Chestertown’s emerging restaurant scene is simmering nicely on the front burner this year.
The Kitchen at the Imperial Hotel, Café Sado in the former Brooks Tavern, the Black Burro Taco truck, Luisa’s new, upgraded location are now joined by a newly minted Molly Mason’s—and it’s attracting some well-deserved attention.
Now under the direction of young impresario in chef Matt Whitehair, Molly Mason’s, on Rt. 213 near Kennedyville, is steering the restaurant from “down home” to seriously upscale cuisine.
But don’t let the term scare you. While the meals are gourmet prepared—with sides like sweet potato gnocchi and beurre noir—and artistically presented over whispy swashes of pureed vegetables and delicious sauces, this reboot of Molly’s offers regional favorites like duck, venison, filet mignon, and crab cakes.
Take for instance Whitehair’s Small Plate offering of Duck Confit with pickled cherry and walnut hummus or a Large Plate special salmon with sweet potato gnocchi, arugula, house cured bacon and pearl onions—it shouldn’t take more than a bite to convince you that these dishes have been crafted with care and creative flair.
One recent sampling offered pan-seared scallops with an herb emulsion and petals of Jerusalem artichoke, a sweet and spicy apricot glazed octopus, pan-seared duck breast on a carrot emulsion and black vinegar and venison osso bucco with tomato jus on a splash of parmesan polenta.
These meal descriptions might have you believe that Whitehair just arrived from the Le Cordon Bleu, but in fact the young chef is home grown and first discovered his love for cooking while attending Kent County High School.
“I took a class in Home Ec taught by John Keller and got hooked,” Whitehair says. “John pointed me in the right direction and I started working locally in kitchens at Riley’s on the River (before Fish Whistle), Osprey Point Inn and the Imperial Hotel before I went up to Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.”
Originally Whitehair had been thinking about law school as a goal. “But one day— in the middle of Poly-Sci I jotted down an idea of a recipe and I knew right then that my path had changed.”
Whitehair said that he’d discussed the possibility of working at Molly Mason’s with owner Scott Mason but until last summer the timing hadn’t been right for either of them. When an opportunity opened, Whitehair decided to take the plunge and move back to his hometown.
“It’s been exciting for sure. I love what I’m doing and I like being back in my community to do it. A lot of my peers have understandably moved to the excitement and possibilities that a city has to offer, but I really wanted to come back and share my love for cuisine with the community that inspired me,” he says.
Some of the excitement hasn’t been all that comfortable for the 24-year old chef, however. He completely overhauled the kitchen to meet his standards and changed the menu to showcase his specialties.
“I changed the menu in August and the whole world freaked out,” he says. “One fellow said ‘somebody’s done gone and broke my Molly Mason’s’ after finding out that he couldn’t get his usual hot turkey sandwich.”
Whitehair finds that sort of reaction ironic. “Like a lot of my clientele, I’m an avid hunter and fisher and was raised doing both here in Kent County, spent a good part of my time wearing camo and getting to know the local terrain—I just want to inspire people to try an exciting variation of the food they already love,” he says.
Whitehair is confident that people who appreciate thoughtful cuisine will continue to discover Molly’s. Each week new diners arrive to try out the menu. Already, word of mouth has brought in new patrons.
“I look at the menu choices as core regional fundamentals and many of these meals are prepared the way they were generations ago. It’s also important for me also to have everything as absolutely fresh as possible. For instance, I don’t buy fillets, I buy the whole fish so that I absolutely know how fresh it is. And it’s all local.”
The chef entrepreneur also finds time to cater events at Crow Farm and Vineyard. One event, last Friday 17th, billed as a “Winter Wine Dinner Series I: Eastern Shore Bounty” showcases Whitehair’s expertise. He is also known to cater private gatherings and looks to the future for cultivating that part of his business.
”I’m really lucky. I get to do what I love to do every day. I have a crew I wouldn’t trade for the world, and together we make food happen.”
The Spy wishes them well.
Hours: 11am-9pm Monday through Thursday
7am-9pm Friday and Saturday
7am-8pm Sunday
12503 Austine Herman Hwy (Rt. 213)Kennedyville
410-348-2430
Bette Fitzpatrick says
Great article on Molly Mason’s. Still watching for an
Article on Barbara’s on the Bay in Betterton
Richard Keaveney says
Matt and his team are very very talented and working hard to make a mark on the culinary scene of Kent County … I’m very impressed and so happy that it’s nearby … The challenge of offering a fine dining experience along with the good tasting down home road side diner will be a tricky one … But I’m confident they will achieve great success