By Ellie Boeschenstein EBS CONTRIBUTOR
This past August, Rainbow Ranch Lodge hired Chef Nick Mehmke as their new executive chef. Mehmke has 17 years of diverse culinary experience and has been a leader across kitchens in the Midwest, West Coast and locations all across the state of Montana. Mehmke feels strongly about incorporating sustainability into his cooking and provides farm-to-table dining, and with his experience in organic farming, he brings top quality ingredients to the table. When visiting Rainbow Ranch Lodge, you are sure to experience top notch service and culinary works.
Explore Big Sky spoke with Chef Mehmke to learn more about his culinary journey and to discover what’s in store for Rainbow Ranch Lodge’s dining experience.
This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.
Explore Big Sky: Nick, would you first tell me about yourself – what brought you to Big Sky?
Nick Mehmke: I [was] born in Montana. My family have been farmers and ranchers for five generations. I grew up driving tractors and working with cattle. I started cooking in restaurants at 15 and continued until my early 30s, when through opportunity and the desire for more time with my young kids I went back to my family’s farm for the last decade. In the last year me and my wife decided that I would return to the industry and … Rainbow Ranch had the opening for [an] executive chef position. I had previously worked at Rainbow Ranch starting as an intern and leaving four years later as sous chef (2001-2005). The return felt like a rounding of my career and a bit like coming back home.
EBS: What inspired you to pursue a career in the culinary arts and what has your journey looked like?
NM: My family always had a love for food and an opportunity in a small Chinese restaurant as a dishwasher/prep cook started me down the path I am [on] today. I worked through high school at the restaurant, working my way through all facets of production. I then attended culinary school in Portland, Oregon at [the] Western Culinary Institute and after, as I mentioned before, I worked at Rainbow Ranch. From there I took an executive chef position at a historic hotel, the Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton, Montana where I spent several years learning to develop my cooking and management style. From there, I returned to Big Sky to the 320 Guest Ranch as executive chef for a few seasons. I then took the opportunity to help build a restaurant in Williams Bay, Wisconsin called Pier 290 preparing high volume upscale casual dining on the shore of Lake Geneva. After a few years of running the kitchen there, I decided to leave the industry and return to my family’s farm. In the last year my wife and I decided that a return, for me, to the culinary industry was our next path. The opportunity at Rainbow Ranch felt like the right move for us. Our two youngest girls are attending Ophir school and my wife is starting in the area of yoga therapy and is looking to work in the counseling services in the near future.
EBS: How would you describe your culinary style, and what new things are you bringing to Rainbow Ranch Lodge?
NM: I feel my food has a strong French influence with some inspirations coming from international cuisines such as Asian and Italian. I am trying to bring more local ingredients and flavors to the restaurant by using some of the ingredients I have grown before and working with local growers like Gallatin Valley Botanical, or using local goat cheese from Amaltheia Dairy. I am also continuing the from-scratch fine dining approach that I remember [from] when I started as an intern at Rainbow Ranch and captivated my excitement for food. Butchering the different meats and game in house, long productions of stocks and sauces and care and love for producing food, that becomes infectious in the kitchen.
EBS: How do you pay homage to the legacy of Rainbow Ranch’s history?
NM: I think by remembering the amazing meals I was a part of producing as a young cook and trying to pay homage to the chefs and managers I worked with by striving to produce the same level of food and dining experience.
EBS: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about food and cooking?
NM: I think to stay humble. The staff around you are your team and by extension become a part of your family. When I [worked] at the French Laundry, I remember Thomas Keller everyday went around the kitchen and introduced himself and shook the hand of everyone new or checked in personally with his cooks to see how they were doing. That always stuck with me. I feel we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with and it is important that we support them as much as they support us. The culinary industry can be a difficult field to work in but with the right team and common mindset and goals, we can make great food.
EBS: Can you walk us through your creative process when developing a new dish?
NM: I usually will start with a main ingredient that I want to highlight in the dish and that will a lot of the time be based on the seasons and what is available locally. For entrees for instance, I would start with the protein such as the whitefish coming from native fish keepers on Flathead Lake and I will look for a starch that can compliment but not overwhelm, like black beluga lentils. There is a lot of richness at that point so I added some pan roasted cherry tomatoes for bright sweetness, then I add a watercress salad to give a nice peppery crisp flavor and color to help the dish balance out. I try not to have anything be too overwhelming. I like to give a range of textures and flavors that make the dish exciting to eat but balanced so at the last bite it tastes like the first and my hope is you will be excited for the next course.
EBS: What are some of the biggest challenges you face or have faced?
NM: I think the biggest challenge, so far, has been staffing. We are doing well through our J-1 Visa programs but the cost to live in the area can be a restraint to find labor.
EBS: What is your favorite ingredient to work with and why?
NM: That is hard and is constantly changing especially with the seasons. I love brussel sprouts and fresh tomatoes. As we get into the fall I am thinking of slow braised lamb shanks and elk short ribs, and I admit that we make fresh pasta in house.
EBS: What do you want diners to feel or experience when they eat your food?
NM: I would like them to be comforted by the experience and excited to come join us again. I do like to play with some fun combinations of flavors but most of the time I like to bring the most out of the components of a dish. The flavors keep it simple, like with the huckleberry chicken on our menu we brine it in a huckleberry brine giving it a tangy rich flavor and pan roast it to order. Building the sauce in the pan with the chicken and adding more fresh huckleberries making a rich but sweet tangy pan gravy and pair the dish with a creamy barley risotto and wilted greens. In ways it is a comfort food but heightened and refined for the fine dining setting.
