A Conversation with Barbara Bardin:
From Corsetiere to Restaurateur

By Suzanne Gillis

Anyone fortunate enough to encounter Barbara Bardin will find the experience life altering. No one escapes her demand for perfection, nor her childlike delight for hardy celebration.  Any shyness or resistance from you will quickly disappear, as she delightfully encourages professional excellence and playful, creative partying. 

Famous among her friends for her generosity, her passion for Veuve Clicquot champagne, fine food and an outrageous flair for adventure, it is no surprise that Bardin has achieved success in several businesses.  Bardin is the founding owner and restaurateur of Splash! at the Boathouse Marina in Burlington, Vermont’s only restaurant directly on the magnificent shores of Lake Champlain.

Bardin began her career as a long time bra-fitter at the retail lingerie store, Bertha Church. Later she founded Let’s Pretend Catering, and became a renowned events planner. She opened Splash! in 2003 with no formal food or business background. 

Barbara’s catering and restaurant success is grounded in sheer chutzpah, guts, talent, creativity, brawn and savvy smarts. Let’s Pretend provided Bardin with a platform for drawing on her remarkable creativity. Many Vermonters can attest to her company’s elegant wedding receptions, formal corporate and non-profit events, with their themes ranging from Frankenstein to Dickens, from medieval to Moroccan, complete with appropriate costumes and props; the more unique, the better. Barbara rose to each and every occasion. 

Though Barbara’s public persona fills the room, she has endured and overcome her share of personal heartaches. The oldest of five siblings, Barbara grew up in an abusive household. She was forced to develop survival skills at an early age, which she has relied on throughout her life.

Barbara spoke with me in late April from her beautifully renovated, tastefully decorated home on Lakeview Terrace, with breathtaking views of Champlain Lake and the Adirondack mountains.

Vermont Woman: You were born in Granville, N.Y., just over the Vermont border from Poultney, where you lived with your parents and younger brother. Tell our readers about that period of your life.

Barbara Bardin: It was a tough start so I do get very emotional. Memories are just awful and haunt me to this day. Like images of my father’s physical and verbal abuse, pulling my mother by the hair while we id behind the couch.  We lived in fear and silence, strictly imposed by my mother, who was trying to protect us from him. Finally, she got us out of there by moving in with my grandmother, who was also a very difficult person.

VW: I understand your grandfather worked in the slate quarries in Manchester, and your mother worked for Orvis.

BB: Yes. For a while things worked out. That is, until my mother became pregnant with twins. In the 1960s, unmarried pregnant women were unaccepted and often abandoned by their families. My grandmother was so outraged; we were forced to move outside of town, hiding from the public.

VW: You must have been about nine years old. How did you manage?

BB: Home life was secretive and very difficult, but I did like going to school. The twins were born; my mother married their father, and soon after, another child was born. I was the built-in babysitter for all my mother’s children. I was very unhappy about that. But school was my savior, my escape, my refuge.

VW: I understand you loved high school and still plan all the reunions!

BB: High school was everything to me, because it offered me an outlet to cope with a volatile home life. I participated as actively as I could in skiing, puppeteering, dances and school plays. Certain teachers spent extra time with me, and took me seriously, which helped me gain self esteem and self worth. I also discovered a talent for producing and staging plays, organizing social events, and cooking, especially baking decorative cakes. I received a lot of positive feedback. High school was so positive, now in appreciation, I want to give back to it, and I do.

VW: Your mother had a major influence on you, though complicated and often negative.

BB: There was no money for college, so I married when I turned eighteen, a marriage that did not last. I worked several jobs and continued to help my mother with my siblings.  Matters got worse when she divorced and developed kidney disease, when I was in my twenties. My brother Dave and I shared in her care, including driving her from Manchester to Fletcher Allen Medical Center in Burlington three days a week for dialysis treatments, which took all day.

VW: How many years did she suffer?

