All language subtitles for 54321

♪♪

[ Indistinct chatter ]

♪♪

[ Utensil tapping glass ]

♪♪

I just wanted to
welcome you all

and thank you so, so much
for coming out tonight

to my very favorite place
in the entire universe.

I know that some of you
have traveled a bit of a way

to be here, and some of you
have just waited a long time

to be here --
maybe even years.

I don't know what happens
in this room,

but there's
something that happens,

so whatever it is tonight,

I hope that you see it
and you feel it.

It's so much more
than food,

and whatever it is,
it's all come together.

You found your way here,

and I just want to
toast tonight.

This is to the way
you felt in Freedom.

Thanks so much
for coming.

Cheers.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

[ Glasses clinking ]

♪♪

I'm Erin French.

After spending years
trying to get away

from my small hometown
of Freedom, Maine,

I not only came back to live,
I opened a restaurant.

WOMAN:
There's a lot of people.

They're all outside.

Are we ready?

My kitchen family and I
had no formal training

and no idea
what was going to happen,

but we trusted that everything
we needed was right here,

and soon,
people were coming

from all over the world
to visit us.

♪♪

Every week is a new story.

New ingredients.

Bottoms up.

It's delicious.

New diners.

Mmm.

New challenges for me
and the team.

The only constant is...

it's home.

Welcome to my favorite place
in the whole world --

The Lost Kitchen.

♪♪

All right, this is
downtown Freedom.

There's not much here.

We're in Freedom Maine,

which probably no one
has ever heard of.

It's in the middle
of nowhere.

We have about 719 people.

Downtown Freedom,
you could miss it

in a blink of an eye
if you're driving through.

We have the general store,

which is pretty much, you know,
one of the only businesses.

♪♪

And here's the post office
that doesn't get a lot of action

except for a couple of weeks
out of the year in April

when we do our reservations
by lottery and by postcard.

And then, it becomes
the North Pole

for a couple of weeks.

The only way to get a seat
at the restaurant

is by mailing us
a postcard in April.

It's a lottery, and everyone
has the same fair chance.

It still blows my mind
that so many people

from all over the world
travel to this little town

just to eat my food.

If you had told me that I would
be running a restaurant

in my hometown of Freedom --

the place I tried to
run from for so long,

the place I tried
to get away from --

I would have said...
[ Laughs ]

"There's no way."

♪♪

We are open from
the beginning of May

until the middle
of October.

This is the end of
our season right now.

This is the final week
of the restaurant.

WOMAN: Hi!

What's up?

ERIN: Oh, my God,
I love your parents.

Aww, me, too.They were so hilarious.

Your mom looks like
Shirley MacLaine.

We are a staff
of all women...

WOMAN: Hi.
Oh, hi.

...except T.J.Hi, Teej.

...who is our...
[ Laughs ]

...our number one
dishwasher.

WOMAN: How's this look
for turnip?

All right?That's probably good.

No one had a huge résumé
of culinary training at all,

but who needs training
when you've got heart, passion

and a Maine girl's
work ethic?

It's like...
[ Laughs ]

We truly are --

We're like sisters.

This is my family.

I'm gonna put pears and
fennel and cabbage in it.

Do you think pears
and olives are weird?

No, I think that'll be
delicious, actually.

I think the sweet
and the salty

is gonna be
really good together.

We change the menu
every day.

It's all driven on what's fresh
and what's perfect that day.

It's not the season, so they
don't have as many running.

So it's kind of
like a big deal.

I know people say
"farm to table."

They're like, "That's my style
of cooking -- farm to table."

But, for me,
growing up in Freedom,

always having a garden,

you're always surrounded
by fresh food.

It was like, "This is
the only way you should eat --

with fresh,
local ingredients."

Hey, Skye?
Yeah?

I need, like, triple
the dill that you gave me.

We are low on it,

so I was trying to
do half, but, great.

I'll do more.

Could you double the thyme

and double
the tarragon, too?

Yep, yep.

ERIN:
Late in the season...

you do start to
see the shift

in what's available
from the farmers.

All the fresh things
are starting to go away.

But even when we don't have
a lot of produce to work with,

it doesn't stop
the expectations

from being just as high
as they are in July,

when the produce is flowing.

We're gonna do Napa
with apples.

We still have the two
different varieties of apples?

So, the two apples.

We have four days left
at the restaurant.

In getting ready
for the final night,

I'm definitely feeling
the pressure.

I really want to end perfect
on this last night,

so I need to get out
to see my farmers

and find out what's available
and what's done for the season.

People are coming
from all over the country

with big expectations of having
the best meal of their lives.

No stress, no pressure.

♪♪

CHENEY: Let's go get
some oysters.

Ooh, I'm so excited.

We'll go to the other side
of Pebow Island there

and we'll show you
the farm.

See were your
oysters come from.

Let's do it.

I definitely want
to include oysters

on our final menu
of the season.

They just feel
so celebratory.

So if you're going to a friend's
house and you have oysters,

that feels pretty special.

So when you come
to Lost Kitchen,

I want you to feel
that special.

We have these metal boats
because we can bang into things

and it really
doesn't matter.

