Watch too much food television and you’ll come away with the conviction that professional chefs and cooks are a cunning, competitive bunch of egomaniacs striving to become Top Chef, fearful of being Chopped, and gunning to Beat Bobby Flay. Teamwork and collaboration be damned.
That’s why I am relishing what the folks at Urban Hill restaurant and its owner – Brooks Kirchheimer and the Hill Top Hospitality group – are up to. Specifically, their Chef Collaboration dinner series, which takes place each month at Urban Hill.
On a monthly basis, Urban Hill Executive Chef Nick Zocco pairs with another Utah Chef to create a collaborative dinner with beverage pairings. According to the folks at Hill Top Hospitality, “The Urban Hill team really wants Utah to understand what they’re trying to achieve in terms of unifying the SLC food scene through these collaborations. While creating delicious, fresh dishes is a great product of this series, the most innovative aspect lies in how chefs are bringing together their concepts to set a new standard of collaboration. It’s about breaking down barriers between chefs and restaurants, fostering creativity, and building a stronger culinary community.”
So far, Nick has done Chef Collaboration dinners with Post Office Place Executive Chef Brandon Kawakami, with Mar | Muntanya Executive Chef Tyson Peterson, and more recently, with Chef/Owner Manoli Katsanevas (Manoli’s), a dinner that my wife and I were lucky to attend. Obviously, these Chef Collaboration dinners are one-off affairs. Nonetheless, I’m recounting some of the dishes from the Nick and Manoli collab dinner here to give readers an idea of what to expect from future events in the series.
Dolmades
The evening kicked off with an amuse bouche that had Manoli’s fingerprints all over it: Dolmades – grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, herbs and served atop heavenly yogurt made with Hatch green chiles.
Local Farm Green Salad
The first course for the evening was actually two different dishes. There was a lovely Local Farm Green Salad served family-style with a rainbow of fresh local lettuces and veggies, plus mizithra cheese, edible flowers, stone fruit, dukkah, and a light lemon-herb dressing. All of the chefs who are part of the Chef Collaboration Dinner Series have one thing in common: they all cherish local products and ingredients and are committed to using them and supporting local growers, ranchers, artisans and such, right down to the dinner plates and bowls used at Urban Hill.
Grilled Pita Dips
Alongside the green salad was freshly baked Grilled Pita which was served with a trio of dips: guajillo chile feta, traditional hummus, and smoked black bean puree. The course was accompanied by the night’s first wine pairing: Leo Steen “Bubbles of Steen” Chenin Blanc 2022.
Torched Golden Eagle Black Cod
The second course of the evening was gorgeous and delicious: Torched Golden Eagle Black Cod with sumac aioli, caviar, compressed shaved melon, and basil oil. Wow! This one was a knockout, paired with Santo Assyrtiko 2022 from Greece.
Katie Forstner
Throughout the evening we were able to pick the brain of Urban Hill’s Beverage Manager & Sommelier, Katie Forstner, about the night’s beverage pairings. Her knowledge of wine and food pairings is exceptional and you should definitely take advantage of her expertise when you dine at Urban Hill.
Branzino
The third course – again, served family-style – was Whole Branzino with smoked olive and caper salsa verde, braised seasonal greens, toasted garlic, chili and charred lemon. The branzino was wonderful and cooked to perfection.
Zucchini & Corn Fritters
Accompanying the branzino were yummy Zucchini & Corn Fritters with peekytoe crab tzatziki,and smoked morita chile tomato sauce – very inventive, as was the wine pairing for the fritters and branzino. Katie selected Bàrbara Forés “Abrisa’t” Garnatxa Blanca 2021. It’s a Spanish Grenache Blanc from Terra Alta that I wouldn’t have pegged as Grenache Blanc due to its orange hue, which Katie explained came from grapeskin contact during the maceration process. It’s a wonderful wine.
Braised Lamb Souvlaki and Lamb Porterhouse Chop
Course number four was a meat lover’s delight: Braised Lamb Souvlaki and Lamb Porterhouse Chop. The lamb duo – obviously highly influenced by Manoli, who is a wizard with lamb – came with miso pomegranate molasses gastrique, preserved lemon, mint vinaigrette, a fregola sarda salad, and grilled seasonal veggies. It was an exceptional dish, especially paired with Martin Woods Gamay Noir 2023 from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
By this time, the dinner was well into its fourth hour and so, we had to skip dessert to get home to tend to our dogs. Sadly, we missed the Loukoumades Greek Donuts paired with Keo St. John Commandaria, from Cyprus, Greece.
At a time when so many are focused on competition between chefs and restaurants, it’s refreshing to hear Urban Hill’s call for unity in the SLC restaurant industry, known for its competitive spirit. It’s a partnership that is creating a tasty recipe for SLC’s emerging food scene.
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week: “To me, there is no great chef without a great team.” – Daniel Boulud
