delicious dishes, in a multi-course feast for both the taste buds and the eyes. If that’s not a fairy tale ending, I don’t know what is.

Starters

Some starters for the night, brought to us personally by Erin French herself!

Oysters

served in a Pickled Apple Relish

Scallop

cooked in a Rosemary Brown Butter

*perfectly cooked. so fresh. so good!

Last Kiss of Summer

Ham, Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Thai basil, Homemade Ricotta, Honey

*unexpected pairing of flavors, but it was absolutely delicious! I will be attempting this myself at home.

Palate cleanser

Thai Basil sorbet

Opening Toast from Erin French

A heartfelt welcome and opening speech from Erin French with an opening toast to a memorable evening and experience. We are now officially called her “Club Crazy” since every single diner from California to Texas and New Jersey made the trek to Freedom, Maine despite the hurricane alert in the area.

Cold & Spicy Heirloom Tomato Soup

Tomatillo & coriander
*poured table side. This was the first “official” course on the four-course menu.

Crispy Little Gem Lettuce

Apples & Candied Hazelnuts, Blue Cheese, Buttermilk Herbs & Blossoms

Skillet Roasted Halibut

Caper Brown Butter, Creamy Polenta, Sun Gold & Sweet Pepper Bread Salad

Refresher

Lemon verbena

Vanilla Ice Cream

with Butter Crunch and Homemade Waffle Cone

*visually stunning AND best ice cream ever!

Coffee to Compliment the Warm Donuts

Crispy Donuts with a Nutmeg and Sugar Dusting *served with cold milk… just perfect! 🥛

Old Fashioned Apple Walnut Cake

served with Warm Salted Caramel, Husk Cherries, Whipped Cream

Erin’s Open Kitchen

For years, the restaurant was a well-kept Maine secret: a Michelin-esque dining experience that was hyper local, and lovingly curated by an all-female team of friends, led by Erin French. Ironically, French grew up in and around her dad’s diner, and had fallen on hard times more than once, before coming full circle in opening her restaurant in the hometown she’d tried hard to escape from.

You can watch her show, The Lost Kitchen, and learn more about her journey in Season 1, 2 and 3. Suffice it to say, things took off even more after the show came out, truly inspiring and heart warming to watch.

The lucky selected postcards for the evening

The remote Lost Kitchen in Freedom Maine invites guests on a lottery system during its open season, which runs from May until October. In the event of a cancelation, cards not chosen in the first draft, may make the second, so don’t lose hope! It’s akin to a college admission waitlist.

And with this in mind, similar to college admissions, there are actually quite a few rules to follow when it comes to submitting your postcard, such as omission of an envelope and avoiding duplicate submission from the same party. Therefore, make sure you read all the instructions carefully before submitting!

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