Utah on the Plate

Once upon a time, Park City chefs had to rely heavily on “Fed Ex” cuisine to create the kinds of menus that would keep an international clientele coming back for more. After all, this is a mountain town in a state with a short growing season — and, until recently, a lack of artisan food producers. But in the past decade, Utah and the intermountain region have stepped up to the plate with their own thriving organic farms, world-class cheese makers, grass-fed lamb and beef producers — and a whole lot more.

True local flavor begins with RealSalt® from Redmond, Utah. It’s served on hundreds of tables around Park City, including those of the venerable Stein Eriksen Lodge, where chef Zane Holmquist swears by the “complexity and depth of flavor its extra minerals add to food.” The salt caves in Redmond, about 150 miles south of the Great Salt Lake, are part of a 500-foot thick underground vein created by an ancient sea bed. Like all good sea salts, theirs is a revelation in taste, which is why RealSalt garners praise from chefs the world over. Pure and unadulterated, it evokes the essence of the sea, with brightly flavored grains that gently coax flavor from already savory items such as tomatoes fresh from the vine. RealSalt is available in stores nationwide and comes in a variety of packages and grinds — including a perfectly chunky Kosher version.

Among the locally crafted foods on the shopping list at City’s Squatter’s Roadhouse Grill (famous for its microbrews) is flour from Lehi Roller Mills — Utah’s 100-year-old family-run mill with a reputation for wholesome, hand-selected wheat. Squatter’s scoops their ice cream from Salt Lake City’s Spotted Dog Creamery, where the ice cream is made in small batches with all-natural ingredients and with locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. You can also “get your paws” on Spotted Dog products at Blind Dog Grill, Deer Valley Resort and Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City as well as at several supermarkets.

Even quick-service restaurants are getting into the artisan food movement. At Park City’s Flippin’ Burgers, owner Rob Tanner serves Wasatch and Squatters microbrews. His burgers, dogs and sandwiches arrive on fresh-baked Stoneground buns and breads from Ogden. And, at this go-to place for dreamy malts and milkshakes, customers are crazy for Russell’s premium ice cream from Farr-Russell, a merger of two of Utah’s oldest ice cream makers.

Utah is also making its mark on the American artisan cheese circuit. Beehive Cheeses, lovingly crafted in small batches in Uintah, show up on Park City menus including those at Easy Street Brasserie, Squatter’s, Stein’s, Deer Valley, and doubtless many others. Their “Barely Buzzed,” a heavenly espresso- and lavender-rubbed cheddar has now claimed first place in the “Flavored Cheddar” category two years in a row at the Annual American Cheese Society competition. And did we mention that you can also find Beehive at the rock star of cheese shops? Murray’s in Manhattan has a savvy buyer — what can we say?

Rockhill Creamery, a Cache Valley farmstead where five Brown Swiss cows live contentedly, is home to nationally acclaimed raw milk cheeses, including Desert Red Feta, which, by the way, is rubbed with RealSalt before it lands in the brine. Rockhill tempts taste buds at Snake Creek Grill, Sundance Resort, Deer Valley, and beyond. Their cheeses also show up in specialty shops around the country, from Napa Valley to Pennsylvania.

Adding another feather to Utah’s artisan cap, Rockhill Cheese made it to the internationally famed 2008 Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco. To be accepted, Rockhill had to meet criteria that demonstrate its cheese is not only tasty, but also produced in an environmentally and socially sustainable way. Since Rockhill is a farmstead cheese maker (meaning their cheese is made only from their own farm’s animals) and they use raw milk, the owners say, “We had a leg up. In addition, we do not give our cows artificial growth hormones. And as anyone who has visited our farm knows, the ‘girls’ have a sweet life on pasture all spring, summer and fall.” Shepherd’s Dairy and Drake’s Family Farm add luscious goat milk feta to the Utah menu, too.

One of Utah’s most exciting culinary developments took last year when Cristiano Creminelli, an Italian artisan salami maker (one of very few in the country) brought the recipes and finely honed skills of his Italian ancestors to Salt Lake City. We’re talking real deal salami — fatty, unctuous, properly seasoned and perfectly cured.

Why open in Salt Lake City? Chris Bowler, a representative for the Creminelli family says, “First, we found a perfect supplier out of Idaho that sources a lot of its pork product from small family farms in northern Utah. We fell in love with the raw material because it’s all natural, finished on white grains for better flavor and is bred for more marbling.” Creminelli has now opened a facility in Springville, Utah, for processing and the all-important curing process. Soon, Bowler says they’ll be working out of a custom-built location in Salt Lake City.

For now, you can find a variety of Creminelli salami and sausages on menus at Grappa, Ghidotti’s, and Deer Valley Resort (especially at Fireside Dining during the winter season — along with Deer Valley’s house-made mustards). You can buy Creminelli’s salami and sausage retail at Park City’s Windy Ridge Bakery and The Market at Park City. Stock up while you can. Cristiano’s Tartufo salami brought home the Silver Finalist Award for “Outstanding New Product of 2008,” bestowed by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.

Jamie and Linda Gillmor’s Morgan Valley Lamb is now practically a standard on menus all over northern Utah. Their herds graze the way nature intended, on wild grasses and fragrant flowers, just over the hill in Morgan Valley. At Park City’s Shabu, the delectable racks of lamb are flash-seared so their naturally mild, sweet flavor shines through. But lamb isn’t the only locally raised meat available in town. Chefs now have access to local and regional beef (including all-natural G Bar Ranch and Taylor Made), as well as elk and buffalo.

Utah’s bakers are turning out artisan breads and pastries as fast as we can brush the crumbs off our chins. At Park City’s new Easy Street Bakery, the pastries, both sweet and savory, created by consulting pastry chef Mary Cech rival the best in the country. The same goes for Windy Ridge, and then some. Pastry chef Stephanie Krizman’s house-made jams sparkle like precious jewels in the pastry case. With a supply of natural pectin from a local “Lady Apple” tree (in a location that shall remain secret), she creates flavors such as blackberry and lavender, summer peach with vanilla bean, El Dorado plum with fresh mint leaves, and raspberry with star anise. In addition to the myriad loaves created at Windy Ridge, the artisan breads now available from Utah’s Vosen’s, Volker’s, and Crumb Brothers are the best we’ve ever had in the state.

When it comes to specialty condiments for home cooks, Deer Valley Resort’s own line of specialty foods, from salad dressings to a signature lime-cilantro glaze could win a prize at the International Fancy Food Show. Yep, they’re that good.

And though they’re just starting to make a local impression, the masterful bean-to-bar producers at Amano Artisan Chocolate in Orem are already renowned on the international fine chocolate scene (and if you don’t believe it, start Googling). Look for their “single origin” Ocumare and Madagascar bars in local specialty food shops, or on a dessert menu or two where just a shaving of this intense and complex chocolate will assure you that “local” has never been so luscious.

Virginia Rainey is a local freelance writer who encourages support of local culinary artisans and encourages all food lovers to join Slow Food Utah at slowfoodutah.org.