Beyond Fantasy

Hard work and great cuisine bring an inn to life in Quechee, Vermont

by Peter Jennison

It takes courage and determination to be innkeepers today, Walt and Barbara Forrester tell me, and they should know. Musing over glasses of Long Trail Bear Ale on the marble-topped table of the beamed bar in their own Parker House Inn, the Forresters pause to reflect on the process that led them to turn a dignified, mansarded Victorian mansion— built in 1857 for Windsor County Senator and wool tycoon Joseph Parker—into a decidedly unstuffy place to stay and dine.

When they bought it in November 1993, they knew they faced some tough local competition. "It was a bigger operation than we had in mind,' Walt says. But, unlike many couples who fantasize about owning a country inn, the Forresters also had some valuable experience. In Chicago, Barbara had worked as a pastry chef and caterer, and in a change-of-career transformation, Walt left his job as salesman of major medical equipment and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Their search for a business of their own finally led them to Vermont and Quechee Lakes, the 6,ooo-acre second-home and condo colony that now boasts 1,100 owners, a clubhouse, two golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pool, and in winter, chair lifts on a modest downhill slope. These and other amenities are available to | Parker House guests.

The inn has just seven guest rooms, all named for members of Joseph Parker's family, all with private baths and accented with distinctive Victorian antiques—an I unusual dressing table, an inlaid armoire, a scroll-back settee.

Emily's Room, the second-floor master bedroom, features a pair of white metal beds joined king-size at the hip, contrasting with dark blue floral wallpaper, a separate dressing room big enough to hold a cot, and a spacious bathroom. Its centerpiece is a distinctive wooden "desk" that unfolds into a Victorian edition of the Murphy Bed, now furnished with a comfy futon.

Rebecca's Room is equally large, with a romantic aura. A king-size bed is set in the bay window, the washstand is in the room, and there's a stall shower.

Joseph's and Walter's are two very pleasant corner rooms. There's also a snug upstairs sitring room with TV and games to divert kids, who are always welcome.

Room diaries, always a nice touch, record guests' favorable reactions (only a real grinch would pen a-poisonous word), and reveal some romantic anniversaries.

Dinner is served in two formal rooms, with roseate walls and fine table settings. Despite Walt's Culinary Institute indoctrination, he and Barbara don't serve fanciful nouvelle dishes or try to marry exotic flavors. Instead, they focus on generous portions of classy "American comfort food." Savory hors d'oeuvres are presented with cocktails; starters ($3.50-$6.95) include succulent grilled portobello mushrooms on spinach salad with warm Vermont goat cheese, and a sampler of three chef's selections. Main courses ($16.95-$20.95) could be rack of lamb, veal Marsala, duck breast roasted and finished with a sauce of shallots, garlic, Triple Sec, and orange juice, or striped bass. We've dined there on three different occasions, and enjoyed the veal, duck, pork tenderloin Normandy, and, at Christmas time, marvelous free-range turkey. Desserts are irresistible. An Italian menu is served Wednesday nights.

(from Vermont Magazine)