Nate Whitley:
Sourcing Food Locally
Nate Whitley has spent most of his life around food. Growing up, Nate loved being in the kitchen. It was a natural fit for his first job to be in a restaurant as a dishwasher. In his junior year of high school, Nate got his first job. He started working part-time at B.B. Strands in Boise, Idaho. He was instantly hooked by the atmosphere of controlled commotion that comes with working in a restaurant kitchen.
“I found that I really enjoyed the pace of the kitchen,” Nate said.
Nate spent the next few years working through different roles within the kitchen and worked his way up to food prep. He enjoyed the opportunity to always learn something new.
“When I was younger there was always something to learn, and I guess that's really still the case even today,” Nate said. “It just never gets old.”
Nate went on to attend culinary school at The California Culinary Academy.
In 2006, Nate started working as a chef at Red Feather Lounge in Boise, Idaho. The owner of Red Feather Lounge, Dave Krick, was a leader in sourcing locally grown food.
Nate said the size and success of the restaurant opened the door for local producers marketing with local restaurants. Today, the owner of Red Feather Lounge has three popular restaurants in Boise that follow those same values of sourcing food locally.
Nate attributed his start in sourcing local food from his five years working at Red Feather.
“I got to know and learn about the local producers who they were, what products they grew, and what products were available,” Nate said.
In 2012, Nate started working as head chef at The Modern Hotel. Nate took the knowledge and love of local food he learned at Red Feather to his new position at The Modern Hotel. His first duty as the chef at The Modern Hotel was connecting with local producers and creating contacts. During his time at Red Feather, and learning the ropes of coordinating with local producers, Nate gained a deep appreciation for working with local food.
Nate is drawn to the freshness, diversity, and locality of sourcing nearby.
“One thing is the varieties, the different varieties of products, so it's not the same products over and over again,” Nate said.
Nate said one producer he works with tries to plant different types of squash each year. Through this producer, he tried black futsu squash for the first time and is now able to incorporate it at The Modern Hotel’s menu.
Another benefit to sourcing locally is the diversity in wild products and the change in his menu from season to season. Customers are always getting fresh flavors of the season. Nate’s personal wild, seasonal favorites are trout and mushrooms. He includes those options on his menu whenever he can.
“The wild mushrooms in the summer, especially the morels here are unique and every season a little different,” Nate said.
That uniqueness can often be the secret ingredient to a seasonal recipe.
Chris Florence from sweet Valley family farms forages for mushrooms and other kinds of wild products around Idaho and Nate likes to utilize those products whenever possible.
Nate also sources products from Ohana No-Till Farm, Fiddler’s Green House, McIntyre Farms, and more.
Supporting local producers, building relationships with them and their products they work so hard to produce is a huge driver in Nate’s work.
“When you buy from local producers you know you're buying something that was produced by a person that cares as much about what they're doing as you do,” Nate said.
Nate said the local food scene in Idaho is pretty recent but gaining traction.
Nate’s advice to chefs and restaurant owners who are interested in utilizing local food but not sure where to start:
“The best way to meet local producers is to just go to the farmers market and just meet farmers, growers, producers, whether it's ranchers that you know, raise cattle, pigs, whatever, different farmers and then that's helpful because then you see what's in season and you can meet them and most of the time, they'll tell you what their operation is capable of and has the capacity to supply,” Nate said.
Nate is gearing up for one of the biggest events of the year for chefs. Nate’s Thanksgiving menu is a local feast, including Roast Delicata Squash, Gruyere, Frisee, Shaved Pears; Roulade Of Turkey Breast, Italian Sausage, Polenta, Wild Mushrooms; and Winter Squash Custard, Chocolate Pecan Crunch.
