November 9, 2025
Why We Started The United Chestnuts Test Kitchen
Planting the First Trees: A Personal Beginning
When we planted our first chestnut trees at EBB Farms in western Kentucky, I didn’t realize I was joining a movement.
At first, it was about the land — building something lasting with my husband, Brad. But over time, we began to see a bigger story unfolding. Chestnuts weren’t just trees; they were a bridge between old traditions and a new kind of agriculture built on sustainability, patience, and purpose.
🌿 From Orchard to Awareness: The Real Challenge
As our orchard grew, so did our understanding of the challenge: we can plant all the chestnut trees in the world, but the industry can’t thrive unless consumers know what to do with the crop.
Every year, more orchards reach maturity. Supply is growing — slowly, but surely. Yet most Americans still don’t know how to prepare chestnuts beyond a holiday roast. Without that knowledge, demand stalls before it ever reaches the kitchen. That gap between grower and consumer is where this movement either accelerates or stops.
🍴 Why We Started the United Chestnuts Test Kitchen
That’s why we started the United Chestnuts Test Kitchen.
It’s not just about recipes; it’s about reconnection. We’re rebuilding a food culture that once included chestnuts as a staple — nourishing, versatile, and grown right here at home.
When we meet people who drive an hour and a half just to buy chestnuts — like the couple from Korea who eats them raw or the Bosnian family who roasts them over the fire — it’s a reminder that chestnuts already have a loyal following. We just need to make them accessible, approachable, and visible to everyone else.
👉 Explore one of our favorite Test Kitchen recipes: Chestnut Cream Crêpes
🤝 Building United Chestnuts: A Shared Vision
But the Test Kitchen is only one part of the bigger picture that my creative partner Kim Douglass and I envisioned when we built United Chestnuts.
Together, we saw a need to tell the story of chestnuts — to make this crop visible, viable, and collaborative on a national scale. We built United Chestnuts to connect the dots: between growers and consumers, between orchards and markets, and between passion and profitability.
If we want to make chestnut farming viable for generations to come, we have to make chestnuts familiar again. Let’s help America see chestnuts differently!
— Melanie Jones
🌎 The United Chestnuts Partner Program
Through our United Chestnuts Partner Program, launching in 2026, we’ll be able to help farms like EBB Farms — and others across the country — join a shared marketing and sales platform that amplifies their stories, showcases their products, and brings more buyers into the fold.
We believe every grower should have access to the tools, design, and storytelling that move a niche crop into the mainstream. United Chestnuts gives them that platform, while the Test Kitchen gives us a way to inspire the consumer side of the equation.
🏡 The PMC: Processing, Merchandise, and Community
And soon, both of these worlds will come together under one roof.
We’re building a space on our farm called the PMC, named after my dad, Patrick McGee Collins — but also short for Processing, Merchandise, and Community.
Inside the PMC will be the United Chestnuts Test Kitchen, a place where visitors can taste chestnut recipes, learn hands-on cooking techniques, and experience what makes this crop so special. During You-Pick events, travelers will be able to walk the orchard at EBB Farms, gather chestnuts, and then see how to turn them into something extraordinary.
🌰 The Future Is Familiar
Because education drives adoption — and adoption drives the future.
If we want to make chestnut farming viable for generations to come, we have to make chestnuts familiar again. The United Chestnuts Test Kitchen — and the entire United Chestnuts platform — is where that starts: one recipe, one grower, and one tasting at a time.
You can connect with Melanie Jones and Kim Douglass on LinkedIn or at [email protected]