Fireside Dining
Photography: Courtesy of Deer Valley Resort
Take three of the best things about winter in Park City: skiing, scrumptious food and the warm glow of a fireplace. Bundle them all together and you have Fireside Dining at Deer Valley Resort’s grand Empire Canyon Lodge. I like to think of the experience as a seasonal gift we all deserve.
This winter-only Alpine dining experience in the cedar-beamed lodge high up on Deer Valley’s slopes is literally a moveable feast. But you’re the one doing the moving, at your own unhurried pace. Throughout the evening, you may visit four impressive flagstone fireplaces spread throughout the lodge. Each one crackles with good cheer and doubles as a cooking or warming station where attentive servers dish out simmering delights. The concept may be borrowed from Swiss Alpine tradition in which ravenous hikers and skiers stop at high mountain inns to refuel with raclette and fondue, but true to form, Deer Valley has put its own Rocky Mountain spin on things — including offering carefully selected wines and brews to accompany each course.
The creative team behind the menu includes Empire Canyon Lodge Executive Chef Jodie Beros, Sous Chef Shane Symes, and the resort’s European-schooled food and beverage director, Julie Wilson. When creating the Fireside Dining menu, this brilliant trio seems to have read my mind and come up with every comfort food I could ask for — and then some.
At the first stop on the four-course dinner trail, a half-wheel of soft, slightly tangy raclette sits near the fire cradled in a Deer Valley-custom-designed metal contraption. This traditional Swiss cow’s milk cheese comes to Deer Valley in fat 12-pound wheels that seem to disappear as soon as they arrive. (Wilson says Fireside Dining went through 354 wheels — or more than two tons of the cheese last season.) Positioned strategically close to the fire, the cheese melts slowly … seductively. A Deer Valley server stands ready to coax it onto a plate, where it lands in a creamy pool, ready for diners to swirl traditional accompaniments into its nutty, fruity wonderfulness. Those accompaniments include steamed new potatoes, house-marinated pearl onions, crisp cornichons and cured Italian and Swiss meats. Each element of this course — including the necessary mustard — creates its own little Swiss polka on your taste buds when savored with the cheese. Dig in while the cheese is hot. And yes, you can have more of the cheese, which is sometimes necessary if you want to try the fresh-baked baguette, too.
Truly, I could stop here. But just around the corner, pots of stews or fricassees await (depending on the night), wafting their rich, enticing fragrances into the air. Throughout the season, the chefs create a variety of options for this course. They include succulent lamb, chicken, or veal dishes, replete with wild mushrooms, leeks, roasted tomatoes and deeply flavored root vegetables. Stews and fricassees are served with hand-grated, crisp, buttery potato rösti — unbelievably tempting little potato pancakes. If you want to step back from all of the richness, now’s the time for a break, in the form of a crisp green salad with champagne-shallot vinaigrette.
At the next fireplace, Deer Valley pulls out all the stops with its fire-roasted lamb, pork or venison — cooked to tender perfection and offered with a side of cambozola and leek potatoes. Could you get any closer to potato heaven? I don’t think so. After this course, you might want to consider taking a horse-drawn sleigh ride before dessert (but be sure to make reservations for the sleigh ride when you make dinner reservations).
As you might expect, dessert at Fireside Dining is all about fondue — sweet, warm and totally gratifying. You have the option of dipping any number of fresh and dried fruits, or house-baked sweets such as almond biscotti or cinnamon pound cake, into melted chocolate, white chocolate and caramel laced with Grand Marnier. Trust me, if you need to loosen your belt at this point, you won’t be the only one. Revel in the sweet ending to a fine dinner, and when you bundle up and step outside, you’ll probably welcome the bracing air. Unless it’s cloudy or there’s a storm on the way, don’t forget to top off your Fireside Dining experience by simply looking up for a magical, high-altitude view of twinkling stars — yet another great gift of winter in Park City.
Virginia Rainey is a frequent contributor to Park City Magazine. She attributes her passion for potatoes and fine cheese to her Irish heritage.
The Lowdown on Fireside Dining
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights only, 6 – 9 p.m.
Adults $50, Children $26 (11 years and younger).
Reservations: 435.645.6632, or reserve online at www.deervalley.com.
A horse-drawn sleigh is available for hire throughout dinner, just outside the door of the Lodge. Make reservations for a sleigh ride when you make your dinner reservations. You can also work up an appetite before dinner by snowshoeing up with Park City’s White Pine Touring. Snowshoe rentals available, reservations essential. For rates and reservations, call White Pine Touring at 435.649.8710. Access the Empire Canyon Lodge by car via the Guardsman Pass Road. Parking is free.
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