Our very favorite oyster farm
is Johns River,

which is down in South Bristol,

just an hour south
of Freedom.

CHENEY: We buy
a lot of propellers.

Every six months,
we buy it.

That's how we know
where all the rocks are.

[ Laughing ]

We love Dave.

He is diving
for all of his oysters,

which is different
for the way

that most people are raising
their oysters here in Maine.

But you're literally
diving in February.

You're diving into that
frigid, cold water in February.

Yeah, I mean,
35°, 40.

It's short and painful,

but what else
are we gonna do?

[ Laughs ]

I mean, in Maine,

you're either an alcoholic
or a workaholic,

and I'd rather be
a workaholic.

♪♪

So, an oyster really
isn't mature

until the bottom plate
is flat.

That one really
isn't mature.

This one, on the other
hand, actually is.

That's a good one?

That's the oyster that
you'd probably like.

Yeah, that's perfect.

It's got that
nice cup to it.

Look at that
little perfect one.

We forgot the sauce.

Sauce?
It's all right in there.

You don't need anything.

That's the whole thing
with Johns River oysters.

You don't need
anything.

It's so clean.

They're sweet.

Okay, do you eat these?I do.

How many
you eat a day?

♪♪

[ Laughter ]

Oh, yeah, baby!

They don't get
any better.

We had different
size last week.

We got the white bags.
We usually get the red bags.

Oh, you got cocktails.

You got this stuff.We had big boys.

Which were too big?

I mean, when you're
having a lot of food,

you want to just give someone
a taste here and there.

The small ones
are good.

I come from
a Polish family,

and my grandmother
really fed us,

so I'm trying to
give value.

I feel that if I'm giving
a bigger oyster --

When people come
to my restaurant --

I grew up
working in a diner.

It's like, your job
is to feed 'em!

You gotta feed 'em!
[ Laughs ]

Dave was so cute.

He said, "I just want to
grow them big

so people feel like they're
getting their money's worth."

And that's, like,
such a Maine thing.

And then, for us to communicate,
and say, "Well, Dave,

these are the ones
that I really like,

and this is the reason
why I like them."

That was an epiphany,
I think, for him.

He was like, "Oh."

We're gonna need
five bags.

We've the big, special
dinner this weekend, so...

Bag 'em and tag 'em.

♪♪

When the people who are
growing our food

start to understand
how we use it,

that relationship is producing
a better dish together.

♪♪

CHENEY: This is the farm,
you have the tables and...

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Wanna come look
at postcards, Erin?

Yeah, give me one sec.

KATHARINE: You guys
want to see these?ASHLEY: Yeah.

Come in.

Let's see where
everyone's from.

Maine.New Jersey.

Kansas?!

ERIN: Really?Yeah.

On our final night
of the season,

we have people
from all over the country

flying in to eat with us.

ASHLEY: Minnesota.
Wait...

Minnesota?Wait a second.

Hold on, don't
put this on camera.

What's "MN"?
[ Laughing ]

WOMAN: Oh, showing your
Searsport, Ashley.

[ Laughter ]

ERIN:
Our restaurant's small.

We seat about
50 people a night.

Because we're only open
four days a week for six months,

It's really challenging
for people to get in.

♪♪

A few years ago, we came up
with a new reservation process.

We found out that our post
office was reducing its hours.

It was kind of this buzz
around town of like,

"What's gonna happen?

Are we gonna lose
our post office?"

All we have in Freedom
is the post office

and the general store.

It's like, we have
two things...

[ Laughing ]
...so, to lose one of two,

it was kind of
a big deal.

So we made a reservation system
that is a little different.

You can't make it
by phone.

You can't make it
by email.

It's by postcard.

"This girl can hardly wait
to find out

if she will be celebrating
her 50th birthday

at the Lost Kitchen
this year."

And she is.
Yay!

We open our reservation process
on April the 1st every year.

If you think of Valentine's Day
on crack, this is what this is.

It's poems.

It's recipes.

It's intimate stories
of people's lives.

There are drawings.
There are paintings.

Oh, these are all
scratch and sniffs.

[ Laughing ]
Are they really?

Each year, we've got
20,000 postcards.

"For the most amazing
woman in my life,

I have a romantic
day planned.

It includes me getting
on one knee

and asking if I may put
a diamond on her hand."

So, he's going to propose
to his lady friend.

I can't wait
to see this.

What table are they at?

What table are they at?
They are at Table 2.

I'm gonna have to
keep a straight face.

[ Laughter ]

I've heard people say
they've been trying

for four years to get in,
and, like, that's no pressure.

What?
I mean, come on.

It's pressure,
and, you know,

expectation is building,

and it's definitely a lot.

♪♪

I've been thinking about
how I want to shape

the final menu
of the season,

and one thing
that I'd love to serve

is this really beautiful
tomato soup that --

all of the ingredients were
grown by a few of the women

who work at the restaurant --
every single ingredient.

This would be the perfect way
to end the week

of just celebrating
these women

and celebrating
our accomplishments.

So, I'm hoping we can squeeze in
one last big bowl of tomatoes,

even though it's late
in the season.

♪♪

KRISTA:
These are bachelor buttons --

the last of them.

