A Visit to the Viking Cooking School at Ninety Acres in Peapack-Gladstone, NJ

 Viking kitchen in its final moments of cleanliness prior to class

My sister Sharon recently treated me to a night out in Rome for my birthday. Nice sister, huh? Actually, she took me to a cooking class titled “Girls Night Out in Rome” at the recently opened Viking Cooking School at Ninety Acres. The much talked about “table-at-the-farm” concept restaurant is located on the grounds of Natirar, a Somerset County estate once owned by the King of Morocco.

This renovated Carriage House is home to the
 Viking Cooking School at Ninety Acres at Natirar 

The 50-minute scenic drive north from our starting base of Pennington was capped by a tree-lined winding entrance drive that skirted past a rambling brook and up an incline before revealing our destination: an exquisitely restored Carriage House shared by the school and restaurant.

Outdoor entrance/reception area.

The beauty of the setting can not be overstated. When we proud New Jerseyans defend our state from misguided naysayers by pointing out the state’s many scenic areas, this patch of rolling hills in the middle of “horse country” is exactly what we’re talking about.
The school is housed in what was once the garage section of the carriage house. Warm woods, exposed brick and wall-to-wall multi-paned windows provides a sunlight saturated environment that manages to be both spacious and inviting.

The space is anchored by a u-shaped state-of-the art cooking island and teaching station; rolling stainless steel tables can be arranged as needed for students. When we arrived, the staff had already completed our mise en place for the class.