World-famous chef sets up shop in Utah

One of the world's top chefs has opened up shop right here in Utah.

Last Friday, Jean-Georges Vongerichten was in Park City to help cut the ribbon on the St. Regis Deer Crest Resort in Deer Valley, where his J&G Grill is located. Just getting there, on a tramlike vehicle called a funicular that travels up the mountainside, adds to the sense of adventure.

"This is the biggest kitchen I've ever cooked in, and I've been cooking 35 years," Vongerichten said as he beckoned me into the immaculate kitchen on the third floor of the luxury hotel. "It's very nice, don't you think?"

That's saying something, considering that the French-born chef and his business partner, Phil Suarez, are now involved in nearly 30 restaurants located all over the world, including Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong and Spice Market in New York.

In fact, Jean Georges was named Best Restaurant in the 2009 James Beard Awards, considered the Oscars of the food world.

"The kitchens in New York are like a closet, because space is at a premium," he said. "But here in Utah, it's very spacious, and with all the toys that we need."

As one of the cooks pulled some little golden-brown balls from the deep-fryer, Vongerichten garnished each one with an herb sprig before handing me one for a taste test.

It was a fritter, crispy on the outside and full of melted cheddar and jalapeno on the inside. The cheddar comes from Beehive Cheese of Uintah; Vongerichten said local ingredients are a hallmark of each of his restaurants.

The mantra of his restaurant group, Culinary Concepts, is "the first premium culinary brand that is local in content and global in reach."

He pointed out that the dining room's bread plates are made of local cedar, and that the tables are adorned with Utah pine cones.

"People come here from all over the world to spend some quality time here; they don't want to feel like they're in New York," he said.

He showed me how a little lime salt adds a flavor accent to the fritter.

It's just lime juice mixed with sea salt, "so that it's like wet sand, and then you let it dry," he said, spilling a little of the salt on my finger so I could taste it. "I like to put it on fish and meat, it's just delicious."

I found it hard to believe that this amiable chef sharing bites of fritter in his kitchen was the same guy who critics have called, "formidably gifted," and the "enfant terrible of modern French cooking."

Vongerichten was trained in classical French cuisine by three-star Michelin chefs in France, then spent four years working in high-end hotels in Bangkok, Singapore and

Hong Kong. That was where he developed his signature "vibrant cuisine."