Having a Frank Talk About The Art of Beautiful Food

Food stylist Frances Boswell, who created this still life with asparagus, chatted with her friend and fellow food professional, Frank Way, on Zoom.
Photo by Frances Boswell
Restaurant owner Frank Way joined his friend, food stylist Frances Boswell, for a chat on Zoom about food that is both beautiful and delicious — as meals are likely to be at Way’s new West Cornwall, Conn., restaurant.
Way was the owner of frank.food in Kent, Conn., until the pandemic. He is now working on a new restaurant in West Cornwall that is likely to open in May.
Sponsored by The Cornwall Library and hosted by Jane Bevans, the conversation happened on Sunday, March 6. For those who missed it, a video is available on the library’s website at www.cornwalllibrary.org.
The infectiously enthusiastic conversation between Way and Boswell drew 65 Zoom participants, who had the chance to look at the new frank. food site (still being renovated) overlooking the Housatonic from the West Cornwall side. The restaurant will be in the carriage house of the building known for years as The Pink House (although at the moment it is a creamy light yellow).
Way and Boswell worked together at Martha Stewart Living for years, and now are pleased to be back together as Cornwall neighbors.
Boswell’s life has always maintained a thread of a connection with food. She always loved cooking, from a young age.
But she had no experience in television production when Stewart asked her to take on a television cooking show. Although none of the food experts working on the show had any idea how to make a TV production, somehow it all worked out.
“That’s how life is,” Way interjected. “You just figure it out.”
That was something of a theme in the conversation between the two friends: Life throws you opportunities, and sometimes you just have to reach out and catch them.
“I have always said ‘yes’ to opportunity,” Way said.
Way first came to Kent as a weekender, but soon found that he was spending more and more time here. He was working for several large companies as an expert on “branding,” and found he could do much of his work from The Country.
Although he had no experience as a professional cook, a friend invited him to open a small business in a retail space she owned on Main Street in Kent. He called it frank.food, not just because his name is Frank but also because he liked the idea of food that was sincere, open and honest.
The restaurant did well for three years, even when the pandemic made indoor dining impossible. He laid off most of his staff and started doing take-out dinners — and was so successful at it that he was spending about 75 hours a week cooking.
He eventually gave it up, and was then invited to open in the Pink House carriage house by the property’s new owner/developers.
Way used his laptop computer to give a walking tour around the future restaurant space, noting the river view from the outdoor deck that will seat 40 guests.
The inside is clean and modern, with a bar counter fashioned of dark walnut from a tree on the property that needed to be removed.
The menu will be simple, with artisan pizzas produced by Joel Viehland of Swyft in Kent. There will also be burgers made with local beef, fish and chips, salads and more. Way said he is working with a chef to help make the cooking more streamlined and professional, but he will still come up with the menu ideas.
As for what a food stylist does, Boswell described her career with several major magazines, including Martha Stewart Living and its spin-off, Real Simple.
As a stylist, her aim is to create visual balance. She said that one of the first things she has to tell clients is to calm down the presentation; there doesn’t always have to be a “cheese pull,” the food can stand on its own.
Her Zoom tour of her city apartment showed a sea of sheet cakes awaiting frosting and due for plating and a photo shoot the following day.
“For all the downsides of COVID-19,” Boswell said, “it has made people drive their creativity to new levels.”
Boswell finds food essential to post-pandemic life and noted “how important food is as a connector.” She is looking forward to seeing people experience food-human connections at frank. food. The long community table is expected to be a popular gathering spot.
Preparing at full tilt to open his new restaurant, Way said, “I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m giving it 150%.”
Food stylist Frances Boswell explained to Frank Way in a Zoom last week how to take ordinary dishes and enhance their beauty. Photo by Frances Boswell
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.
MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.
Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.
“The Millerton Street Fair will celebrate everything we love about this community — its spirit, its dedication to service and its creative energy,” said James Clark, publisher and CEO of The Millerton News.
Local nonprofits will showcase their work and impact, including Climate Smart Millerton, Eddie Collins Memorial Park, North East Historical Society, Townscape, Tri-Corner FEED, Village of Millerton, and the Webutuck Elementary School.Participating businesses include Bes, Little Red Bird Studio, NBT, The Elephant’s Tusk, and many more.Local retail and dining establishments will be open with special promotions. NECC’s Farmer’s Market will run during the event.
Among the planned festivities are live music from John Stey and the Resilience Brass Band, performances from Bee Bee the Clown, face painting by students from Webutuck High School, and a community-wide scavenger hunt for kids.Other kids’ activities include egg and spoon races, and a “touch-a-truck” open house at the firehouse.The Irondale Schoolhouse will be hosting a special exhibit, and the North East-Millerton Library will be offering signups for the Summer Reading Program, a science show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., lawn games, and a cookie cook-off.
For more information, go to millertonnews.com/street-fair.
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.