Fireplace Feasts are back at Salem Cross Inn, returning after its absence last year due to the pandemic and allowing guests a glimpse of the history and culture of the 1700s while they enjoy dinner, a carriage ride, and a fun night out.

Salem Cross Inn is a restored 18th century farmhouse in West Brookfield. The house, which is now turned into a restaurant and tavern, sits on 600 acres of land, including a garden, fields for cows, and space for weddings.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful spot,” said Martha Salem-Leasca, whose family owns the property. “We’re very lucky.”

Nearly 70 years ago, Salem-Leasca’s father found the property in the 50s when it went up for auction, after having been passed down for eight generations from its original owners, the White family. At the time, the Inn was a run-down farmhouse, as Salem-Leasca called it, but Salem-Leasca’s father had a vision of what it once was and what it could become.

His brother was getting married soon, so he thought the two should renovate it for the brother to live in.

“They came in here and started ripping everything apart, and there was layer and layers of wallpaper and paint and plaster,” Salem-Leasca said. “They came down to the original boards.”

When touching the original walls, guests of the Inn can still feel the bumps of the wood because each board was hand-planed. The nails are also all handmade by a blacksmith. There are still pieces within the Inn that are originals to the house, such as the fireplace where cooking would take place.

“The story goes he turns to my uncle and goes ‘you know, this place is too good for you,’” Salem-Leasca said. “Their original thought was to do a golf course.”

After surveying the area, though, they found out there wasn’t a want or need for that. Instead, the brothers turned the space into what is now Salem Cross Inn. The name for the house comes from a mark on the front door, called the Salem Cross, that was very prevalent throughout New England at the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials in hopes of “warding off the evil spiritury,” according to Salem-Leasca.

Part of the Salem Cross Inn’s well-known traditions is the fireplace feast, which is held from November through April. The Inn invites guests to a 1700s style feast, which is prepared on an open hearth made of fieldstone.

“We have some amazing dinners down here,” Salem-Leasca said.

Salem Cross Inn

The fireplace is built from stones and rocks taken from the property, according to Salem-Leasca.

Guests assist in the cooking of the feast. Chowder is cooked in a large iron cauldron right over the fire. The prime rib is roasted “to a turn” with the only known authentic Roasting Jack that is still in operation in the United States. It keeps the meat roasting as it slowly rotates over the fire and logs.

“It took (my dad) years and years to find it,” Salem-Leasca said. “They had to do a lot of work to figure it out. He had a machinist, a historian, and they figured it out. It took them a good year to figure out how to work this thing.”

The Roasting Jack runs on the same principle as a grandfather clock, Salem-Leasca said. The jack gets cranked up, which pulls up weights. When it is released, the wheel starts to turn which moves the gears and pulleys that connect to the round part of the skewer to slowly turn the prime rib.

“It’s amazing…It’s delicious ,” Salem-Leasca said. “When we had the bigger ones we’d have two tiers…You learn how to do all of this through feel and just doing it. They had a lot of things back then that were black on the outside and not cooked on the inside!”

Salem-Leasca said that Salem Cross Inn has learned to stack its wood perpendicular to the floor. They also use harder woods like fruit woods and oaks to keep a longer burn. The heat radiates out and allows for the roast to cook in a pretty similar time to what it would take in an oven.

As a side, guests will also enjoy homemade rolls and muffins, herbed roasted potatoes, fresh butternut squash, and — of course — Salem Cross Inn’s famous deep dish apple pie. Everyone eats in the “barn” part of the Inn.

“We’re known for our apple pie. It’s really good pie,” Salem-Leasca said. “The guests come up and we serve the pie and then we have this giant antique wooden bowl of fresh whipped cream. We say to them ‘Do you love it or do you like it?’ It’s just a fun evening.”

While dinner is cooking, guests enjoy a horse drawn wagon — or sleigh ride when there is snow — through the Inn’s grounds. When they return, guests warm up with mulled wine or cider as well as Salem Cross Inn’s famous cheese spread.

A few things have changed due to the pandemic, however. Not as many tickets are sold to ensure a small setting, and people with tickets bought together sit at their own tables rather than the entire event seated as a group. Salem-Leasca hopes that things will be able to go back to “normal” in the coming years to allow for a more “community feel.”

That said, Salem-Leasca is happy to be back this year, she said, especially since families often come to the Fireplace Feasts traditionally year after year.

“People love these things,” Salem-Leasca said. “It’s great to be able to do it.”

The Fireplace Feast is offered this year on Saturdays and Sundays. Adult tickets are set at $79.00, and children 10 years old and under are $30.00. All tickets include taxes and gratuities.

To book a ticket in advance, go to salemcrossinn.com/events/dining-events/fireplace-feast/.

The Inn is also open as a restaurant Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon until 5 p.m. Beyond those times, however, weddings and parties are able to be booked as well.

sleigh ride