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A weekend upstate / Rhinebeck, New York

February 2026 A weekend residency at Pretend Restaurant, celebrating the Lunar New Year with nourishing Taiwanese food. This was a collaboration with Rachael, owner of C. Cassis - a magical production facility in Rhinebeck where spirits are made from wild black currants, or cassis. Rachael ran a “pretend restaurant” out of her facility’s humble kitchen to support up-and-coming chefs. We met in the summer of 2025 over cassis cocktails and instantly connected on all things wild, so this popup was a natural extension of both of our life’s work. The menu was inspired by what a typical lunch would look like in Taiwan: a 便當 ‘bian dang,’ or a railway bento. 






Bian dang for two



Kinpira (shoyu braised carrots & burdock) and lacto fermented mustard greens and daikon

Emily with a mountain of pork belly

Getting the greenhouse ready

Fountain of youth TCM soup: snow fungus, goji, jujubes, gingko

Burdock, burdock, burdock

Pretend Restaurant with me!