A Chef's Life

How resident chefs are using their unique experiences to shape the flavor of local cuisine

The great, late Anthony Bourdain once said: “The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

This may wax a bit poetic, but to many of us food IS poetry and the experience of dining, the experience of the people, the experience of the environment, and the experience of the flavors can take you on one amazing journey.

Too often we don’t look beyond the dish in front of us. We don’t dig deeper into the stories behind the flavor combinations, the people behind the kitchen door. And we wanted to change that. We wanted the stories, the zig-zag journeys, the “whys” behind the food. And what we found is a goldmine of unique and fascinating adventures.

Through every twist and turn of these chefs’ paths to and through our little mountain community, it was apparent that there was one thing everyone has in common… a deep appreciation for their art and their industry. It always comes back to the people, the camaraderie, the collaboration, and the community.

Take a journey with us as we travel through Valley County and get a glimpse of the men and women behind the apron.

Chef Stacey Kucy | Stacey Cakes

The Connecticut Muffin: an unassuming little coffee shop that we all must thank for the delectable creations we can’t live without. Before the ginger snaps and twixters and lemon clouds and salted caramel cheesecakes, there was a girl who thought culinary school wasn’t the cool thing to do right out of high school.

“I went to college in California and struggled and struggled,” Stacy Kucy says. “Finally, after three years I decided it just wasn’t for me and moved back to Connecticut.” Needing a job while she considered her options, she started working at Connecticut Muffin. “It kind of changed everything,” she says. From the coffee shop, Kucy applied to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and was accepted. Her studies were directed to the baking and pastry program which became a launching point after graduating.

“The first job I got after school was to be working underneath a pastry chef,” she says. “But on the first day, there was no chef… it was me. I was the pastry chef.” And while that may appeal to some, Kucy was looking for a learning opportunity and to work within the industry with experienced chefs as she found her footing.

That opportunity came with a call to come work in Santa Fe at the Coyote Café. Here she was able to work with and learn from Andrew McLachlan, an author and former pastry chef at Charlie Trotter. It was also here that an aspiring chef named Gary Kucy started frequenting the pastry department. “I am sure he had a pickup line but I honestly don’t remember what it was,” she laughs.

Kucy would spend five years at the Coyote Café before moving with Gary to Jackson Hole. While the opportunity was great, she had another ski town in mind. “I really wanted to move to McCall,” says Kucy. “My family has owned a place on the lake since the 1930s so I have been coming here since I was a baby. It just always felt like home.” At the time, Gary had never been to McCall, but they made the move – only to discover there were not a lot of job prospects at the time.

“That first year was crazy,” says Kucy. “I got pregnant with our son and started doing a little pop-up bakery table at the Farmers Market.” What started out as a simple card table with a few gingersnaps quickly grew into a cult following. Fast forward several years and Stacey Cakes had outgrown the Farmers Market. “I had always dreamed of owning my own bakery,” she says, “and it felt like now was the time.”

That was twelve years ago, and Stacey Cakes is still baking up a storm. “I feel so fortunate,” she says. “Not only with the support of the community but with the people who I get to work with.”

About five years ago, Kucy’s dad shared a letter she had written to them when she had decided that college wasn’t for her. “I basically told them that I was moving back home, I wanted to go to culinary school, and my dream was to live in McCall and own a bakery,” she says. And she did it. Thanks to a kick from a little coffee shop in Connecticut and the courage to follow a dream.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

Honestly, I love chocolate chip cookies. They are my classics. I probably have chocolate chip cookie dough every single day.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

BUTTER. In the summer Stacey Cakes will go through 240 pounds of butter every week.

What is something you love to make at home?

I like Mexican food a lot, but we did just get a pizza oven, so we have been really experimenting with that and having a lot of fun.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

My mom baked all the time, and I was definitely in the kitchen baking with her. The lemon cloud is actually a variation on a recipe my mom used to make. I do remember that one of the first things I baked in culinary school was a cake. I hated the way it turned out so I just threw it in the garbage and started over. I did that a lot in the beginning – it had to be exactly right!

Chef Gary Kucy | Rupert’s at Hotel McCall

On a bustling Thursday with Thai Night specials racing out of the kitchen or a packed house for a special Winemaker Dinner, you wouldn’t know that Chef Gary Kucy never meant to be here. “This career happened completely by accident,” he says. That fateful, happy accident was the result of a high school job at a pizza place where he absolutely fell in love with the kitchen.

