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Hardy teases palates with a simple ham toast served with butter. He further seduces with thin slices of dried Hungarian elk made with smoked paprika and pork fat, a hard sausage commonly produced in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Next up: Lomo, a dry cured pork loin from Rendezvous Farm made with white wine and garlic. Hardy’s favorite is finocchiona, a 100% pork product made with fennel pollen, fennel seed and Chianti, aged 3-5 months. Fennel pollen is a pricey ingredient – in Italy about 75 grams (or a little more than 2.5 ounces will set you back $75-100 USD.

The Pièce de résistance, though, is Hardy’s Chicken Liver Paté. Before you make a face — and you know what face — this is not your mama’s circa-1983 version. This rendition might as well be renamed “Chicken Butter.” It’s texture is melt-in-your-mouth smooth; the taste, decadent and delicious. Even Jacques Pépin, the godfather of haute French cuisine, wanted the recipe because he could not believe it did not contain foie gras.

Hardy is currently in cahoots with the FDA to create safety rules and standardized regulations for the production of artisanal charcuterie. In the meanwhile, his charcuterie is kept under lock and key in a curing room at Montagna, although the affable chef has been known to give curious foodies a quick look-see.