My name's Krista, and I'm one
of the lead line cooks

at the Lost Kitchen.

I started at the restaurant
four years ago,

and I just saw everybody
bringing something in,

and I just wanted to
contribute in some way.

I wanted to bring something
from home to work.

And I just grew one thing
and then another

and another and another,
and it took off. [ Laughs ]

Krista has become --

I guess if it were
a fancy kitchen,

she'd be my sous-chef,
if that's what people --

[ Laughs ] If we had
real names for it.

But she's literally
my right hand at the stove.

She had not a huge résumé

and no real training...

♪♪

...but the thing was,

I knew that
she had strengths.

KRISTA: I walked in the door
for waitressing.

I had never, ever,
ever cooked before.

This is all brand new.

[ Laughs ]

Erin, she saw
a little something in me.

She was supportive,

and I was just like,
"Wow, if she's willing

to see something in me,
then I'm gonna find it, too."

I grow all of
the edible flowers

for the Lost Kitchen --

and tomatoes
and sometimes spring garlic

and peaches and whatever else
I can find and forage

off the property.

Last week was a huge pull
of last-of-the-season, tomatoes.

Just, like, you know,
boxes and boxes full,

so Erin was able to run
with her signature tomato soup.

And this week,
they're just not coming on.

They're shutting down.

Temps are cooler,
and they're just not ripening.

In the on-season, I can
come in every single day,

and I'm picking, like,
10 boxes, you know?

Now I'm lucky
if I get one.

♪♪

They take longer to ripen

when when the temps
start to cool down a bit.

They ripen rapidly when it's
just 90°, 100 in here.

That's a pretty good pull
for this late in the season,

but I don't think
she's gonna be able

to get tomato soup
out of this.

She's gonna
have to reconsider

and hope that some
different produce comes in.

♪♪

[ Rooster crows ]

♪♪

ERIN:
Mom guilt kicking in.

Making breakfast
for my 17-year-old

because I'm gone
16 hours a day,

so breakfast tacos
make everyone happy.

♪♪

[ Sniffs ]
Jaim?

Breakfast is
on the table.

My son is Jaim,

and he's 17 years old.

Morning.Wow, thank you.

I think I put
a lot more effort

into making breakfast for him
in the mornings

because, you know,
it's just that one little bit

that I think I can
still do for him --

which feels nice
to still be relevant

in his life a little bit.

What's the deal
with schoolwork?

Do you have all your
English stuff ready?

It's not done, but...

The balance of work and trying
to be a mom at the same time

is probably one
of the biggest challenges.

What about the diorama?

Mm.
[ Laughs ]

ERIN: This restaurant takes me
away from my family a lot.

I'm trying so hard
to be there for him,

and then work
a 16 hour work day,

and, you know,
making dinner for 50 strangers

when I know that he's at home
having a frozen pizza.

I grew up in a diner
where my dad was never home,

and I know that
that damaged me in a way,

and I'm trying not to repeat
that pattern in that same way.

All right, you got ten minutes
when we get in the car.

Okay.

♪♪

ERIN: Still funny to
think about, like --

this is where
it all started,

is this little diner
on the corner. [ Laughs ]

And I still remember my mom

pulling into this parking lot
for the first time,

and we were in
our old, beat-up Volvo.

And look, the potholes --
these are probably

the same potholes
that were still there.

And she said, "Look,
we bought a restaurant!"

♪♪

I started working here
for my dad when --

well, I guess he pulled me in
when I was about 12 one day,

and asked me if
I would just clean up

all the eggshells
that were on the counter.

And then, from there,
it just kept going.

I think by the time
I was 15,

I was running the line
by myself.

And that's most of my --
if not all of --

my culinary experience.

♪♪

It came from
this place right here.

I went to college
when I was 18,

and I remember that big moment
of feeling like,

"Oh my God, I made it.

I got out of Freedom."

But I became unexpectedly
pregnant with my son.

I was only 21 at the time.

So I came back pregnant
and feeling pretty deflated.

Moved back in
to my parents',

back on the
dirt road again.

Eight years later,
I was about to turn 30.

I was in an
unhappy marriage,

I hadn't found my way yet,

and the only thing
that I knew how to do --

the only thing that I felt
comfortable with -- was food.

[ Food sizzling ]

And I started
a supper club.

I would email a bunch
of friends and say,

"Hey, look, I'm gonna make
dinner on Saturday night.

I can do 24 people."

I've got this four-burner
electric stove,

so I could basically
put myself through

some sort of self-taught
cooking school.

I think I got maybe
12 people to show up,

so it wasn't a great showing,
but I made this dinner,

and I remember,
at the end of it,

the joy on people's faces.

It gave me this
immense pleasure.

♪♪

[ Spoon taps counter ]

As the supper club started
to get more popular,

I finally got to a point

where I opened
a restaurant.

It was everything I could have
possibly dreamed of.

I pinched myself
that I was able to pull it off.

♪♪

But if you want to find some
cracks in your relationship,

if you open a restaurant,
you will find them --

or they will find you.

♪♪

[ Keys tapping ]

My marriage exploded
with that restaurant.

