You would possibly know Utah’s mountains for his or her steep slopes and the fluffy snow that makes very best terrain for snowboarding. I do know the panorama as one of the best place to take pleasure in an unforgettably scrumptious, chef-made dinner open air.

My meal within the mountains of Utah begins on a deck in September, looking over 3,500 acres of gorgeous hills on all sides as golden hour drifts over them. I’m on the expansive property of The Lodge at Blue Sky, a lodge from the Auberge Resorts Assortment that merges luxurious lodging with the pure great thing about the Wasatch mountain vary.

I’ve traveled to Blue Sky in late summer time to eat at WildKitchen, an elaborate out of doors kitchen that depends solely on dwell hearth to prepare dinner the whole lot. Meals cooked over hearth at all times appear to style higher, and the meals at this pop-up close to Park Metropolis is so unbelievably particular, I like to recommend it as a must-try expertise for anybody who loves scrumptious effective eating, communal dinners, and pure magnificence.

Described because the “final luxurious out of doors kitchen,” WildKitchen is a customizable kitchen and heated desk idea from director Man Ritchie. There’s not simply one among them — the setup may be constructed wherever, and folks may even buy a WildKitchen for their very own residence at a premium value — however this set up at Blue Sky was residence to a rotating collection of famend cooks all through the summer time of 2024, the place friends might strive elaborate meals cooked on the state-of-the-art gear. The enterprise was so successful, WildKitchen shall be again on the property in the summertime and fall of 2025 with a brand new roster of cooks.

Cooks cooking on the Blue Sky WildKitchen use its charcoal-and-wood-fired oven, grill, forged iron cooking plate, and extra to organize meals for a family-style dinner at a heated desk, perched atop a small mountain on the property, so friends can watch the solar set round them as they eat. After I arrive for dinner, I’m instantly greeted with a cocktail and appetizers being handed round a viewing deck so we are able to admire the panorama earlier than sitting down. (My first chew is a bison tartare crostini with a beneficiant quantity of wealthy and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano on prime.)

A lot of the elements served on the WildKitchen dinners are regionally sourced — therefore the selection of bison for a tartare — and from the property when potential. Blue Sky is residence to an on-site backyard dubbed Gracie’s Farm, which offers seasonal greens for visitor cooks to make use of of their set menus.

Whereas I dine at this distinctive live-fire expertise, I’m fortunate sufficient to take pleasure in meals cooked by chef Hillary Sterling of Ci Siamo in New York Metropolis. (Different cooks on the roster this yr included Sebastian Benitez of Francis Mallman’s Los Fuegos in Miami, Kim Canteenwalla of Honey Salt in Las Vegas, and 2011 F&W Greatest New Chef Viet Pham, a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist.) 

Sterling is thought each for cooking with hearth and an emphasis on seasonal elements at her personal restaurant, and this shines by means of within the smoky, savory, and delectable Italian dishes she locations on the desk. 

Dinner begins with the chef’s signature pizza bianca, topped with a vibrant and punchy salsa verde and anchovies. We style grilled scallops paired with marinated, melt-in-your-mouth miniature zucchini from Gracie’s Farm. Out of the 9 dishes we eat — unfold out throughout 4 programs of antipasti, pasta, secondi, and dolci — a cheese- and potato-stuffed cannelloni with cured cherry tomatoes vies for the place of essentially the most memorable chew with a smoked lamb shoulder and mustard greens topped with currants and pine nuts.

After I arrived on the WildKitchen outpost, Sterling was busy giving the lamb shoulder a ultimate sear over the grill, though she defined that it had been slowly cooking all day. Probably the most lovely elements of the open kitchen is that you could discuss to the chef as they work.The opposite friends and I watched her leverage the fire-fueled oven, grill, and heated slabs to rigorously steadiness getting ready every course whereas guaranteeing others stayed heat. 

Sterling’s delicacies depends on easy elements which are completely cooked, and he or she’s conquered the temperamental nature of dwell hearth. Charred onions are blackened on the surface however meltingly tender and candy on the within. A briny tonnato sauce is filled with umami with out being overly fishy and pairs nicely with earthy roasted greens for dipping.

As every plate arrives — we eat household fashion, taking turns serving ourselves from massive platters of meals — servers pour wine pairings chosen by sommelier Rand Elsbree. My glass isn’t empty. 

Probably the most lovely elements of our meal is attending to know the strangers on the desk. I chat with a lawyer couple from Chicago who’s away from their kids for the weekend, and two newlyweds sit throughout from me; after the second course I be taught now we have a mutual good friend.

The desk we’re gathered round is crafted from copper and calmly heated (with wooden, after all), and the WildKitchen’s proprietary design prevents any smoke from billowing in our faces. A hoop of gorgeous cooking implements dangle above us, a visible reminder that you could truly prepare dinner on the desk in case you get it scorching sufficient, however this night it’s merely conserving us heat.

A dessert of roasted stone fruits and whipped crème fraîche, plus rainbow cookies from chef Sterling’s Ci Siamo crew, concludes the meal. 

If you happen to ask me what contains an ideal dinner, communal eating, meals from a famend chef, and the style of dishes ready over dwell hearth all make the checklist. While you think about a mountaintop view and the prospect to observe each merchandise be cooked over flames in an outside kitchen, that dinner turns into unforgettable.

WildKitchen at Blue Sky is closed for the winter months, however it should return subsequent yr with a brand new roster of cooks and their distinctive menus. You don’t need to be a visitor on the property to buy a ticket for one of many meals, so you’ll be able to even keep in close by Park Metropolis in case you’d desire. Examine again right here within the spring to e book a spot as quickly as you’ll be able to — they’re positive to promote out.