Bri created a summer-to-fall cocktail that encourages us not to rush the seasonal transition, but to embrace it. It’s inspired by sweet tea, but full of warming spices. We can fight against the coming of winter or rush the slide from summer to fall — or we can embrace this moment for all it has to offer. “We have to be ready to receive what the season wants to give us.”

Kelly intimately knows the city’s outsized culinary scene. “New restaurants are opening constantly, it’s hard to keep up,” but unlike some bigger cities, it’s never too hard to get a table, even at the buzziest places. “It’s full of artists and creatives here,” Kelly asserts, “people aren’t afraid to try something new.”

There’s a very short window of time when the days blend together with blissful regularity, the sun shining steadily over warm days and the farmers market. We took inspiration from the languid mingling of summer days and hosted two Suppers in a row celebrating the height of Maine summer.

This dish is designed to feed a group, cooked and served all in one pan. Paired with a crisp Txakolina or fruity red wine and a summer salad, it makes the perfect summer dinner. Throw down some festive linens and a trivet, present your paella, and linger as everyone helps themselves to seconds. Enjoy a sobremesa that lasts long into the evening; the Spanish tradition of post-dinner conversation around the dinner table is almost as good as the dish itself.

A few of the farmers, like Akilah Zuri Campbell, who grew the gorgeous Alabama Blue collard greens featured on the menu, were even able to join us at the table to experience the fruits of their labor and connect our guests to the source of their meal. The evening ended with a stunning mountain sunset, summer finally winning the war of seasons that had been waging all day, while everyone lingered at the table to stay connected a little bit longer, to this place and each other.

Our first Italian Supper was our most romantic Supper yet! On a hilltop overlooking Spina, Umbria, we set a secluded table in the dim candlelight of the medieval Castello di Saint’ Apollinaire. We started the evening with welcome cocktails in the courtyard, made with elderflower and olive oil pressed just down the road, as the light slanted low through the trees during golden hour.

It was so fun to look out across the orchards and rolling hills to see silhouettes floating through the tall grasses with glowing orange glasses in hand. Meanwhile, Chef Daniel Sabia of Wood Fire Food was stoking the cooking fires to prepare a midsummer feast of local treasures, showing off this region’s spoils. We sat down together for dinner against the beautiful backdrop of the farm, the heavy grey skies of the cloud-covered day serving to brighten the greens of the surrounding grasses and set the white fur of the goats in their pens gleaming.

On a sultry afternoon just days before the summer solstice, the Frey Family opened their private Château in Champagne to us to host a beautiful Supper in their backyard. The storied rooms of Château de Mareuil have hosted Queens of England and Czars of Russia throughout history. We were delighted to work with Hautes-Côtes to set an intimate table amongst the trees to join in good company.

Nestled within a residential community, this little agricultural wonderland with a sliver of seashore on display from the fields was the perfect place to set the table for a Supper celebrating local sourcing.

This time of year, we want the table to feel like dewdrops sparkling on freshly unfolded leaves, like the simple pleasures of spring’s first produce, and the delight of softening dirt warming in the sun. It makes the perfect canvas for the earthy jewels of spring.