(Published in 7 Nights 2007-08)

In the tradition of Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck, Michel Mahe likes to keep multiple irons in the fire. A Cornell grad, the French-accented chef left Ferrisburgh's Starry Night Café to open Black Sheep Bistro in Vergennes. He also designed the initial menu at Montpelier's Black Door Bistro and recently opened The Bearded Frog in Shelburne.

(Published in 7 Nights 2009-10)

If you’re headed for the slopes — to ski ’em or climb ’em — get a smart start. McCarthy’s Restaurant in Stowe has been dishing up hearty breakfasts for more than 30 years in a small shopping center just minutes from Stowe Mountain Resort and Smugglers’ Notch.

(Published in 7 Nights 2008-07)

Talk about chemistry. Two couples co-own Elements in St. Johnsbury, and five years after they joined forces to open the eatery, it's thriving. Elements occupies an old mill building in a gritty section of town, where funky copper light fixtures lend a modern vibe to the two dining rooms and sizable bar. A rustic wood-fired bread oven exhales smoke that gives the space a homey feel; in summer, there's an outdoor patio.

Lake Champlain Chocolates has been making fresh, all-natural gourmet chocolates for 25 years. They offer preservative-free, kosher certified chocolates. Go for a free chocolate factory tour and enjoy the free samples, or checkout their frequent classes and book signings. Visit their Factory Store & Café from 9AM - 6PM, Monday - Saturday and from 12PM - 5PM on Sunday.

Come visit us at The Baker's Store, Bakery and Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour where you will be dazzled by our wide selection of hard-to-find baking tools, pans, ingredients, mixes and of course, fresh-baked breads, pastries, cakes and more! We offer inspiration for the home baker along with yummy samples every day. M-Fri 7:30am-6pm, Sat - 8:30am to 6pm, Sunday 8:30am-4pm.

Visit Dakin Farm! See how time-honored skills and century-old tradition combine with the most modern smokehouse facilities to produce ham, cheddar cheese, Vermont Maple Syrup and other specialty foods that have been nationally recognized by publications from Boston to San Francisco for their unique flavor and quality. Free Samples.

Vermont Shepherd Cheese is the country's most famous and oldest sheep milk cheese. It is created by the Ielpi Major family, who pasture and milk the sheep, and make and age the cheese on their 250 acre farm in Westminster West, Vermont. Come visit our Cheese Store, where you can taste and purchase our cheese. We encourage you to bring a picnic and bottle of wine and soak up the beautiful Vermont countryside. We also have a cheese stand on our farm, where you can taste our cheese, view our fields and see a few of our sheep!

Since 1980, we have made a fine "farmhouse" cheddar according to traditional methods, using only the raw milk from our purebred herd of Brown Swiss cows. The cheese is rGBH- and rBST-free and contains no artificial flavors, colorings, or preservatives. Visitors to Shelburne Farms are welcome to view our cheesemaking in process at the Farm Barn from mid-May to mid-October.