Chez Betty's Jerry Garcia
Photography: Timothy Thimmes
No, not that Jerry Garcia. This esteemed local chef, however, has built a reputation and a devoted fan base that would rival those of the musical legend from the Grateful Dead any day.
Along with his brother Tom Bell, Jerry has created a dining fixture in Park City that started 16 years ago when he was one of the first cooks for previous Chez Betty owners Barbara and Michael Rapp. The Bell/Garcia duo took over as owners in 1996. “We’ve seen our guests’ kids grow up here,” they say. “They’re all part of our family.”
Park City Magazine: How did you get into cooking in the first place, Jerry?
Jerry Garcia: I excelled very quickly at cooking. It came easily to me. I spent nine years working my way up the ranks at Snowbird, and also cooked at Stein Eriksen Lodge and at a summer apprentice program at Vermont’s Shelburne Farms. Then I heard they were looking for someone at Chez Betty.
PCM: After 16 years of cooking at Chez Betty, how do you stay inspired?
JG: I don’t want to get stuck in a rut. Our regulars like to see that the menu is evolving. They know the food will be good and consistent, but they also know they are going to see new things. I do a lot of reading, too: Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Gourmet magazines. Another thing that inspires me is the changing of the seasons. Creativity-wise, in the spring and summer months, we’re committed to using a lot of local and organic products — lots of produce from local farms like Ranui Gardens and Copper Moose; or local goat cheese from Erda.
PCM: If someone new to your restaurant asked you to select one dish to try, what would it be?
JG: Our New Zealand Rack of Lamb — our signature dish — an old reliable. Or more currently, the wild striped bass hand-pressed dumplings with a pearl sake buerre blanc, wakami [seaweed salad] and black and white sesame seeds — it shows a little Asian flair. Or the goat cheese potato ravioli — it’s thinly sliced potato instead of pasta wrapped around a goat cheese medallion.
PCM: How do you create your menu?
JG: I have to give a lot of credit to our sous chef, Brent Whitford. Seventy percent of our current menu came from Brent’s creativity. We brainstorm new ideas, then do our own in-house menu tasting with our staff. I have a really great kitchen crew — four or five other people who are really strong, and a fantastic pastry chef, Amy Taylor. I don’t want to be back there trying to do everything myself. My crew is awesome.
PCM: What kind of experience do you want your guests to have at Chez Betty?
JG: We want them to feel comfortable in the ambiance and coziness of the dining room. The outside of our restaurant doesn’t tell the story —
it’s an old building — you have to come inside to feel the warmth of this space. We want guests to experience our comfortable family here. We want them to leave feeling fully satisfied, having had a great experience, and tell their friends about us.
PCM: What do you eat at home?
JG: Comfort food. Crock pot stews. Caesar salads with grilled chicken. Soups and grilled cheese sandwiches.
PCM: That’s quite a wall of fame you have there!
JG: Yes — since Tom and I took over the restaurant in August of 1996, we’ve won the best service award for the state of Utah from the Salt Lake Magazine Dining Awards three times, Best Park City Restaurant five times, and the Golden Spoon award for hospitality. We’ve also been recognized for many years by the Zagat Survey.
PCM: What are you mindful of while you work?
JG: Attention to detail. Making sure the flow of service is flawless. Being immaculate and tidy in the kitchen. I hear and see everything going on in there — whether it’s desserts on one side or being on the line with the guys — things don’t come out of the kitchen until they’re right.
PCM: When is the moment when you get lost in the art of cooking?
JG: During prep time in the afternoons when we’re planning a dish and experimenting with it.
PCM: How do you relax?
JG: I’m one of those people who needs to be busy all the time. I have to be doing something. My wife Cynthia and I live in Oakley, and we really enjoy hiking and riding bikes out in the country, being with the dog. Sitting in the sun is always good, too.
PCM: You race motorcycles?
JG: Yeah — Tom and I have been do-ing it for ten years. We kind of have this Team Betty thing going. It’s a great release. I love the speed. It’s comfortable for me — not scary. Tom and I had a professional coach take us under his wing. We ended up being pretty good at it. We were up with the big boys for a while. If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it right.
PCM: Has the concept of Chez Betty changed in 16 years?
JG: No. We’ve just tried to polish and streamline our service. We have very effective procedures that work for us in this dining room — it flows. We have a great team. We like to say that we have the best staff in town and the best guests in the world.
PCM: What’s interesting to you about your own restaurant?
JG: How this little tucked away room has been so successful for all of these years. And the flow here — it’s just smooth. We call it organized chaos, but it’s calm and there’s usually no loud shouting — it’s very well orchestrated. (Tom also pipes in an answer: “The wine list!”)
PCM: What’s new this year?
JG: Our petite-size portions. People need value now more than ever, so we’re offering menu items in a smaller size for half the price. These petite-size portions provide a less expensive alternative for the same dish. It’s been extremely popular with our guests — our portions are still substantial — but ordering a petite portion really pays off when you want to be able to have room for an appetizer and a dessert as well.
PCM: Anything you’d like to change about Chez Betty’s reputation?
JG: We want to lose the “special occasion” designation. We are actually less expensive than many other Park City restaurants. You want good food without all of the hullabaloo and parking issues on Main Street, even once a week? This is the place.
PCM: Give us an insider tip.
JG: Check out our summertime patio dining under the umbrellas — we only have three or four tables out there — it’s intimate and lovely.
PCM: Come clean about Betty (the resident goldfish that the restaurant is named after).
JG: Well, as you might have guessed, after 16 years, we’re not working with the original Betty. But we have never sent a Betty down the plumbing — we’ve always given her a proper burial in the herb garden. And our chives come up golden every spring.
Park City Magazine Editor Kristen Gould Case is a huge fan of Jerry Garcia and Chez Betty.
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