Cooking and entertaining is a huge part of country living and Martin Rook has all of the tools, serveware, and equipment we need at his shop in the village of New Preston.
When you first walk into New Preston Kitchen Goods, you are taken aback with how much the space can hold. The owner, Martin Rook, keeps the shop well-organized and stocked by displaying a variety of items from traditional cookware to contemporary place settings. On the shelves are glassware by Simon Pearce, pots and pans by All-Clad, gourmet coffees and teas, gorgeous linens and flatware, and the latest inspirational cookbooks.
With an excellent eye for design and armed with his knowledge of the industry, Martin has made all of the tough decisions for us by selecting kitchenware and serveware of the best quality and value. All we have to do is consider size, color, and quantity. Martin used to be a professional cook and pastry chef at a few top restaurants, so his experience is first-hand.
Located in the historic village of New Preston in Washington, the lovely building is originally from 1850 and was renovated in 2002. Here’s a look at one of our favorite shops and some fascinating details about Martin’s accomplished background.
Where are you originally from and how did you end up in New Preston, Connecticut?
MR: My spouse, Richard, and I live in Manhattan. We also have a house in Washington. Litchfield County started out as a place where we spent weekends. When we opened the store, my schedule reversed. Now I am in the store Thursdays through Mondays, and in the city Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In the summer of 2002, we were having lunch at the Boulders on Lake Waramaug. We then drove into New Preston and noticed a For Sale sign on the New Preston Pharmacy building, owned by the pharmacist Harold Stoeffler, who was retiring, and his wife, Pat. Long story short, we bought the building as an investment and were considering what kind of tenant would be good for the pharmacy space. We felt a kitchen store would compliment what was already in town. Then, since I am both a journalist who reported on the housewares industry and a trained chef, we decided that a kitchen store was something we could operate ourselves. New Preston Kitchen Goods opened just before Thanksgiving that same year.
At what age did you become interested in cooking?
MR: I have been interested in cooking all my life. My maternal grandmother and her sister were accomplished, traditional cooks so I have no memories that don’t include food. A broader interest developed when my father was attending graduate school in physics. We had friends from both India and China, and when visiting them I was always drawn to their kitchens. The memory of my first taste of fresh ginger is as vivid now as it was 40 years ago.
After a great career working at fine restaurants, what made you decide to open up a shop for cooks?
MR: I was working in the city as electrics editor for HFN (Home Furnishings News). Kitchen Aide was a sponsor of “Cooking Secrets of the CIA.” Reading their press releases on that sponsorship got me interested in attending cooking school. I completed the two-year program at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, in 1999, after which I worked as a patissier at La Grenouille, on E. 52nd Street in NYC. As a student, I also worked as a legumier at Picholine on W. 64th Street. That was when Dave Pasternack, now Chef at Esca on W. 43rd Street, was Chef de Cuisine there. He is the most talented cook I have ever had the honor of working for (true professionals call themselves “cooks;” “chef” is technically a management designation. It means one is boss of the kitchen.) I stopped working in restaurant kitchens because I was needed to run the store.
Who are your customers? Locals? Weekenders? Tourists? All of the above?
MR: We count both locals and weekenders as our main customers, though weekenders tend to spend more. Not, I suspect, because they’re New Yorkers but because they’ve got two kitchens to equip. We also get tourists — people who love the area and carve out time to be here a few times a year. One might also include the house guests of locals and weekenders as tourists.
Are your customers knowledgeable about food or do they count on your advice?
MR: Most of our customers are quite knowledgeable about food. And, if not, they at least know what is necessary to throw a good dinner party. I would venture to guess that entertaining at home is what really drives our business. Many times they come into the store looking for a specific item. If they’re preparing a dish for the first time, they might want to discuss what they need to buy in more depth. I like to think our customers trust and value our guidance. I’ve talked customers OUT of buying something they come in for, as often as I’ve talked them INTO buying something.
What are some of the most popular items in the store?
MR: The most popular “gadgety” item in the store right now is an herb stripper. It is a small dish with four holes of different diameters on the handle. You push the stem end of fresh herbs through the appropriate hole and the leaves are stripped off the stem and fall into the bowl. Also popular is Bee’s Wrap, beeswax-coated cotton fabric that is used to cover bowls, etc. (much like plastic wrap). It can be washed and reused for up to one year, and is made in Vermont. Enameled steel plates have been extremely popular for outdoor dining this year, more so than melamine. And ongoing favorites are the ceramic salt box with hinoki cyprus lid, from Bee House, stamped paring knives from Dexter-Russell, and square table candles from Dadant & Sons.
Do people mostly buy items for themselves or as gifts?
MR: I would say one quarter of items sold are sold as gifts. Certainly more than that in December.
Occasionally, we find wonderful antiques and vintage kitchen goods in your shop. Are you planning on selling more?
MR: Some of my most treasured kitchen items at home are antique or vintage. So if I come across something good at a sale or auction, I pick it up for the store. My current favorites are cast-iron skillets I found in Atlanta. They are new old stock, meaning old but never used. They are from the Favorite Stove and Range Company in Piqua, OH, and were made between 1916 and 1935. There is simply no comparison between these and the iron skillets manufactured today. In fact, I’ve pretty much just stopped ordering new cast iron (except for enameled dutch ovens). I carry carbon-steel saute pans from France that possess the same benefits and characteristics of cast iron. I also have in the store now some very old confit jars from France that, while I probably wouldn’t preserve duck legs in them, stand on their own as lovely pieces of “sculpture.”
Do you like to cook and entertain at home?
MR: I love cooking at home, and when we entertain I like to think friends leave our home feeling special and well-fed.
What advice would you give the young beginner cook?
MR: I would advise beginning cooks to remain curious, and be flexible. If you like the way your mother cooked chicken, and Christopher Kimball writes in Cook’s Illustrated that it’s the wrong way, go ahead and use your mother’s method and don’t fret about it. Don’t let anxiety over the means interfere with your enjoyment of the end. Probably the best guidelines on how to cook, as opposed to how to follow a recipe, can be found in Julia Child’s original “French Chef” series (DVDs are available from WGBH Boston).
What’s new and exciting from the world of cookware? Any new technologies or features that are trending?
MR: I’m not sure how new and exciting it is, but I’m happy there are more and better alternatives to teflon as a non-stick pan surface.
What are your goals for the future of New Preston Kitchen Goods?
MR: I’ll consider New Preston Kitchen Goods to be a success if our customers continue to find what they want and need here, and enjoy the shopping experience. That’s no small feat in the age of Amazon, let me tell you. I would also like to attract customers from a larger geographic area. People from other parts of New England or the NYC metro area who are taking a day trip, friends of people with weekend houses here. And it always gives me special pleasure when the children of existing customers start cooking on their own and become customers themselves.
Not to be overlooked is the fact that Martin has been raising chickens at his home since 2009. At the shop he sells the eggs that he doesn’t use himself, donating 100% of the take to The Animal Welfare Society of New Milford. They are widely considered the best eggs in the county.
New Preston Kitchen Goods is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 am to 5:30 pm, and Sundays, 12 to 5 pm.
New Preston Kitchen Goods
11 East Shore Road
New Preston, CT 06777
860.868.1264
[email protected]
www.newprestonkitchen.com
