We meet Matt Straus, owner and operator of the Heirloom Lodge in Housatonic, MA. Matt describes his menu as "a culinary intersection of a rustic, ingredient, fruit-and-vegetable-driven approach to cooking, and classical European cuisine." Ray Graf hosts.
The number to call at show time is 800-348-2551. Email: VoxPop@WAMC.org.
Matt Straus grew up in the Boston suburbs and studied literature, politics and theater at Skidmore College. In his mid-twenties he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a cook, server and sommelier at Campanile, L'Orangerie, Sona, Grace and Wilshire. Halfway through his time in LA, completed a culinary program at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2010, he opened Heirloom Café in San Francisco as chef-owner, where he realized his dream of operating a restaurant with seasonal, ingredient-driven cuisine and a deep wine cellar program.
Matt twice won Food & Wine Magazine's Best Sommeliers in the U.S. award, in 2006 and 2011. In 2016, he became the founding editor of Kitchen Work Magazine, a literary publication with a focus on gastronomy and food culture —and in 2023, the Kitchen Work Foundation, a non-profit company established to encourage the production of more fresh, local, delicious food.
In May, 2024, Matt opened Heirloom Lodge in Housatonic, Massachusetts, a seventy-seat dinner restaurant in an 18th-century colonial on a ten acre property, with plans for guest lodging and breakfast.
