Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Executive chef Jeff Sommer, right, talks with Wild Roast manager Redeana Crane at Wildhorse Resort & Casino on Wednesday in Mission. Sommer likes to visit all of the
restaurants every morning at the casino.
CHEF: Will help design five new eateries when the resort expands
Continued from 1C
Professionally, he started at the
bottom. After a gig as busboy at age
16, he moved to the kitchen, peeling
carrots, and worked his way up. He
found an established chef, Chuck
Schuster, who agreed to mentor
the teenager. Sommer stayed with
Schuster for four years.
He enlisted in the Army as a
mechanic during the Gulf War
to earn money for tuition to the
Culinary Institute of America,
which Sommer calls “the Harvard
of culinary schools.” He met his
wife of 24 years, Cherrieanna, at
the institute. Until moving to Pend-
leton, she worked as head baker
at a New Orleans’ bakery called
Bittersweet Confections, known for
its wedding cakes. The couple, who
splits the cooking at home, has a
grown son and daughter.
During Sommer’s first visit
to Wildhorse, he found himself
intrigued with the idea of becoming
the head chef. He would oversee
the resort’s existing five venues
(Plateau, Hot Rock Cafe, Traditions
Dining, Wild Roast Coffee & Deli
and the Wildhorse Sports Bar),
plus he would help design five
more eateries that will come with a
planned expansion of the resort.
Sommer said he connected with
Wildhorse leaders and their vision.
In his first 90 days as executive chef,
Sommer worked at establishing
routines and goals. He walks the
property each morning, checking
in with managers and employees at
each eatery. He spends time in his
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Executive chef Jeff Sommer looks over some new designs for soup dishes in his office Wednesday at
Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Mission.
little office off the main kitchen,
going over menus and pricing. He
improves procedures for plating
and presentation and works on
upgrading sanitation practices to
match his clean freak standards. He
cultivates his own culinary vision
for the place, such as procuring as
much local food as possible from
area farmers and growing herbs
and certain other foods on site.
He spends time creating his own
recipes, tweaking them until “they
are tried and true.” In his world, you
start with good, simple ingredients
and transform them into something
amazing.
“I don’t want to overcomplicate
the food,” he said. “I believe in
simple.”
Jose Gutierrez, the resort’s
executive sous chef welcomes
Sommer’s team approach.
“He comes with new ideas, but
he’s learning the local ways, too,”
Gutierrez said.
Sommer starts his days with
a basic breakfast (tea-infused
oatmeal, yogurt and a protein
shake), which he eats after doing
Less is more with this simple salmon dish
By KATIE WORKMAN
Associated Press
A good piece of fish needs very little
to make it perfect. Here, the brisk, anisey-
tangy flavor of tarragon vinaigrette is a
wonderful complement to the lushness of
salmon filets.
If you start with excellent salmon and
super-fresh herbs, and don’t overcook
the fish, you cannot mess this up. It’s a
less-is-more dish.
The mix of orange and lemon juices
in the vinaigrette gives provides a nice
balance of sweetness and tanginess.
If you are in possession of a Meyer
lemon, you could use 3 tablespoons of
that juice in place of the mix, and get
similar results. Not exactly the same, but
something else wonderful.
I love starting fish in a pan (make sure
your fish is fairly thick, about 1-inch or
even thicker) and then transferring it to a
stove to finish cooking. Here are the three
main reasons why:
1. You can use the oven to cook
something else to go with the fish,
whether it’s roasted potatoes or other
vegetables.
2. If you are cooking the fish with the
skin on, you can get that pan screaming
hot before you add the fish, and when
the skin hits the pan it starts to crisp
up immediately. It then stays crisp and
delicious and great to eat. Soft fish skin:
not good. Crisp fish skin: a fabulous
counterpoint to a well-cooked, soft,
delicate fish.
3. Perhaps best of all: You don’t have
to flip the fish, which even for the most
Mia via AP
Salmon with a tarragon vinaigrette.
confident and experienced cooks doesn’t
always end well.
Salmon is available everywhere
because it’s so good and so popular. If
you can get wild Alaskan salmon, do
yourself (and the environment) a favor
and buy it. It has a more pronounced
flavor than farm-raised does, so you’re
getting the full salmon experience.
And because the Alaskan seafood
folks are vigilant about sustainability
and harvesting practices, you know
you’re eating salmon that has no
growth hormones, artificial coloring,
preservatives or added stuff that you
might be wondering about in fish.
Serve this (maybe for Valentine’s
Day?) with rice and a green salad, or a
whole-grain salad mixed with some fresh
or roasted vegetables.
cardio and weights in the gym in
his garage. He credits his love of
athletics for keeping the weight
off even though he’s surrounded
by food all day. In high school, he
did football, basketball, track and
wrestling. As an adult, he shifted to
mountain biking, kickboxing and
archery.
When asked, he offers advice to
aspiring chefs.
“Have realistic understanding of
the business,” he offered. “You’ll
be working your way up from the
bottom. You’ll be peeling onions.
These are the tasks that take you to
the roots of what cooking is. You
learn the best ingredients. You learn
not to cut your fingers off.”
As Sommer navigated the huge
kitchen on Wednesday, somehow,
despite his constant proximity
to food, his white chef’s jacket
remained immaculate. He explained
that white is actually practical for
chefs because it doesn’t absorb
heat, rather reflects it back. Plus, the
coat can be bleached unlike dyed
material.
As he navigated from pot to pot,
he seemed in his natural habitat. The
culinary world never gets boring,
Sommer explained. There’s always
new recipes to learn and invent and
new technologies to incorporate.
“In this career, you’re never
going to stop learning,” he said.
“There’s always something new out
there every day.”
———
Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-
0810.
SALMON WITH
TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE
Serves 4
Start to finish: 25 minutes
For the Salmon:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for
brushing
• 4 (6-ounce) fillets of salmon, 1-inch thick,
skin on if desired
• Salt and pepper for tasting
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a
heavy, ovenproof skillet over high heat and add
1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
Brush some olive oil over each piece of
salmon, and season with salt and pepper. Add the
salmon to the pan, skin side down (if relevant).
Allow to sear, without moving, in the pan for
about 3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast
for 5 to 8 minutes, until done to your liking.
While the salmon is cooking, in a small
container combine the olive oil, orange juice,
lemon juice, tarragon, shallots, Dijon mustard,
and salt and pepper. Shake to combine.
Transfer the fish to a serving platter or
individual plates. Shake the vinaigrette to
remix it, and then pour it over the fish. Serve
hot or warm.
Nutrition per serving: 285 calories; 128
calories from fat; 14 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g
trans fats); 109 mg cholesterol; 605 mg sodium; 2
g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 37 g protein