Thursday is the final day of service under Lisa Jonckheere and Chef Justin Paterson, the current owners of Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg, before the iconic farm-to-table eatery closes for a few weeks. It will reopen soon under new ownership, with Chef Matt Hummel at the helm.

“With a heavy heart, we have decided it’s time to pass on the hazelnut torch,” Lisa and Justin said on Facebook earlier this month. “We are encouraged that Matt shares the same values and will continue to run the restaurant with the same integrity; alongside Breana who will be stepping up as the General Manager / Beverage Director.”

Chef Justin Paterson and partner Lisa Jonckheere prepare to hand over the reins at Hazelnut Kitchen. Photo provided.

The eatery has stopped taking reservations by phone, and Chef Matt says they plan to launch an online reservation system via Tock on Saturday, August 27th. Their projected schedule has the restaurant itself reopening for full service on Saturday, September 10th, after a couple of friends-and-family preview nights.

“The past 11 years have been incredible,” Lisa and Justin say, “more than we ever could have possibly imagined. The people we have met, to the friends they have become; all the many celebrations we have shared and challenges we have overcome. We have cherished every moment.”

Chef Matt Hummel, taking over Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg this summer. Photo provided.

Hazelnut Kitchen, originally founded by Jonah and Christina McKeough, has long been one of the strongest proponents of the locavore, farm-to-table ethos, with a frequently changing menu featuring seasonal preparations of lamb, duck, and lots more. Hummel, himself a Trumansburg native, says that philosophy is one of many things that drew him to Hazelnut. That, and, at least twice a month when he was a kid, his parents would take him and his sisters for breakfast at the Store at Treman’s Village, in the spot where Hazelnut Kitchen sits now.

The Ithaca College Television & Radio alum had planned on a career in the entertainment industry, using restaurant work as a means to pay the bills, he tells 14850 Dining. He moved to Los Angeles after graduation, working odd jobs in Hollywood until he eventually found himself “behind the stoves again.”

Matt says he has “cooked in kitchens in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston for Food and Wine Best New Chefs and James Beard award winners,” developing a love of scratch cooking and seasonal cuisine.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with some very talented and critically acclaimed chefs on both coasts, each with uniquely different styles,” Hummel says. “I’m excited to take all I’ve learned and use it with products and farms I grew up around.”

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