• Courtesy
• Eric Buonagurio of Cork Restaurant & Natural Wine Shop

The menu at Stowe's Cork Restaurant & Natural Wine Shop now has a Boston accent, thanks to new executive chef Eric Buonagurio, 31. He made the move from Massachusetts in early December 2021, three years after he fell in love with Vermont while hiking the Long Trail.

Among the items on his fully revamped menu are roasted bone marrow; steamed mussels with lobster broth, Thai basil and saffron; and ricotta gnocchi with brown-butter cream, seasonal vegetables, pine nuts and Honey Nut Cheerios foam.

Asked which foods pair well with Cork's extensive roster of natural wines, Buonagurio said, "The beauty is that there's no boundaries. I can do Asian; I can do Italian. The sky's the limit."

He even serves doggy pot pies, turning scraps that would otherwise be composted into snacks for customers' canines — and garnishing them with a Milk-bone, of course.

The recycling reflects his focus on sustainability, Buonagurio said, as does his local sourcing; he's looking forward to getting back in the woods for foraging season. His goal is to own a farm eventually with an on-site diner.

Buonagurio spent 13 years in the Boston restaurant scene, working at Parla and for celebrity chef Jason Santos, among others. He recently oversaw All Day Hospitality's four restaurants: Ward 8, Ciao Roma, Bodega Canal, and Tony & Elaine's. In 2018, he won the first Annual Boston's Best Meatball Contest.

"I crushed," he said with a laugh, "which is great, because I'm Italian. I couldn't wait to tell my grandpa."