Head Chef and Owner, Chandra Gouldrup, truly is “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Chandra’s journey that would eventually lead her to becoming one of the area’s most passionate and respected farm-to-table chefs and proponents, began when she was a small child. Her mother, a full-blooded Sicilian, served a major role in her culinary perspective, particularly from a comfort food standpoint. While on the other side, her father’s childhood, being raised on a potato farm in rural northern Maine, set the stage for a family tradition of ensuring a large personal garden was always on hand to draw from.
When her path led out of the family kitchen and into the professional kitchens of some of New England’s most respected culinary minds, Chandra always carried those childhood memories with her. She always knew that one day she wanted to recreate those times of family and friends gathered around the table to share in home cooked comfort meals created using the freshest local ingredients around.
Upon moving to Easton with her husband, Brian, Chandra started eyeing locations to make her dream come true. When they spotted a little diner just down the street from their new home the creative energy started flowing. Their patience and perseverance were definitely put to the test, as seven years would pass before the space would become available. Once it was theirs however, no time was wasted and after a full gut and renovation to match Chandra’s detailed vision, The Farmer’s Daughter opened her doors in June of 2013.
Over the years since The Daughter, as it’s affectionately referred to, first started serving her guests unique and creative comfort food, Chandra has strived to forge strong and lasting partnerships with many local farms. Whether they are just down the street like Langwater Farms or in the next town over like Feather Brook Farms, Chandra has continued to build mutually beneficial relationships and search out the best natural, fresh and sustainable ingredients from local small providers across New England in an effort to follow through on the mission first inspired by her family while sitting around the table as a child.
With the her focus, determination and hard work along with the help of local news stories, great reviews, and especially the praise by her satisfied guests and neighbors, the small fifteen table restaurant has grown immensely in popularity over the years and has prompted Chandra, the 2016 winner of WGBH’s Stewardship Award and a 2018 Best of Boston recipient, to look to the future. Never one to give up in the eye of adversity, Chandra fought through 2020’s challenges and succeeded in opening her second Daughter in March of 2021 located in the historic town of Sudbury, MA. Working closely with her team she is now preparing to bring the Farmer’s Daughter experience to other New England communities, sharing her love for all things brunch while highlighting that fresh locally sourced mind-set that patrons of the original Farmer’s Daughter have grown to love. Keep an eye out, she may be coming to your town next!