Culinary House East: A Taste of Fall in Stowe

Thought Leadership

/

October 13, 2026

Culinary House East: A Taste of Fall in Stowe

This September, CBC headed north to the mountain town of Stowe, Vermont, bringing Culinary House East to life just as the leaves started to turn.

Over two four-day sessions, 20 food, beverage, and lifestyle editors cooked, sipped, and tasted their way through chef-led dinners, hands-on demos, a trip to a local cider mill, and more, with fall flavors showing up in nearly every bite. With 21 sponsor brands woven into the week, editors got a firsthand look at some of the newest products on the market, along with plenty of opportunities to connect with the people behind the brands, discover new favorites, and find inspiration for stories of their own.

Trip By the Numbers

21 Sponsor Brands

8 Days

20 Editor Attendees

31 Outlets Represented

Setting the Table for Culinary House

From an editor’s seat, a Culinary House meal looks simple: a chef in the kitchen, a glass of wine, a plate that arrives right on time. Behind it are months of planning and creative work. CBC partners with each brand to understand its vision, then brings fresh ideas to the table to curate a custom experience around it, down to the menu, the décor, and the right moment in the schedule. From there, the team lines up local chefs, bartenders, florists, and more to bring it all to life.

In Stowe, all of that planning came together in what felt less like a press trip and more like a long fall weekend with friends. Here’s how it unfolded.

Day 1: Cookies, Cocktails & Crystal Salt

Editors arrived to the smell of Sweet Loren’s cookies baking in the kitchen, a treat that stayed on display all week. Lunch was a casual spread to settle in and get to know each other: a delicious salad from Seeds of Change, Perdue chicken nuggets and wings, and snacks from CVS. Kobrand wines and Sam Adams beers were on hand too, keeping glasses full between activations all week.

Whirlpool kicked off the trip with a cocktail competition built around its nugget ice maker, featured in the brand new refrigerator installed in the house. Editors split into teams of two, picked up tips from the bartender on making the most out of nugget ice, then created and pitched their drink to a tasting panel before a winner was crowned.

That evening, Cargill and Diamond Crystal Salt hosted a night of cocktails and cooking demos, starting with a build-your-own cocktail bar of salt rims in lemon, black lime, and sweet heat, alongside a matching snack flight. A chef-led look at the science of salt turned into a few live cooking demos before everyone sat down to a full fall dinner, complete with dessert and a coffee flight.

Day 2: Protein, Picnics & Pasta

Ensure got the morning moving with light snacks, protein coffee, and a yoga flow before editors gathered to explore the role of protein, creatine, and HMB (a compound that helps preserve muscle strength) in everyday wellness.

Next up was breakfast with Lingo, Abbott’s glucose biosensor, which focused on Lingo’s core principles and showcased simple ways to make holiday favorites glucose-friendly. Between bites, nutritionist Pam led a fact-or-fiction game that put common glucose myths to the test.

For lunch, Perdue led editors on a nature walk through Vermont’s peak fall foliage that ended at a “chic-nic,” a picnic with a chicken twist. Guests built their own salad jars and grazed on a spread of dishes made with Perdue chicken, including ice cream topped with crispy chicken skin! With the mountains as a backdrop, the relaxed meal left plenty of time to connect.

In the afternoon, BISSELL kicked off with a live demo of the Little Green Mini and Little Green HydroSteam, showing editors just how many everyday messes the machines can handle before they tried the products themselves. From there, the group moved into a mixology lesson with a local pro, where spills and sticky counters turned into a real-world test of how easy cleanup can be when the party gets messy.

KitchenAid closed out the night with a pasta-making class built around its new Design Series Stand Mixer, with editors taking turns at the mixer as they walked through making fresh pasta from start to finish. Dinner showcased the fruits of their laboras everyone sat down to enjoy a delicious meal together.

Day 3: Spices, Cider & Samosas

Simply Organic kicked off day three with a breakfast built around its fall-inspired spices. Editors experienced a few culinary demos, including granola made with Cinnamon and Vanilla Bean Paste. Banana bread and shakshuka rounded out the meal, showing off the spices in both sweet and savory dishes.

For lunch, ButcherBox blended wellness and flavor, starting with a casual chat with registered dietitian Amy Shapiro, who fielded editors’ questions on nutrition, protein, and building balanced meals at home. After a quick mindfulness moment with dot art, guests settled in for a multi-course meal showcasing the high-quality meat ButcherBox delivers straight to customers’ doors.

Next, the group headed to Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury for an OLIPOP dirty soda bar, a better-for-you take on the viral drink trend that also marked the debut of OLIPOP’s new Caramel Apple flavor. Editors sampled four fall-inspired dirty sodas crafted just for the trip, with touches like caramel, maple sugar, and spiced apple jelly, then picked a favorite for a full pour alongside seasonal bites and sweet treats.

Tasty Bite closed out the final night with a celebration of Diwali, as florals, lanterns, and candlelight transformed the house. After welcome cocktails, editors joined a samosa-making class led by Chef Maneet Chauhan in the first session and Chef Namrata Hegde in the second, with both chefs sharing the personal traditions behind the holiday. A seated three-course dinner followed, turning Tasty Bite products into restaurant-worthy dishes and offering a flavorful change of pace from the week’s Vermont fare.

Day 4: A Very Vermont Send-Off

To close out each session, attendees enjoyed a farmhouse breakfast of Vital Farms scrambled eggs with Organic Valley butter and Cabot cheese, Seven Sundays pancakes drizzled with Maple Grove Farms syrup, and sliced Cosmic Crisp apples. Editors grabbed one last round of Sweet Loren’s cookies for the road before the shuttles headed out.

From the Table to the Headlines

Culinary House puts editors in the kitchen with the brands shaping the food and beverage industry. They get to try the products firsthand, connect with the people behind them, and discover new stories along the way.

And the stories don’t stop when the trip ends.

Within just two days of the first session’s KitchenAid dinner, the brand’s new stand mixer was featured in Forbes and SheKnows. Coverage across participating brands has continued to build in the weeks since, extending the impact of Culinary House well beyond our time in Stowe.

Results: Social & Traditional Media Coverage

20 Earned Media Placements to date

1.9B Earned Media Impressions

230 Organic Social Posts

733k Organic Social Estimated Impressions