'Rural Cooking and Good Cheer'

Photo by Ash Nayler
Chef Elliot Reynolds of Bloomfield Public House.
Elliot Reynolds and his wife, Laura Borutski, had planned to take time off and travel, but when it came up for sale, they couldn’t resist buying this building and transforming it into Bloomfield Public House. In the mornings, people come by for a coffee, more happen by for lunch and afternoon pints and even more enjoy dinner in the evenings.
A hand-built smokehouse and the bounty of local foods in Prince Edward County play prominent roles in Reynolds’ approach to his menus. Borutski runs the front of house and stocks the bar with local beer, wine and spirits.
Reynolds and a couple of friends spent a gruelling 10 weeks building the stone smokehouse that sits adjacent to the side deck. It was not done in vain as Reynolds and his sous-chef use the smokehouse to make charcuterie, smoked hams, fish and meat.
They hope to build their charcuterie program to be able to sell it retail from the restaurant.
Reynolds and Borutski did much of the renovations themselves, gutting the old bank and renovating the second-storey apartment to create a private dining and pop-up event space. Aptly named The Room Upstairs, it can accomodate 30 seated guests and 40 standing.