I started to become
extremely depressed.

I started drinking more.

I started taking
prescription drugs.

And between the marriage
and the drugs

and the booze
and the stress...

I had a breakdown.

♪♪

I checked into rehab.

My marriage ended.

I lost my restaurant.

I lost everything.

♪♪

I came home...

and I moved into
my parents' cabin.

No electricity.

Was fighting for, um --

to rebuild my life.

♪♪

So, this is
my parents' house

right here on the corner
with the stone wall.

This is where we grew up.

I haven't been down here
in a while.

my parents just got
divorced last year,

and my dad still
lives at this house.

♪♪

I came home
to this place twice.

Two really devastating
moments in my life --

one when I when I got
pregnant with Jaim

and that wasn't expected.

And I was a single mom,

and my parents took me in
that first time.

And then, coming home
the second time

after my divorce.

I went back to the idea
of the supper club.

I found an old Airstream that
needed to be completely gutted

and turned it into
a mobile kitchen.

Built tables
with my own hands.

And that was the way
that I was gonna move forward,

was this kitchen on wheels.

Going to farms
and going to orchards

and greenhouses
and making dinner for people.

Maybe it was
a fried chicken dinner

'cause it was outside
and it was a picnic.

Or, you know, maybe we were
doing pork chops

under an apple orchard
with, you know, apples and --

whatever it was.

Whatever made sense
for that farm.

♪♪

Even though I went through
some pretty hard times,

those tragedies brought me
the restaurant

and the women
who are there.

We wouldn't be there
if I hadn't tumbled down --

if I hadn't gone
through hell before.

♪♪

ASHLEY: Hi, babe.

Hi!

I have some flowers
for you.

ERIN: [ Gasps ]
You do?

Do you need help?
Oh, my God!

Dahlias still!

I love them so much.

You're gonna do
the big ones.

Okay.

Are you sad this is the last
arrangement of the year?

[ Inhales ]
Uh...

Or are you just like,
"Bring on the frost!

Let's be done.
Kill it all."

I did think,
on my way here --

I was like,
"This is the last time

I have to carry these
heavy buckets in here."

ERIN: Ashley is
one of our servers,

and she also grows
all of our flowers for us

and helps out with
all the arrangements.

She's definitely one of
my big near-and-dears.

She's been with me
the longest.

She started out
helping out

waiting tables
in the supper club

and has carried on
through everything.

ASHLEY:
Been a crazy ride, for sure.

I love Erin.

She's crazy at times,

in, like, your
crazy friend, fun way.

I grow for a lot
of different people,

and you get to know
their personalities.

So I know Erin,
and I know what she likes

and what she doesn't like.

Erin's not a giant fan
of yellow, but...

[ Laughs ]
...she's gonna get yellow.

I don't have much else,

so she's gonna
get the yellow.

For all the things that have
changed throughout the years,

Erin is still
the same person.

ERIN: What's left
in the field?

I think that
you're looking at it.

So, it's perfect timing.

New rule.
Okay.

When you're down
to two ingredients

for your floral arrangements,
it's time to close.

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

KRISTA: Hey, guys.

ERIN: Oh, lady.

Hi!

Just put
all the goods...

Oh, my God,
ruffled basil!

That's a nice surprise.

Oh, my God, it still
smells like summer.

All right, so,
I brought tomatoes --

like a handful.

Oh.

Cool, all right.

Um...
[ Clicks tongue ]

They might be a little
challenging to work with.

Yeah.

I just wanted to
roll in this week,

I wanted everything
to be perfect,

and I had this vision of this
really beautiful tomato soup.

But I love Krista
for trying.

She brought tomatoes,

but what she brought
just won't be enough,

so that means
I have to improvise.

So, what soup are we
gonna run instead?

[ Dishes clattering ]

Um, I don't know.

I'm not really sure
what I'm gonna do.

Okay.

I'll come up with
something else.

All right.

Good deal.

♪♪

ERIN:
Now, since tomato soup

is not gonna work out
this week,

we have to come up
with another plan,

and I want it to be a soup
that I'm just as proud of

and just as excited about.

I have to think about produce
that will have survived

any of the small frosts
that we've had already

or may taste better
because of them.

Hey, Erin.Hey, Catherine.

How are you?Good to see you.

Good seeing you, too.

I brought you guys
some wine.

What?
Wedding wine.

Oh, my gosh,
thank you.

ERIN: Catherine and
her husband Alex,

they are running
Calyx Farm,

which is just about
10 miles down the road.

It's a new farm
for us to be working with.

And Catherine,
I noticed,

had celery on her
availability list,

which stands out to me
because no one else had that.

Oh, wow, you still have
quite a bit.

Yeah.
You grew a lot
of celery.

[ Laughter ]

I know celery doesn't
sound very rare,

but the truth is,
celery is a total pain to grow.

It takes a lot of water,

and I think,
over the years,

a lot of the farmers
that we've been working with

decided to stop growing it.

But Catherine and Alex
are new to farming,

and they didn't really know
how hard it was.

Lucky for me.
[ Laughs ]

I feel very sad
to say goodbye to summer

and goodbye to tomatoes

and all those summery,
delicious goodies.

but then you've got
fall food.

