by Allison Arthur photos by Travis Engvall
FROM
In the Kitchen with The Lakehouse’s Tamara Stanger finding
berries
on
the
island
just outside The Lakehouse at Deer Creek to working with farmers to grow native beans, Tamara Stanger is passionate about getting back to her Utah roots. The 41-year-old chef grew up watching those around her set examples for her future, all the while getting back to more native ways. One of her most influential mentors (her father’s employer when she was growing up) ate only off the land she lived on, and Stanger, then just an aspiring chef, learned many tricks from being around her. Until The Lakehouse opened last year, Stanger had been living and working in restaurants in Arizona, but she now enjoys taking advantage of everything Utah has to offer and serves her food in inventive ways. Stanger impresses everyone around her with bursts of unexpected flavors and combinations: vinegar pies made with aging fruit, hummus blended with indigenous beans and simple dishes enhanced with inventive twists. While she calls her style rustic, we find it incredibly sophisticated and love everything about what she is doing. Here is more of what we learned one afternoon from the busy chef:
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