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From Vermont to Anguilla with the Blanchards
Lands’ End Island of Anguilla – You know the dream. You give up your office job and escape: to a tropical island paradise, where you become a bronzed beach bartender contentedly serving umbrella drinks and coconut halves to tourists as stressed out as you once were. Melinda and Robert Blanchard’s story is something like that, but with a Category-Four hurricane, meandering goats, boatloads of celebrities, and much better food. And a cast of remarkable Anguillans whose friendship and “island time” philosophy toward work and life proved to be the panacea the couple had long sought. The life left behind was set in Vermont, where the Blanchards met in college. Stress levels in the Green Mountain State hardly seem a reason to trade nations; a three-car traffic jam in the village store cheddar aisle would seem about as nerve-racking as it gets up that way. But this ambitious pair – Melinda a self-taught chef from New York City, Bob’s talents ranging from fine carpentry to art, cooking and retail merchandising – have founded eight businesses. One of the first was Blanchard & Blanchard & Son, a line of Vermont specialty foods born in their home kitchen. In three years, sales from a $4,000 investment reached $3,000,000. The stressful parts? Serving a thousand accounts nationally. Building a factory. The default of a major c1ient, and subsequent meddling by outside investors. So they sold the company, sold the house, and took off for Anguilla (rhymes with “vanilla”) a tiny, largely undeveloped Caribbean island whose citizens they found delightfully similar to Vermonters: spirited people enjoying an uncomplicated life in a beautiful place. Locating a seaside spot inhabited primarily by goats, they built Blanchards Restaurant, an intimate open-air dining room with a 3,000 bottle wine cellar and such creative Caribbean, Asian, and American cuisine as Grilled Anguilla Lobster and Osso Buco. When it was knocked down by Hurricane Luis, they built it again. Rave reviews followed in Gourmet magazine and Fodor’s. Celebrity sightings have since included Kevin Bacon, Robin Williams and Susan Sarandon. A Trip to the Beach is the Blanchard’s first book, a find for aspiring entrepreneurs and beach bums alike. As Tom Brokaw comments on the cover, “The Blanchards have given us a smart and amusing tale of running off to chase a dream.” At Blanchards Table is a new collection of recipes from Anguilla and Vermont: Island Rice with Cumin and Coconut and Vermont Picnic Ham Baked in Dark Beer in one cookbook. Wonderfully unfussy recipes, e1egant results, and stories of the characters encountered along the way. Two great reads. Two fascinating people. One pretty remarkable life together. |
