SAVOR RISING STAR Iron Chef and Forage’s wunderkind finds what’s next
Viet Pham likes to chal- lenge the status quo. When he defeated Iron Chef Bob- by Flay on the prestigious TV cooking competition Iron Chef America, Pham eschewed the standard white jacket chef garb for
bright green pants. “I don’t do it for attention,” Pham says, laughing. “That’s just me.” Pham says that when he and co-founder of Forage, Bowman Brown, set the Beehive State abuzz with their fixed menus of “perfect bites” it wasn’t to fly in the face of Utah eateries that pushed huge portions at low prices. “I want to be unique in what I do,” he says. “Bowman and I were not afraid as young cooks, because that is the only way you are going to learn.” Pham demonstrated his out-of-the-box-thinking on another TV competition, Ex- treme Chef, by shaving a cut-
ting board to use the wood to smoke fish, among other impressive techniques. Next, he handed the reins of Forage to Brown to begin plans for another restaurant. Opening in Park City soon, Ashes + Ember will feature seafood and local game cooked over open flames, a reminder of Pham’s upbringing. “I loved growing up in California, love the ocean and grilling seafood over bonfires on the beach,” he says. Pham assures that this concept is not mere barbeque or smoking—it’s high tech- nique, classical cooking over low-tech flames.
MOUTNAIN CHEF A Utah chef finds his home in the mountains ST. BERNARD’S
Michael Richey is living the dream. “This is the job I always wanted when I was a kid,” says the head chef of St. Bernard’s at Solitude Mountain Resort. “How often does that happen?” For starters, Richey enjoys a commute up Big Cotton- wood Canyon, where his work environment is also his playground. A skier since boyhood in upstate New York, he spends many days on the moun- tain—skiing in winter and trail running in summer. Cap that with a career that continues to shine. Recently a finalist for “The People’s Best New Chef” award, sponsored by Food & Wine,
46 SKI UTAH WINTER 2013–14 3 SKI UTAH WINTER 2013-14
Richey has been Chef de Cuisine at BIX in San Fran- cisco and Executive Chef at Pago in Salt Lake City after stints at the Tree Room at Sundance, The Aerie at Snowbird and Globe in Salt Lake City. He is now breathing new life into the menus at St. Bernard’s, as well as overseeing banquets and other dining properties on the upper mountain. What does he love about his work? “We keep it fresh and interesting,” he says, “for ourselves as well (as for guests).” Richey loves being in the kitchen. “I am at ease. There’s a different sense of humor, relaxed chit chat.” He enjoys researching new
ASHES + EMBER
ideas and seeing a concept come together, but most of all, he loves to see the expression on someone’s face after they take a bite of his food and have that “holy sh*t, that’s good” moment.
skisolitude.com, 801-534- 1400.
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