After high school Kucy went to work washing dishes at the Biltmore in Phoenix with the intent of securing an apprenticeship. Three years of work under five global chefs in the apprenticeship program paired with college courses in the evening, and the rest, as they say, is history.

With the apprenticeship complete, Kucy was recruited to the Coyote Café in Santa Fe, New Mexico under the direction of Chef Mark Miller. Here he honed his culinary skills for eight years – with some stints in Australia and San Francisco. It is also where he met a certain pastry chef (see our section on Stacey Cakes for more) who would eventually be the catalyst for landing in McCall. At that time both were wanting to get back to a smaller town, but Jackson Hole came calling. After a few years in Wyoming, the Kucy’s made the move to McCall.

“We moved here with nothing,” Kucy laughs. “No job prospects at all.” Just a desire to live in a smaller community in the mountains – one that Stacey’s family had been coming to since she was a child. During their first winter in town, Kucy started helping out at Tamarack – at the time just a yurt and a lot of dense forest – and started the Wild Bear Kitchen (located in what is now Frenchies on Third). This led to a full-time position at Tamarack Resort and Kucy was hired as employee number seven. “It was so much fun,” says Kucy, “and amazing exposure to the process of building something from the dirt up.”

While Kucy loved being a part of Tamarack experience, he felt that the scope was larger than what he envisioned doing for the long term. When Tamarack closed in the 2008 recession, Kucy found a new home at Rupert’s. “The first summer I actually ran the Clubhouse Restaurant at Jug Mountain Ranch which had just opened,” says Kucy. And come fall, he was brought on to oversee Rupert’s as well. “The restaurant has grown quite a lot,” says Kucy. When he first came on they were serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But Kucy felt that model wasn’t sustainable in the long term. “The vision was to create a cool space where locals would frequent, where the pricing was reasonable, and where you could find great service.”

Fast forward fifteen years and Kucy is still making magic at Rupert’s. “The challenge now is consistency,” he says. And while he loves to experiment with new flavors, he says there is a balance that must exist. “A dish has to be approachable,” says Kucy. “The goal is to find ways to elevate a traditional dish without going over the top.”

And that focus on tradition is an aspect that keeps Kucy in the kitchen. “I love going back to the basics and focusing on the products,” says Kucy. “There isn’t anything better than a really quality piece of fish or cut of meat.” It is the top-notch ingredients that are so satisfying to work with, but, as Kucy says, are also becoming harder to find. That challenge has also encouraged chefs to stay creative and work with products they do have. It also spurs collaboration. “There is a lot of banter in the kitchen,” says Kucy, “everyone comes up with fun ideas and contributes to the components of a dish.” Which is why Kucy fell in love with the kitchen in the first place. Full circle – just like the pizza that led him to McCall.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

The specials!

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

Fish. There is nothing quite like a quality piece of fish.

What is something you love to make at home?

Working on perfecting homemade pizza with a new pizza oven.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

Chicken and dumplings with my mom.

Chefs Thomas Smith and Janelle Toohey | Frenchies on Third

Thomas and Janelle met in Talkeetna, Alaska. “We have both been industry people for a long time,” says Janelle, “despite our parents’ best efforts.” Janelle was already established at the hotel where they worked when Thomas moved from New Orleans after twelve years of running restaurants in the French Quarter. He was working in the kitchen and she was the event manager. “I was the person that would hang the 50 banquet event orders and Thomas was the one to catch them,” Janelle says. “And that’s how we got to know one another. We’ve always worked together. We’ve always worked at a similar pace. And we just have the same way of going about doing things.”

Fast forward a few years and Janelle was ready to leave her position at the hotel and Thomas was cooking for a crew on a gold mine. With their winters off, a friend suggested they visit McCall, particularly to see if the food and beverage program at Brundage would be a good fit. “It was an exciting time at Brundage with the food venues changing and the menus getting reworked,” says Janelle. They were swiftly hired on, Thomas as the Chef and Janelle at the resort, eventually moving into the F&B director roll. They would stay with Brundage for four years before getting the bug to open their own restaurant.

“There is a difference between a seasonal life here and finding a full-time life here,” says Janelle. So they set about building that full-time life. Both transitioned out of Brundage to run the original Alpine Pantry. The fit wasn’t quite right, so Janelle went to work for Sysco Foods as a marketing associate while Thomas moved to Shore Lodge. “Thomas had already been on the numbers side of a restaurant,” says Janelle, “but for me Sysco was where I learned all of the missing pieces.”

