People gathered around a fire at The Lost Kitchen is Freedom
Courtesy of The Lost Kitchen

The Lost Kitchen

Freedom, Maine

It’s no easy task to turn a small Maine town into a foodie destination, and yet that’s exactly what chef Erin French did with the Lost Kitchen, a 45-seat restaurant housed in an old mill. Earlier this year, demand for her seven-course, prix fixe “farmhouse” dinners (starting at $110) got so intense—almost 20,000 requests over an 11-day span—that French started accepting reservations only via postcard. (The Lost Kitchen is now full through 2018.) “As things get bigger, I’m trying to be simpler,” she says. —Ashley Hoffman

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