I love fall food
so much.

It's so comforting.

It makes you
feel warm and --

So many good fall --

Apples and squash
and celery.

Mm-hmm.It might be my favorite.

So, this is perfect,

because we just are not
gonna have enough tomatoes

for this final dinner,

so we just stock up
on celery and leeks...

Mm-hmm.
This baby is
pretty hearty.

I'm thinking with the celery,
we could totally do

a delicious soup
with celery and leeks.

It'll be super fall
and delicious.

Add some crab.

Crab and celery.
Crab?

Mm-hmm.Ooh.

Oh, man.

You know,
kind of like a...

crab salad
kind of situation.

Mm-hmm.

I'm gonna taste it
even though it's dirty.

♪♪

It's delicious.
It's got so much flavor.

Awesome.

People expect celery
is supposed to be...

like a supermarket
celery.

It's big
and watery and...

You can't buy this
at the supermarket.

♪♪

I'm getting
my fiber today.

[ Laughing ]
Yes.

I want a
Bloody Mary now.

[ Laughs ]

With the last
of those tomatoes,

we might have just enough
to make them.

There you go.

[ Knife chopping ]

Okay, I'm going
upstairs.

I'm gonna go
sautée these.

♪♪

[ Door creaks ]

♪♪

Do another batch,
'cause I was like,

"Oh, I didn't really
sautée enough."

So now I've jammed
my pans right full,

but that's okay.

I am making a fresh celery
and leek soup.

Soup is the one course

that always terrifies me,
for some reason.

A soup is just
constant layering

from the stock
to the ingredients.

I'm never following a recipe.

I'm always just
doing it by feel

and by touch and by taste.

I'm not a fancy cook,
and I'm not a chef.

I don't wear
no white coat.

I didn't go to school.
[ Laughs ]

I cannot make you the best dish
in the world.

What I'm trying to do
is make you feel

the best feeling
in the world,

and there's food involved.

If you're a chef,
you're supposed to be making

the best dish in the world

and getting recognized
for this dish you made.

But what does it matter
if it doesn't, like,

make the person who's eating it
feel something?

It's not just about food.

It's about how
you care for people,

how you take them in,
how you make them feel,

how you pay attention
to every little detail.

[ Sniffs ]
It's all really important.

Steamy close up.
[ Laughs ]

♪♪

I always try to make the tags
go the same way.

I'm Deanna.

I'm Erin's mom, and I run
the wine cellar downstairs.

ERIN: You're darn right my mom
works at the restaurant.

When the restaurant opened,
I was like,

"I can't do this
without Mom.

I need Mom here."

She was hostessing the first
year and greeting people.

And then, when we had
the second year,

we really needed
this wine cellar.

And I think
these are all good.

Meanwhile,
she's totally terrified,

'cause she's like,
"I know nothing about wine.

I thought Merlot
and Chardonnay

were the only types
of wine in the world."

DEANNA:
I really knew nothing.

Really nothing about it.

So I'm like,
"Okay, I'll start here,

and take home a bottle."

You know, like, learn how to
swish and swirl

and taste and sniff
and spit and all that stuff.

And I've never seen her happier
or healthier and thriving

and so smart with wine.

Everyone says,
"Oh, you're the sommelier."

And I'm like,
"No, not really.

I'm a "Mom-mmelier,"
I guess.

ERIN: Throughout my life,
my mom has always been

my biggest champion
through all my ups and downs.

DEANNA: Remember, we were
counting our dollars like --

we went out to this little
restaurant for breakfast

and we're like, "All right,
how much money --

how much money
do we have?"

I was broke then,
you know?

I had just retired
and supporting her.

She was drinking
boxed wine.

That tells you
how broke she was, okay?

Yeah, I was
Franzia broke.

WOMAN: Oh, no!

You had to cover
my overdraft fees

because when I went on
Match.com, I had no money.

I overdrew my account.

I got charged $32

for a $48 Match.com
subscription.

She was so mad.

I was living in the
Airstream, at that point.

She's knocking
at the door.

She's like, I'm not
paying for love!"

[ Laughter ]

And you know what?
Four days later,

Michael and I
became pen pals.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Michael.

My dreamboat.
[ Laughs ]

My sweet, sweet husband.

My God.

We've been together
for six years now.

I was living in a camper
at my parents'

and was not really the world's
best catch, at that point,

but there was something
that just sparked between us,

and there was
no turning back.

When we met,
I was living in Manhattan

on the Upper West Side.

Took the 1 Train
to work every day.

I didn't know
anything about Freedom

or restaurants
or whatever.

I created a monster.
I have to show you.

Look at him.
Look at him.

Look at him.
He's so beautiful.

Look at him!

He's got flannel,
a fire,

and a couple of things
called work gloves.

If you didn't know it,
you might think

he was a born and raised
total Maine redneck.

Yeah, baby!

He's always into burning things,
which I find hilarious.

Get them pallets
on there!

Fire to a city boy
is like, "Oh, my God."

Whoa, fella!

He's growing a beard.

He calls our lawnmower
a tractor.

My Boy Scout abilities
have definitely improved.

