




We don’t just make breakfast, We Make Mornings

Seed to Plate
Culinary Heritage
“I watched as I played, I watched as I nibbled, I watched as I ran through the kitchen with wild abandon in my childhood. It wasn’t just about preparing a meal, but the preparation of ingredients which preserves our culinary heritage. Learning by my Grandmother’s apron strings, by my Father’s stock pots, and by my Mother’s eagle-eye for presentation; now, I offer to my guests the meal known as Breakfast. Unpretentious and delicious, just like my family used to make. ”
– Marianna Radelich Leman
hap·pi·ness noun. Liking what you do
- Respect Ingredients – choose fresh, living-food ingredients, transformed with purpose
- Celebrate Cuisine – inspired by family recipes, paying homage to tradition and culture
- Value People – sincere service by an appreciated staff where classic hospitality is the goalpost
Overnight Escapes
Little hotel with big personality
Old-world vibe
Modern amenities
Vintage setting
Painstakingly restored
Architectural details
Small town happy

Welcome to the Inn of Happiness

Leslie Leman

Marianna Leman
See Her Bio
Grandma and my Great Aunt carefully prepared farm fresh food. Peeling, preparing, cooking, repeat. Daily meals enjoyed, and packaging preserves until the next harvest. This is where my “seed-to-stem” philosophy originated. I realize now, it wasn’t just preserving food, but preserving a culinary heritage. I watched as I played, I watched as I nibbled, I watched as I ran through the kitchen with wild abandon. Mesmerized at rituals like “the sauce” made from bushels of ripe tomatoes, there was an honest respect for ingredients, and a joy found in the journey.
Back in the restaurant, dad would spend hours making stocks and reductions from scratch. Laboriously breaking down a side of beef, butchering the cuts, utilizing every ounce. Nothing was wasted. My “play” was peeling, chopping, and experimenting with food. As if through osmosis, my mom likewise taught me her ways. The art of serving and the responsibility of leading. How to be tough, and fair; how to be determined, and gracious.
Eventually we landed back home in Windham, working alongside my parents at their hotel Albergo Allegria, Italian for the “Inn of Happiness.” The gift of hospitality was cultivated, watered by the sweat of young entrepreneurship. After 37 years the time was right to offer our breakfast creations to non-lodging guests, we were propelled by the arrival of TripAdvisor’s 2018 “Top 25 Small Hotels in the USA” award. Affectionately named “&Breakfast Restaurant,” the open house was December, 2019. Then, there was the economic shutdown. What does a restaurant kid do? Pivot!
During the dead-quiet months that followed March of 2020, an “Albergo at Home” initiative was born where labor-intensive items, like our “Private Reserve Preserves” were purchased alongside new inventions like the Quiche Kit…. a homemade butter-crust pastry (the way my Grandma showed me) with build-your-own flavor profiles that any culinary novice could assemble and bake at home. Also born out of creativity was a recreation of the Australian Meat Pie – artisan made and hand rolled pastry with slowly cooked beef and onions… a trip to Leslie’s homeland without the airfare! As we roll with the ups and downs of tourism trends, these recipes will come back out of their binders and created for all to enjoy.
Now with new approaches to the 2020 winter season, the Albergo Pantry will offer delicious grab-and-go Kitchen of Happiness creations. Our House Recipe Granola, Biscotti Lenore, Vito’s-Stock-Pot-Soups, and Simply Sublime Sandwiches will be available through online purchase and curbside pickup. I’m excited to share with you, more aromas and flavors from my childhood.
Albergo Allegria’s Cooking Channel
Caponata Eggplant So Simple
Your own personal cooking class on how to make Caponata, Sicilian Eggplant dish, from Chef Vito! Use for omelette fillings, appetizers, or add to pasta. Prepare in fall with ripe eggplant. Freezing adds to the flavor so you can savor it throughout the winter. Part 2:...
How To Choose the Right Eggplant
Sicilian Caponata dish require male eggplants for best flavor. Do you know which eggplants to buy? Short, quirky video shows how to choose a better eggplant. Albergo Allegria Bed and Breakfast Hotel in Windham, NY serves a rockin' breakfast; during your stay you may...
Super Easy and the BEST Ever Pizza on the Grill
Part 1: Rolling out the dough. Line up your ingredients and enjoy this BEST Ever Pizza. So simple, you may never order in pizza again! Albergo Allegria Bed & Breakfast Hotel Innkeepers bring you this treat. Part 2: Pizza is ready in 10 minutes with a fantastic,...