As they began to plan what a restaurant of their own might look like, a commercial space in McCall opened up. The building had previously been home to many different ventures, but when the pair initially moved to McCall it was Paradise Burger – the first place they ever ate in town. “We have always loved that it was a house,” says Janelle, “it is very New Orleans.” And so, they took a chance.

“We looked at each other,” says Janelle, “and we decided the worst-case scenario would be that we live in my mom’s basement. But she is super generous and she’s got a great basement and she’s a good cook.” So, armed with 50-plus drafts of a menu and a dream, Frenchies on Third was born.

The restaurant pays homage to Thomas’ time in the French Quarter and a love of genuine southern food. “The joke now is that we are always spending too much time going back to New Orleans to eat,” laughs Janelle. But the trips are worth it. The menu at Frenchies is decidedly southern and welcoming – as is the name. “Sometimes I wish the name was a bit more romantic,” says Janelle, “but I really like the idea of a granny name for a restaurant. It just feels comforting, especially in an old house.”

And five years later, Frenchies has been built into a community staple, as has Thomas and Janelle’s creativity in the kitchen. “We truly just wanted it to be a little po boy place with some gumbo and chowder,” says Janelle. But Frenchies has superseded the initial scope. One of the most sought-after social posts of the week is the Blue Plate Specials. “We initially started it to just keep us creative,” says Janelle. “And then it really became something people looked forward to.” While designing five unique specials each week for five years can feel a little daunting at times, both Janelle and Thomas agree that it has helped them stay community centered as well.

And it has always been that sense of community that keeps them going. “We love what we do,” says Janelle, “This is somehow in our blood. But I don’t think that this place was ever so much about us as much as who comes through the door. I don’t think we would have made it five months, let alone five years, if it weren’t for this community.”

They are also appreciative of the local culinary scene. “Everyone is adapting,” says Janelle. “There have been some pretty hefty challenges in the last few years and I think

people are staying creative and not letting anything set them back.” She and Thomas are excited to be a part of a community able to think outside of the box and continue to come up with new, exciting ideas. Perhaps it is a throwback to their days in “The Last Frontier” state, or or maybe it is simply an exceptional work ethic. Either way, we are excited to see what new trails the Toohey/Smith’s blaze as they marry the flavors of the south with the wild west.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

Thomas: The kids' cheeseburger if I have time.

Janelle: I'm still a shrimp po boy girl – I try to eat at least one a week.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

Heavy Cream. I always get nervous when a dish isn't creamy. In the winter we go through about 20 gallons a week.

What is something you love to make at home?

Thomas will still lean towards quite a bit of his Long Island background and make pastas and chicken parmesan and I'll make meatballs – that's the want I show I love him.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

Thomas: I've been cooking French toast since I was probably about five. Janelle also adds: I remmber a winter where you started making the craziest egg Benedicts I've ever seen. We were working with a television show in Alaska and hte hotel only had 25 guests in it at the time. And you just started making these specials and bringing them to me everyday and I watched something switch in you at that point.

Janelle: I don't remember the first think I cooked, but I do remember the first time somebody told me that they were making a potato salad my whole brain rearranged. I just though it came from the deli!

Chef Marcus Stewart | Shore Lodge & Whitetail

A nail in the finger was the nail in the coffin for Chef Marcus Stewart’s construction career.

Growing up in South Carolina with grandparents who owned a large farm, Stewart always gravitated toward fresh food. Family members who lived nearby raised chickens, pigs and cattle. All that fresh produce and farm-raised livestock left a lasting impression and a love for quality ingredients. So did his father’s involvement with the local Shriner’s club and the delicious southern barbeque plates Stewart helped cook for fundraisers. That, and his grandmother, of course. “Having a southern grandma who cooked for 20 people every Sunday really meant that food was always our focal point, our gathering point,” says Stewart.

That may have been why the move to the culinary arts was an easy fit following the nail gun experience. After high school, Steward went to work at Landry’s restaurants, first washing dishes then working his way up through the different stations. It was there he fell in love with the kitchen. “Trying to figure out how to make everything happen with 10 other people that you don’t really know on a timeline because people are hungry,” says Stewart. “It’s an adrenaline rush.”

