The fine tavern up the hill on Shandelee

Love of food, fun at The Arnold House

By Mason Roberts | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – Cooking for others is a passion that many people have. I recently met two people who showed me that cooking and restaurant management is about more than just food.

Brittney Bradley is the executive chef at the Arnold House, up on Shandelee in Livingston Manor. She also has a side business called Dipped by Britt.

Bradley has always had a passion for cooking. She used to cook with her mother in the church, for weddings and events. Her first cooking job was at ShopRite in the hot foods department. She then went to culinary school and got two degrees, one for baking and culinary, and one for hospitality. Since then, she has been in the cooking field, her passion. She wakes up each day excited about doing her job, and when she leaves work she can’t wait until the next day. As people say, you don’t work a single day in your life if you like what you do.

Bradley brings her training with her from job to job, learning as she goes. “You can only learn so much in school,” said Bradley. “You have to be in the field.” While she learned a lot from her instructors, she is mostly self-taught, straight from experience. She even uses her own recipes at The Arnold, and puts her culinary knowledge to use preparing them.

Bradley also works with A Single Bite, Sullivan County’s food service organization, and she loves using her skills to provide people with healthy, non-processed, whole foods made with passion. Bradley has only been at The Arnold since September 2024, but in that short time, she has had a positive impact on the restaurant.

The Arnold’s ‘glue’

Will Brosius, director of operations at The Arnold House, may not be a chef, but he is just as important as his co-workers – and maybe even more so. He runs the kitchen and the catering, and is the glue and foundation of The Arnold. He does occasionally help prepare food with Chef Bradley, though.

Since he was 15 or 16, Brosius has worked in various restaurants, serving, busing and being the face that people see when they come in for a meal. He also stages weddings. The main dining room might be decked out for a full party, but within the hour, Brosius and his coworkers can transform the place back into its everyday condition.

Brosius has had hands-on training. He has had different positions and grown in skill as he went. He has been with Foster Supply Hospitality, The Arnold’s parent company, for over five years.

Both Bradley and Brosius spoke about how The Arnold House is a “community, a family of coworkers.” By working with each other, they make their jobs fun. They joke, laugh and support each other. They both want people to eat healthy, delicious food, and they both have succeeded at that goal. Bradley and Brosius set an example that would definitely influence anyone’s outlook on working in a restaurant or catering establishment for the positive.