Chef
Nathan Rich
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Barnard, Vermont, United States
i. Biography
Nathan Rich is Executive Chef of Twin Farms Restaurant in Barnard, Vermont, after a career that moved through resort kitchens, Boston hotels, and the dining program at Lake Placid Lodge in New York. His path runs from several years spent sharpening his culinary skills at The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire, Taj Boston, and Mandarin Oriental, Boston, to a Vermont kitchen shaped by naturally grown and raised ingredients.
Early Years
Before Barnard, the work began in kitchens where repetition, standards, and pace count. Rich sharpened his culinary skills for several years at The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire, a setting that placed him inside a hotel kitchen with the demands of service built into every day. Boston became another key part of that development. He also sharpened his culinary skills for several years at Taj Boston, continuing the kind of hotel cooking that asks a chef to move with discipline across changing menus, guest expectations, and service rhythms. That Boston chapter also included Mandarin Oriental, Boston. Taken together, those years formed a steady progression through kitchens where technique and consistency are tested service after service, before his career moved into a broader leadership role.
Making a Name
At Lake Placid Lodge in New York, Rich oversaw the property’s dining program, Artisans Restaurant and Maggie’s Pub. The role widened the frame: not only cooking, but guiding the food identity of more than one dining room under the same property. That post also marked a turn from skill-building to stewardship. A dining program is a living system, and overseeing Artisans Restaurant and Maggie’s Pub meant carrying responsibility across distinct spaces while keeping the property’s food work connected. The through-line in his cooking is direct. Rich believes in cooking quality foods that have been naturally grown or raised, a philosophy that gives his work a clear center without needing ornament. His own words point to why Vermont suits that approach: "Vermont produces some of the most amazing cheeses in the country along with exceptional local meats and produce." The sentence is practical as much as admiring; it names the ingredients that make a regional kitchen possible.
The Present
At Twin Farms Restaurant in Barnard, Vermont, Rich holds the role of Executive Chef. The position brings his hotel experience, multi-venue oversight, and ingredient-led philosophy into one of the state’s most closely watched hospitality settings. The location is central, since his stated way of cooking depends on the quality of what comes from nearby farms and producers. In Vermont, the cheeses, meats, and produce he cites are not abstract ideals; they are the materials of the kitchen. His arrival at Twin Farms reads less like a sudden break than the next point in a line: New Hampshire to Boston to New York, and then to Barnard. Each stop added a different kind of responsibility, and the current role gathers those lessons around a Vermont table.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Nathan
What roles has Nathan Rich held?
Nathan Rich is Executive Chef of Twin Farms Restaurant and previously oversaw the dining program at Lake Placid Lodge, including Artisans Restaurant and Maggie’s Pub.
What is Nathan Rich doing now?
He is Executive Chef at Twin Farms Restaurant in Barnard, Vermont.
Where else has Nathan Rich worked?
He has worked at Lake Placid Lodge in New York, Mandarin Oriental, Boston, Taj Boston, and The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in New Hampshire.