From there, Stewart decided to pursue a more formal culinary education and attended Johnson and Wales University. This led him to work with Chef Frank McMahon at Hank’s Seafood Restaurant in Charlston, named as one of Esquire’s best new restaurants in 1998. He took part in extensive traveling opportunities throughout Germany with McMahan’s brother, which eventually landed him on the Four Seasons team in Houston, Texas. Five years in Houston and two in Atlanta with the Four Seasons, rebranding and expanding restaurants, culminated in a move to Hawaii. “I moved to Lanai as a chef tournant and within a year was the Executive Sous Chef overseeing two properties and the pastry department,” says Stewart. He also credits his time in Hawaii as one of the best learning experiences of his career. “The cultural experience there is unsurpassed,” he says. “There is so much exposure to global influences – Filipino cuisine, Pacific Rim cuisine, Japanese and Chinese cuisine.”

After five and a half years with the Four Seasons in Hawaii, Stewart was ready to pursue another challenge. A move to Vail to rebrand three of the Four Seasons restaurants was just the change he had been looking for. It also catapulted him to a lofty goal – becoming the youngest Executive Chef within the Four Seasons company.

And that was when a friend told him about this little mountain town that served as home base for his Middle Fork trips. Curious, Stewart paid his friend a visit in the winter of 2019 – an intense snow year to say least. Undaunted by the towering tunnels of snow to get around town, Stewart found a new opportunity with Shore Lodge and Whitetail. “I was really intrigued by the membership aspect of Whitetail paired with the hotel experience of Shore Lodge,” says Stewart. “It provides a level of connection to the people you are serving that I haven’t found elsewhere.”

As the Executive Chef, Stewart oversees nine food and beverage outlets and a staff of 90. And he is thrilled. “It is the people in the kitchen, the chefs that are in place,” says Stewart, “all of us working together really create what the heart and soul of each restaurant is.” Building community, building connections through food; it seems Chef Stewart hasn’t quite given up on his construction career after all.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

At the Narrows, the Snake River Farms New York. At the Cutwater, the pizza, chicken or ribs – we have an amazing Yoder Smoker that we use to wood-fire, and it makes the flavor amazing.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

I love seafood and shellfish.

What is something you love to make at home?

One of my favorite things is to bring home some of the amazing product we have access to in this industry. A great cut of yellowtail or salmon would be my go-to.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

Barbecue. Barbeque is my thing. It is part of where I grew up – going to pick out your pig and processing it from pen to plate.

Chef Steve Topple | Ragazza di Bufalo / Ragazza di Lago / Casa Rossa

Originally hailing from Portsmouth on the south coast of England, Chef Steven Topple’s first dream was to be a pilot. At the age of 16 he began flying lessons only to discover that he had a slight color blindness. Knowing how strict major airlines are, he chose to change directions and lean into another favorite… cooking.

After attending catering college and finding a love of fine dining, he went to work for a popular TV show in London featuring Brian Turner. This led to an opportunity to work at Cameron House on Loch Lomond in Scotland. “My experience there was absolutely incredible,” says Topple, “but as a kid I had always wanted to move to the States.”

He began sending out letters and resumes across the country – from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York. And then one day he got a call from a company in Lake Placid, New York. Aside from the culinary opportunities, Lake Placid made a lasting impression on Topple. “This was where I really fell in love with ski resort towns,” he says. And that love would lead him on a merry journey.

After crisscrossing the U.S., working in South Carolina in a horse community right next to Augusta, then on to San Francisco with Wolfgang Puck, and then on to Seal Island, Georgia at a five-star diamond resort on the coast, Topple eventually landed back in a little ski town in Colorado called Vail. Here he found a home for twelve years at the top of a mountain. He spent six years as the chef at Beano’s Cabin at Beaver Creek, which requires a gondola ride then a snowcat to get to the front door. He would spend another six at the hotel in Game Creek sitting at 13,000 feet elevation.

From there, Topple was recruited by a headhunter to work at a lakeside resort in the Pacific Northwest. “I assumed he was talking about someplace like Seattle or a resort town in Montana,” he says. “Then he told me it was Idaho and I was intrigued.” He flew out for an interview and fell in love with McCall and Shore Lodge.

During his time as the Executive Chef at Shore Lodge and Whitetail, Chef Topple lived in Donnelly and drove by a little restaurant every day on his way to and from work. It had been sitting empty for three years, but in its heyday had been a wildly popular dinner spot. “One day I finally got the courage to call a real estate agent and ask to take a look at the property,” he says. “I made an offer on it and that was that.” Ragazza di Bufalo was born. Chef Topple’s first restaurant leans toward Italian cuisine and is named for its predecessor, Buffalo Gal.