BB: She was on dialysis for 12 years, and lived with a kidney transplant for 12 more years, until she died in 1995. My brother Dave and I helped her through those years in many ways, including financially.

VW: What did you learn from her?

BB: She made some unfortunate choices, and because I was the oldest, those choices weighed heavily on me. She was quite dependant on me from the time I was a child until her death.  On reflection, her weaknesses made me stronger. I have made many positive choices in my life so far, because consciously I did not want to end up like her. She took responsibility for her children and family, and did the best she could.

VW: Parent/child relationships are rarely without conflict. Funny how, even when our relationship is negative, we still love our parents.

BB: Well, a battered woman back then had few options. Many did not leave. She saved our lives by getting us out of there. I respected her for that. As much as I love my brothers and sisters, I do wish she had not had so many children. She suffered for years with kidney disease and persevered. I learned from her that no matter what life throws at you, you just keep moving. Most importantly, she always kept us safe, with food on the table and a roof over our heads. We always had a home.

VW: In spite of a rough childhood and a rocky time through your twenties, would you say you are a free spirit, after all?

BB: No doubt about it. I still am. You know, I have been married several times and in every case, I entered into each commitment, in love, and with every expectation that each would survive. I fully trusted each man, and loved the goodness in each of them. Every one of my marriages had value.

VW: What do you say to skeptics? And what do you say for love?

BB: My loves are part of who I am. I happen to marry the men I love, as the person I fully am. For some, it’s not possible to get it right. I am one of those people.  I do not regret any of my marriages.

VW: How and when did you arrive in Burlington?

BB: At first I worked for Tom and Jeanette Racine, in Montpelier at Bertha Church, and then in Burlington starting in 1980. To this day, I can accurately bra-size a woman by sight and from some distance.

VW: You must have fitted thousands of Vermont women over the years.

BB: Yes, and from this experience I learned a lot about human nature and discretion.

VW: What else did you learn while you were working at Bertha?

BB: I went on buying trips to New York City with Sewall Whittemore, for her gift shop, Kado Gifts, which was next door to Bertha. This kept my creative juices flowing. Then I met Elaine Pineau, an extraordinary chef, with whom I worked on many events. Finally, I was combining my love of food and showmanship, which then led to my own catering business.

VW: You and your business partner, chef Paul Bahan, had a decade long run with Let’s Pretend Catering. I understand your clients ranged from individual philanthropists, to corporations, to weddings and political events. I spoke to Paul and he called you an out-of-the-box thinker.

BB: My partnership with Paul was a blast.

VW: He told me, “Having the opportunity to share your work’s passion with Barb Bardin...It just doesn't get any better.   I will always look back on our Let's Pretend partnership with gratitude and great affection.”

BB: I believe it was a once in a lifetime partnership experience.  We were very busy and very successful. Every event was custom-tailored; every detail was executed with precision. The decorations, food and dress were to theme; the waiters and waitresses were often costumed to suit the occasion. Presentation and quality of food were tops. No detail was missed.

VW: Steve Bogart, founding owner and chef of the Single Pebble, said this about you:  “In my 30 years in the hospitality trade, Barb stands out with her amazing talent to make people feel so well loved, happy and content with having met her.”

BB: It was a pleasure to work so many events with Steve, one of the most talented chefs, period, who specializes in Chinese cuisine.

VW: Let’s Pretend Catering seemed to be in such demand. Crea Lintilhac, director of the Lintilhac Foundation, told me they hired Let’s Pretend for many, many events. She said, “Barb is a larger than life personality with a smile like a flash of light, full of fun and has a flair for making any event memorable with great tasting, beautiful, seasonal meals.” Of course, Vermont is such a beautiful landscape, with so many gorgeous settings for your events.

BB: True.  For example, Shelburne Farms, the jewel of Vermont.

VW: Alec Webb, from the founding family of Shelburne Farms, and its president, said this to me recently.  “Barb is a beloved member of the Shelburne Farms’ extended family.  Every event she has catered over the years has been marked by her creativity, good humor and love of life.  She has also been a generous supporter and cheerleader for the restoration of the formal gardens, for which we are very grateful.”

