A Lost Kitchen Gift Guide
By Grace Roberts
Erin French is everywhere. She’s infiltrated our bookshelves, our kitchens, and our televisions because some mix of charm, striped boat shirts, and immaculate presentation of food has made her a household name across the US, but especially in the northeast. Her tiny restaurant and farm in the middle of Maine have become synonymous with the farm-to-table movement, elevated but gourmet food, and menus that align with the seasons.
French has a storied, rocky history with Freedom, Maine, which she details in her 2021 memoir, Finding Freedom. But what started as a supper club has turned into a restaurant that tens of thousands of people attempt to secure a table in every year. The Lost Kitchen’s reservation system is unique — dinner hopefuls send a postcard to Freedom’s tiny post office, and French randomly selects cards from the pile to call and offer a spot at her tables.
The Lost Kitchen has been the subject of a three-season HBO show, several cookbooks penned by French, and is generally regarded as one of the most unique, coveted reservations in the northeast. French has cultivated a style inside and outside of the kitchen that largely aligns with things we love about New England culture — boat shirts and wellies among them. Below, a little gift guide of everything one needs to semi-replicate Erin French’s style in and out of the kitchen, but you’ll have to find your own 700-person town in rural Maine — Freedom is already taken.
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#1 Saint James Stripped Shirt
Erin is hardly ever spotted in something other than a version of a New England classic — a navy striped boat shirt. She often wears one from Saint James, but Armor-Lux and Kule also have great options.
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#2 Erin's Books
My mom and I are partial to her first cookbook, The Lost Kitchen; I love how much time she spends on different seafood recipes in this one. Her 2023 publication, Little Heart, Big Stove, is still chock-full of elevated but surprisingly simple recipes.
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#3 A Cast Iron Skillet
An immaculately seasoned cast iron is always in Erin’s kitchen tool rotation. Seasoning takes time, but if you start now, you’ll have the best pan to fry up your chicken cutlets.
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#4 Le Chameau Boots
These are true farm boots which, apparently, Erin swears by. Hunters are great, but these are muck boots designed for farm work.
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#5 Erin's Favorite Cookbooks
I love hearing about which cookbooks chefs and cooks swear by, and Erin mentions Ripe by Nigel Slater and My Favorite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell.
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#6 Fish Spatula
My mom also swears by this fish spatula which she uses on everything, though hardly ever on fish. It’s flexible and the perfect multi-use kitchen tool.
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#7 A Post Card
If you ever hope to secure a spot at a Lost Kitchen supper, you need to send in a postcard. It’s a lottery, negating anything besides pure luck, so keep your fingers crossed and your phone close.
#8 Annie's Mac and Cheese
As many chefs can attest, sometimes when it comes to cooking for yourself, you want something insanely easy and not remotely fancy. Erin’s choice is a classic — Annie’s mac and cheese.
#9 Bludstones
I hardly ever see a photo of Erin where she’s not wearing her Blundstone boots and I can’t say I blame her — they’re the greatest.
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#10 Edible Flowers
Whether she’s putting them on salads or steak frites, Erin adds edible flowers to almost everything she cooks, and it is magical. Varieties like nasturtium, cornflower, violet, and borage are the best!
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​Edible flowers.