Today, Ragazza di Bufalo is celebrating its fifth anniversary and an expansion with neighboring Casa Rossa, featuring wine and tapas. Chef Topple has also opened a sister restaurant in McCall, Ragazza di Lago, which celebrates the flavors of the Mediterranean. And while Chef Topple may be the reason these restaurants exist, he is quick to note that it is the people around him who have made these restaurants a success. “I honestly couldn’t do any of this without my team,” he says. “You have to cherish everyone… that is what success really looks like.”

That sentiment extends beyond his own family of restaurants. Chef Topple is leading the charge on a brand-new culinary apprenticeship program in the area (see page 29). “This area is really growing in terms of the culinary offerings,” he says. “The exciting thing is that we are all trying to elevate one another and contribute to a vibrant local food scene.” That desire to lift one another up, to elevate, is ironically a hallmark of his first dream of becoming a pilot. We can’t wait to see what else takes flight with Chef Topple on the scene.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

I just put this new venison masala on the menu. It has figs and huckleberries in it, and it’s absolutely incredible.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

There are too many to pick from, but I tend to lean toward the more Mediterranean flavors.

What is something you love to make at home?

Very simple, basic stuff. One night I might have a nice steak – a ribeye or New York, and then have a frozen pizza the next night.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

Cooking chicken cordon bleu with my parents. We would take a chicken and roll it out, fill it with prosciutto and gouda. No breading. It was my very favorite meal.

Chef Eric Aldis | Tamarack Resort

From chemical engineer to Executive Chef. It may not be the most likely path, but Chef Eric Aldis just couldn’t resist the pull of an entrepreneurial spirit… and legit Texas barbeque.

Born and raised in Gonzalas, Aldis grew up going to school in football powerhouse Katy, Texas. Even in high school he says he was always the first one to break out the grill. In college he majored in chemical engineering at Texas A&M but just couldn’t stomach the career. So, he went back to what he loved and went to culinary school in Houston.

What he found was an education that leaned into the business side rather than the food side, and while he knew it was an important piece to the overall puzzle, he missed the kitchen. So he worked for free while he went to school. “I washed dishes, prepped, and cooked wherever I could,” says Aldis. Eventually, this caught the eye of Scott Tycer who helped him get aligned with the Four Seasons. “I really cut my teeth at the Four Seasons,” says Aldis. “After I graduated, I was able to move to management and that opened so many global doors. I would be in Italy one day and France the next day, teaching and training within the Four Seasons company.”

And while that experience was invaluable, Aldis was also curious about the competition. He soon moved to the Ritz Carlton and did the same thing, soaking it all in. “I can’t even say I was a sponge at this point,” he laughs, “I was more like a mosquito sucking up as much knowledge as anyone was willing to share and learning from amazing chefs all around the world.”

With the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton on his resume, new opportunities began to open up. Aldis spent time working in the Philippines, India, and Thailand before landing back in the United States in Las Vegas at the Bellagio. “At the time I was 22 years old,” he says, “and the Bellagio was the only five-star, five-diamond casino in the world.” But that wasn’t the only draw. “I saw the product that was being used and I saw the army of chefs and the innovation, and I was sold instantly.”

After several years at the Bellagio, Aldis started to turn his focus to learning how to one day open his own restaurants. This led him back to the Ritz to open a property in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and then back to Houston. “At some point I had to own that I am a Texan and I missed my hunting and fishing and barbeque,” he says.

Back in Texas, Aldis made the leap from Executive Chef to business owner. “I was really interested in the oil and gas industry and how these companies operated,” says Aldis. He focused on catering for the off-shore rigs and later expanded to include 11 food trucks that served fracking crews on job sites. But, like many industries, the oil and gas market is volatile. “It made me nervous,” Aldis says. So he opted to divest the food trucks and build a foundation of businesses throughout Texas and Tennessee, opening restaurants and bars in Houston, Galveston, and Nashville.

Then one day, a headhunter called. “I wasn’t really looking to move,” says Aldis, “but she was persistent! Every morning she would send me something about Idaho this or Idaho that.” And eventually, he had to see it for himself. Once he got to Idaho, he was hooked.

What Aldis is loving about leading the culinary team at Tamarack Resort is the people. “You can’t do anything until you find your purpose in life,” he says. “My purpose is to try to positively impact peoples’ lives and the people here are amazing.” The team, the community, the resort customers – finding the right chemistry to bring everyone together is something Aldis is passionate about. Perhaps those chemical engineering days found a purpose in the kitchen – and beyond – after all.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

I love the Pork Schnitzel at the Reserve. It’s a 16-ounce tomahawk pork that comes with spaetzle, caramelized onions, and some wild mushrooms.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

Truffle, caviar, and lobster.