♪♪

That's my man!

Flannel shirts, yes.

More flannel shirts than I've
ever had in my entire life --

although, I do keep --
there's a suit and tie

not far away,
just in case.

ERIN: [ Laughs ]

What are you gonna do?

Can you just
turn that off, please?

Please.

I always tell people, it's
the best $50 I ever spent.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Hi!
ASHLEY: Hi!

And look, I even
brought you some flowers.

I should have told you,

I already got some
from Hannah.

From the neighbor?No, they're even better.

Sorry.Mine are better?

Her's are better?Her's are better.

Whatever.
[ Laughs ]

[ Snooty voice ]
"Whatever."

It's the last night
of the season.

[ Muffled chatter ]

Hi.
[ Laughs ]

No!
[ Laughing ]

ERIN: I don't even
feel like I realize

that tonight is it.

♪♪

It's just the strangest feeling
of thinking, like,

"This is it."

It doesn't feel like
it should be it.

Okay.
[ Sighs ]

What do I want to do?
What do I want?

Oh, maybe I'll
do the fish.

I'm kind of at a weird
moment right now.

What you waiting on?
Cakes?

I'm waiting for
the cakes to bake

and I'm waiting
for the buns to rise.

Oh, yeah.

I'm gonna do fish.

Don't let me forget I have
cakes in the oven, though.

Today, there was
a fish auction,

and I found out
that there were

a couple of halibuts
that came to shore...

Can you get that door
behind me?
SKYE: Yep.

ERIN: ..which is a
big deal right now

because we're not
in halibut season.

I'm pretty excited.

It's my favorite
fish to cook,

so I'm already
looking forward

to cooking on the line
with the ladies

that final dish,
that final fish.

I know how many people I have
to feed each night,

and I know that I have to get
a certain amount of portions,

so I have to do
a lot of estimating.

So, this is where
it gets tricky,

and I have to use my
Mount View math skills

to sort of do fractions.

And I only get so many shots
with a piece of fish,

and it's an expensive
piece of fish, so...

I don't have mad knife skills,
but guess what?

My grandmother
didn't either, so --

She made pretty good food.

You almost ready?

ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm just
gonna put my hair up.

We fight
over this mirror.

Every night,
we fight over this mirror.

It's like, we have
how many women who work here,

and we have one mirror.

WOMAN: You need to take a little
leaf of fuzz off your butt.

ERIN: Hey, can you
marker me?

Yes.

Should we get this on?
[ Laughs ]

This is how you deal
with bleep spots.

I like bleach,
and I get it everywhere.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

Okay, I'll see
you upstairs.

It's time.

[ Water running ]

♪♪

Krista, you're all
in good shape?

KRISTA: I think so.

♪♪

♪♪

Time check?5:36.

Thank you.

We got four minutes.

Feeling very emotional.

A little bit on
the edge of tears,

which I have
to hold in right now.

♪♪

This is all coming
to an end.

[ Gasps ] All right,
I can't talk about it anymore.

I'm gonna start crying.

♪♪

[ Sniffles ]
Okay, gotta be strong now.

It's happy tears, too.
It's sad and happy.

♪♪

[ Sniffling ]
Oh.

Gonna be fine.

♪♪

Love you.
Love you.

How about a coffee filter
for your tears?

Have a coffee filter
for your tears.

[ Laughs ]

You good?
You good?

[ Laughing ]

You good?

Don't look at me!
You'll start crying, too.

It's contagious!

♪♪

♪♪

Dale and Kat.
Yep.

Here from
Denver, Colorado.

Yeah, really excited
to come all this way

for the Lost Kitchen.

KAT: In April,
we sent a postcard.

I was like, "Why not?

We have the worst luck
in the world." [ Laughs ]

You know, whatever.

And then, lo and behold,
we got a phone call.

Yeah.

Dale literally
called me screaming.

Yeah.[ Laughter ]

Yeah, yeah.

Here's a wine list

and tonight's menu
to look over.

I know, I can't...

This is our first date
since baby number two,

so we're looking forward
to a super epic date night.

We've been waiting
a really long time for this.

I think we applied
two years in a row.

You feel like you won
before you get here.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

ERIN: And there's a zillion
people here already.

♪♪

ASHLEY: [ Gasps ]
Is this it?

Oh, my God,
I'm so nervous.

I hope she says --

- [ Gasps ]
- He's gonna do it!

-Oh my God.
-Here it comes.

-Dude, he's gonna do it!
-One knee!

He's talking her into it.
[ Laughs ]

WOMAN: Oh, she said yes!

That's a big,
long one.

That means yes.
That's a "yes" kiss.

Can we all clap
in the window?

She said yes.[ Laughter ]

I'm Dara.And I'm Michael.

I've been trying to
get a reservation

for the past
three years.

Is that the
actual postcard?

Yes.
Can I see it?

Yes.
Okay.

"For the most amazing
woman in my life."

Awww.

Tonight's an unforgettable
night in so many ways.

♪♪

ASHLEY:
That scares me.

The entryway scares me
when it's full of people.

I have stage fright.

[ Laughs ]

But I can do it.

I'm a professional.
[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Hi!

