A Sunny Afternoon Drive to Coe Hill: The Barn Chefs and The Old Ormsby Schoolhouse

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I snuck out for an afternoon drive down Lower Faraday Road from Paudash to Coe Hill. 

Earlier that week, I was in Coe Hill for a showing of this century home and I stumbled across The Barn Chefs.  I had no idea this place even existed, but apparently they've been open since May of 2016!  They have even received a little local media coverage. It's a humble wooden building with a giant barbecue on the deck and truly elite food inside. I grabbed a smattering of charcuterie and their macaroons and vowed to come back later in the week. 

Of course, when I convinced by daughter to go on this drive, we didn't realize they close at 4pm on Sundays and we showed up at 3:50pm.  Another whirlwind shop ensued and we scored some of their insane rosemary pork sausages (seriously, best sausage I've ever had in my whole life), their cookies, their focaccia (they had one left!) and some cheesecake.  

Sara and Luca, and their son Matayo, are the creators and owners of The Barn Chefs.  They are, indeed, decorated chefs with global resumes.  And I am still a little shocked at how lucky we are to have them operating in town. The picture to the left is Luca helping me pick out more stuff!  And the one to the right is blinking me with Sarah and Luca, who were so patient during our flurry of a visit. 

And because we didn't get to have our lunch there we decided to stop in at The Old Ormsby Schoolhouse for tea and lunch.  The story behind this place is really interesting:  It changed hands many times throughout the 20th century and then Ernie and Debbie Pattison, musicians from the Toronto area, decided to renovate it and have their wedding there in 1997.  The Pattison's picked Coe Hill because many generations of Ernie's family inhabited the nearby farming village called The Ridge and he had fond memories of summers in Coe Hill.  They launched the Tea Room in 2002 and it a local secret worth sharing. 

The servers are always really kind and helpful.  We had some mac & cheese and some vegetarian lasagna with their soup and biscuit starters. 

It was a really fun afternoon and it is nice to be a tourist in ones own hometown every once in awhile.

Until next time, I will be busy at the barbecue with my homemade Barn Chefs sausages.