BB:  Actually, it was my privilege to have done so many diverse events at the Shelburne Farms.

VW: Let’s Pretend obviously was very satisfying.

BB: Yes. It was a highly creative time in all ways, and was a great learning lab, helping me to move on to other ventures. Like opening Spash!

VW: When was Splash! born? How did it happen?

BB: Splash! is located at the Boathouse, on a floating dock owned by the City of Burlington. It was built in 1988, when Bernie was Mayor. When Whitecaps [another restaurant] closed, Splash! was approved, and we opened in 2003. It’s seasonal space with outdoor tables, and very weather-dependent.

VW: How do you budget for bad weather?

BB: We have been lucky. Even with last year’s flooding, we came out ahead. There are always projects, so I keep everyone busy on a down day.

VW: Starting Splash was really gutsy without prior experience. What made you think you could do it?

BB: That’s me. Put a challenge in front of me, and if I want to do it, I put everything I’ve got into making it happen.

VW: How did you finance a startup?

BB: I guess I am really different from a lot of business people. I financed every penny myself.

VW: No business loans?

BB: Since high school, I knew I had to take care of myself. I never bought anything I could not pay for. Never have. Never will.

VW: What did you not know about business, and when did you know it?

BB: Naively, at first I thought I could run Splash and Let’s Pretend at the same time. I mistakenly relied on my business partner's poor onsite management, which nearly turned into a disaster.  Money was draining out, even though business was brisk. It became very clear that I had to be physically onsite, overseeing the operation.

VW: What did you learn?

BB: What’s best for me and for my business is sole ownership. It took some time and money to get the business back on track. I am now very pleased with my management team, headed by Creighton Smith. We have identical goals and style. We communicate effectively and every aspect of the business is monitored closely.

VW: What advice do you have for anyone in business?

BB: Be the best at what you love to do!

VW: What is your philosophy about life?

BB: Live with integrity every day. Appreciate and tell people how you feel about them.

VW: What do you dislike in people?

BB: I have no tolerance for bad manners. I abhor people who manipulate others for their own gain.

VW: What quality do you love?

BB: Those who say “Yes!” to possibility.

VW: What would you say is your best quality?

BB: Probably my optimism.

VW: Okay.  What’s the worse?

BB: Sometimes I’m too trusting. Even though trust is essential to the way I choose to live.

VW: Since you retired from catering, and focused entirely on Splash!, do you miss the creativity you enjoyed in special event planning?

BB: I now roll that creativity into SPLASH: maintaining excellence in food, ambiance and service and helping our customersto have fun. 

VW: What’s next on the Bardin playlist?

BB: I am currently consulting with Willard Jackson [trustee emeritus of Middlebury College, and board member of Shelburne Farms],who is building an Inn and Ranch on 2,000 acres along the northern Pacific coast of California. This is a very exciting project, due to open in 2014.

VW: Speaking with Will about his new venture, he told me you were perfect for helping him to develop “this spectacular Mendocino coast property.”

BB: What an opportunity to be part of such an exciting project from scratch!

VW: What do you think of Vermont and Vermonters?

BB: Vermont is my home; I love the people here and love doing business in Burlington. I intend to continue Splash! for as long as I can.

VW: Is retirement an option?

BB: No! I love what I do and want keep my brain in sharp working order. I do have a place on St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which gives me respite in the winter months.

VW: Who do you most admire?

BB: My brother, Dave, Paul Behan, Steve Bogart, Crea Lintilhac, Willard Jackson and, of course, the late ‘Zack,” former owner of Zack’s on the Rocks. (See inset with photo).

VW: Barbara, what is really important to you at the end of the day?

BB: Giving back to causes I believe in. Sharing, creating, laughing, problem-solving, and more adventures and great times with good friends.

VW: Finally, Barbara, what do you fear most?

BB: A bad bottle of expensive wine!