Come right this way.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

[ Laughter ]

Date night.

This is the best
date night ever already.

I can tell.

♪♪

Thank you.

♪♪

When I dreamt of
the Lost Kitchen,

I wanted it to feel like

you are coming
into my home.

MAN: All right,
beautiful.

This is the way
I'd want you to feel.

This is the way I want to
take care of you.

KAT: You excited?DALE: Yes, I'm excited.

♪♪

[ Indistinct chatter,
laughter ]

WOMAN: May I have
the same for us?

♪♪

ERIN: When people
first come in

and they've finally
got their first

glass of wine
on the table,

it's always fun
to surprise them

and bring out
little treats.

And they'll be like,
"Wait a minute!

We haven't even
started the menu yet."

Hello.
Hi.

KATIE: How are you?Good, how are you?

I'm just gonna
get you started here.

DALE: Thank you.

All right, so, you have all
sorts of little nibbles here.

The first thing that
we're gonna give them

is a really beautiful
snack board

with lots of local cheeses
and olives and pickles.

There are two
different butters.

One is a roasted bone marrow
and chive butter,

and then, a bit of
smoked butter down there.

Quick pickled kohlrabi
we made this morning

with some fresh
local ginger.

Awesome,
thank you so much.

ERIN:
You're welcome.

All right, but we're dying
to know one thing --

did you have any idea?

No.
Come on!

No, no, no, no, no.

Yeah, you're gonna be looking
at that all night long.

Yeah.[ Laughter ]

♪♪

KATIE: Oh, my God.
So good.

KAT: Cheers.
[ Laughs ]

DALE: We've been eating
plant-based for how long now?

Six months?

KAT: But for tonight,
we felt like

it was a good decision
to break vegetarian.

[ Laughing ]
It's so good.

It's so good.

It was worth it.Definitely, yeah.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

ERIN: Oh, hi!

[ Laughter ]

Welcome!

I just wanted to
welcome you all

and thank you so much
for coming out tonight.

I don't know
if you all know this,

but tonight is our very
last night of our sixth season.

You are here on our final night
here at the Lost Kitchen.

My God, I want to cry.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

I'm feeling very overcome
with emotion tonight.

I grew up here in Freedom,
and for most of my life,

I had a hard time finding
a reason to feel proud about it.

And then, six years ago,
I walked through these doors,

and there was
sawdust everywhere,

and it was
a construction zone.

We never imagined
this little place

would become what it has become,
and I'm so proud of it now.

I never thought
we'd have a restaurant

that you had to win a lottery
to just go out to dinner.

[ Laughter ]

We're gonna start tonight
with a soup.

You may have looked at the menu,
and maybe you thought,

"Wow, celery.

That's what you're going out
with on your last night?

Really? Celery soup?

Wow."

Celery is a pain
in the butt to germinate.

It's also a pain
in the butt to water.

So people just wiped it
off of their list.

They stopped growing it.
They stopped doing it.

But we started working
with a new farmer this year,

and I thought...

[ Laughter ]

"They have no idea,
do they?"

[ Laughter ]

When Catherine showed up
with these boxes of celery,

she was looking
very stressed out,

and I have to think
that tonight,

as we serve this celery soup
for the final time,

we're never gonna
see it again.

She's never gonna
grow this again,

so this is it.

This is the finale
of celery.

♪♪

We know all the effort that
it took to get here tonight,

and we're so proud
and thrilled

to share this dinner
with you all tonight.

I'm so excited!

I'm raising my glass
as a toast!

This is to all of you,

and the way you felt
in Freedom tonight.

Cheers!

Cheers!Cheers!Cheers!Cheers!

[ Glasses clinking ]

♪ Cheers

ASHLEY:
Did I get it on that?

WOMAN: [ Laughs ]

ERIN: After all the
ups and downs,

I'm so happy with how
the final menu came together.

We're serving oysters fresh
from Johns River

topped with pickled apples

with sweet apple cider
and shallots and chives.

KATIE: To...

The most beautiful
woman I've ever met.

Who is it?
[ Laughs ]

Thanks for putting
up with me.

I love you.

I don't even know
how to eat an oyster.

I don't think
I've ever had one.

All right, ready?

Cheers.Cheers.

[ Laughs ]

[ Indistinct chatter ]

♪♪

[ Laughs ]
It's so good.

Wow.

♪♪

ERIN: The sliders are
an ode to my diner days,

and they're made
with a local pork

from a fancy Mangalica pig

with homemade mayonnaise,
some local cheese,

and last-of-the-season
peaches from Krista's farm.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

♪♪

Wow, yeah.

Yeah, this is
probably --

I would agree.

This is probably the best
thing I've had so far.

[ Laughs ]
In my life!

[ Laughter ]

We've made a fresh
celery and leek soup

with smoked ricotta
and fresh Maine crab meat

that we tossed
in browned butter.

♪♪

Mmmm.

You get a really strong
celery flavor,

But then you get that
sweetness from the crab.

That was my favorite.
The crab was amazing.

I'm sorry I can't cook you
food like this.