What is something you love to make at home?

Anything Breakfast. That or just some clean food. I like an easy meal of chicken thighs, couscous, and some herb-up yogurt over the top.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

Quesadilla. I learned how to get the nonstick, the butter, the cheese going and once I had that down I started adding every seasoning in the cabinet.

Chef Josh Stanton | Checkpoint in Hotel Nobo

Growing up in Florida, Chef Josh Stanton opted to join the Navy directly out of high school. After being medically discharged, Stanton picked up a job washing dishes… and discovered his true passion. “I fell in love with the camaraderie of the kitchen,” he says. “I knew I had to pursue a culinary profession.”

That spark, that momentum of finding a true calling, led him to work for Murphy’s Grill in Florida. “I had the privilege of working with Mr. Larry Murray who shared all of his grandmother’s recipes from Louisiana,” says Stanton. “It was steeped in southern comfort with lots of seafood flair.” The mentorship education he received in those early days was the start of a 13-year culinary journey.

“I worked my way up from humble greasy spoon diners to fine dining establishments,” says Stanton. But it was in the world of fine dining that he found his true calling. “There is a challenge to crafting dishes that harmonize diverse ingredients and flavor profiles,” he says.

Stanton’s flavor profiles tend toward the romantic cuisines of France, Italy, and Spain. During his time in Florida, Stanton had the opportunity to work under some world-class chefs including Alan Heckman at Pogo’s Kitchen. Here he was able to take a deep dive into the traditions of French cuisine – and build his love of French food.

He also had the unique opportunity to collaborate with Leonardo Batali, utilizing his mother’s cherished starter recipes. This honed his love of all things Italian. Paired with the rich culinary landscape in Florida, influenced by Spanish, Mexican, and Latino flavors, the trifecta was complete. “These experiences and influences left a lasting imprint on my culinary style,” says Stanton.

As much as his profession has led him to new experiences, so has his family. Chef Stanton’s journey eventually landed him in the McCall area where his wife’s family lives. “We felt the move was timely as we are expecting a son this winter,” says Stanton. “We wanted to be closer to family.”

With the move to Idaho, the stars aligned for Stanton when he was hired at Hotel Nobo in Cascade. “I was actually hired in a different position to start, but as fate would have it my first day was the chef’s last day,” he says. “It was really a perfect opportunity to take the reins in the kitchen and be a part of something great at Checkpoint.”

The freedom to be creative is something Stanton doesn’t take for granted. “If you could spend a minute in my head,” he laughs, “it is a constant stream of ideas and new things to try.” But his approach starts with the basics. “I like to start with a traditional base and then see how far out of bounds I can go without breaking it.” He also spends a lot of time garnering feedback from guests and the community, asking questions and listening to feedback.

“That is really how you grow and keep the momentum going,” he says. “You have to listen to the people around you, be a part of the community.” It is that sense of purpose, that momentum that propelled him down this path in the first place, that will keep us coming back to sample all of Chef Stanton’s delicious ideas.

What is your favorite thing to eat at YOUR restaurant?

Definitely the Primavera. It is just such a good, classic dish.

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

I do a lot with tarragon. I just love the licorice flavor and the smell is amazing.

What is something you love to make at home?

My wife is Italian, so we make a lot of Italian dishes at home. It’s perfect for those rainy or snowy days. I like to keep it kind of simple at home.

What is the first thing you remember cooking?

My mom taught me to make scrambled eggs when I was six. Yeah. I remember going crazy with garlic salt and this and that – sometimes they were edible, and sometimes they weren’t.

When I was 14, I came up with a dish that I affectionately call “preferito di mama” because it is my mom’s favorite. It’s a seared chicken, cut off the bone and cooked with a brick on top so it’s nice and flat and crispy. I serve it with a wheat pasta, sunflower seeds, olive oil, squash or zucchini, and some herbs. It’s a simple dish, but my mom loves it. It is still the one thing she always asks me to make.

Don’t let your culinary journey in the West Central Mountains end here! We invite you to continue to explore the people behind the plate. There is a wealth of amazing chefs and rich, flavorful food in our mountain region. Stop in, say hello, and enjoy what their journey has brought to the table. Visit our “Eat” section on page 20 for a complete list of member restaurants.