[ Laughing ]

The salad is
with Napa cabbage,

heirloom apples,
toasted walnuts,

local blue cheese, bacon bits,
and buttermilk dressing.

♪♪

Mmm.

Wow.

♪♪

[ Gas range clicking ]

♪♪

There's a magic that happens
when I turn the stove on

and it's time to cook
the main course.

Ready?

[ Halibut sizzling ]

One last dance.

Lady, may I have
this last dance?

We know it's gonna
get crazy.

We know that the flames are
gonna be going.

The butter's
gonna be splattering.

If you think of a normal
kitchen, it is fiery,

and people are yelling,
and people are intense.

And with us, we don't have
to say a single word

to know exactly
where we're headed.

KATHARINE:
Just a few extra.

Because you can.Just 'cause.

♪♪

KATHARINE:
Ready to plate!

[ Indistinct chatter ]

♪♪

You guys, we're plating
the last pick-up.

The last leg.
This is it.

WOMAN: No, no, no,
we did...

♪♪

Nine to go!

♪♪

ERIN: We've made halibut
seared skin-side down

till it's nice and crispy

with creamy corn grits,

turnip and cabbage
and pear and olives.

♪♪

KYLE:
Is the flower edible?

Yes!

How good is it?Haven't tasted it.

[ Laughs ]

It's super good.

It is really good.

[ Laughing ]

KAT: [ Laughs ]

♪♪

So good.We're moving to Maine.

♪♪

The squash cake had
vanilla bean custard,

golden raspberries,
and a whipped cream

that we folded
salted caramel into.

♪♪

The greatest gift

that any of us women
in this restaurant can give

is creating a moment
that carries on with someone,

and they think about
that time that they had.

You're part of their life.

[ Laughs ]

And I love you
very much.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

I still struggle with,

"How in the world
did this happen?

How did I get here?"

I still pinch myself.

KATIE: This is the best
date night ever.

Cheers, guys.

MAN: Thank you.

ASHLEY: Here's to
good friends!

WOMAN:
And Freedom, Maine!

Freedom, Maine.Yes.

♪♪

KYLE: There's a
peacock feather.

Minnesota? Whoa!

This is kind of cool.

It was absolutely worth
coming all this way.

It was amazing.

KAT: It was
really magical.

Safe travels home.

KAT: Oh, I don't
want to go.

DALE: I know.

KYLE: Wanna rest?
Okay.

I always have
this moment every night.

I'm done with the entrée.

I have swabbed down
the stove.

[ Water running ]

I will make my way over
to the big sink,

and I scrub all the way
up to my arms.

And I have this moment
where I think about

when I was 20 and 21

and I was in college,

and I think of
what I am now

and what I thought
it was gonna be.

And it's like
this moment of...

"Here I am."

It's beyond the dream,

and it's so much
more beautiful.

My God.

♪♪

Whoo!Whoo!
Whoo!Whoo!

WOMAN: You should have
made a tower.

Oh, my God.
Cheers.

-Cheers.
-Well done.

Cheers.
Cheers.Cheers.

♪♪

ERIN: This season
had to have been

the best that
we've had --

yet.

♪♪

I'm just constantly in awe
of all of these women.

♪ Oooooooh

♪ La-la

The excitement
that keeps me going

is thinking about
next spring --

thinking about
next season --

and I'm already dreaming
of new dishes.

What are we gonna build?
Who are we gonna touch?

What kind of memories
are we going to make?

♪ Oooooooooh

♪♪

♪♪

REPORTER: COVID-19
infection rates rise.

Maine's small businesses
are being hit,

especially...
[ Voice fades ]

This season is anything
but what I imagined it would be.

♪♪

Are you thinking of
opening up

the inside
of the restaurant

at all this season?

My gut says no.

We had a machine
that was running,

and now, I just had
both of my legs

taken out
from underneath me.

What am I gonna do?

The Lost Kitchen
has gotta change,

and I have to let go
of what it used to be.

I have to start thinking about,
"What can we get to?"

♪♪

Here's for your puppy.
Enjoy.

Maybe people could come
and pick up fresh local food

that's supporting
local farmers.

But we need to start
cooking again

and doing what we do
so well.

What if we
pulled together

some sort of, like,
Lost Kitchen-style lunch?

♪♪

Enjoy!WOMAN: [ Gasps ]

Wow!Pickled rhubarb on top,
so it'll be a little sweet.

I know that this isn't all that
we can be doing right now.

Why not little
private dining cabins

in the middle of the woods?

The glass will be
up above you

and looking out
this way.

We've finally found
some rhythm...

Chicken for two's
up right now.

...and it feels good.

[ Sniffling ]
Now I'm worried...

'cause what if
we all got it, too?

We live here
in this place

because we're rugged --

because we're
a little bit crazy --

and, you know,
we're all gonna be fine.

We're gonna
get through this.

[ Gas range clicks ]

[ Food sizzling ]

I just naturally
want to feed people.

Welcome.Thank you.

And so, I can't stop.

Right?

You've been keeping
the crowds all good.

That's right.

ERIN:
This is just pushing me

to find other ways
to do that.

If we can pull this off,

it is gonna be
so over-the-top beautiful.

Cheers.
Thank you so much.