You might pass Roaring
Fork's executive chef, Bryan Hulihee, on the highway. He's the
one in the slow lane and he'll confess -- he takes his sweet, silent
time.
"My commute to work is half an hour and it's absolutely my
sanctuary. Thirty minutes of silence -- no
radio ... When you work in an industry that's crazy busy
and stimulating, you have to take advantage of quiet time."
He
also has two kids under 3 years old. Needless to say, his quiet time (and
time in general) is in short supply. But in the kitchen, Hulihee is in a
different zone; he's obsessively clean, is a teacher to his staff and
isn't afraid to bring up the heat.
The California native has strong ties to his Hawaiian roots and says
that because of his experience with southwestern and Hawaiian cuisine,
he has been comfortable experimenting in a variety of different kitchens.
Of course, he now calls the Roaring Fork home, but he's also spent time at
Lon's
at the Hermosa and Phantom Horse Grill.
Today, the chef joins us to share a few more confessions, a peek into his culinary life at home and an excitement about pink sea salt.
Culinary Confession: I have the worst diet. What's
easily accessible around the kitchen? Cheese, burgers, something fried,
something quick and easy. Sometimes, one of my managers makes lunch,
which is awesome, but for the most part I have the worst eating habits. I know.
Your signature on the menu: On the fish tacos, there's a salsa
verde that comes from my house and is something I make for my own
family ... I've had to bring the heat down a little for the restaurant,
so I don't blow everyone out of the water. But really, any extreme
heat here can be cured with one of our Huckleberry Margaritas.
Hot on the menu: I have some salts in my cabinet that I really
like working with. I have some Hawaiian pink sea salts and smoked salts
that I like working into special menu items like tuna tartare. The
grains are a little bit larger, so they add flavor and a little bit of
crunch.
Roaring Fork style: It's American west with Southwest influences.
So we stick to the West, but not solely the Southwest. Like we have
tortillas and fish tacos, but we also have a lot of brazed items, stews,
slow cooked foods and rotisserie chicken.
Who does the cooking at home?: My wife is in the industry too, and she's learning. But I'm definitely getting my phone calls during the day: "How do you do this?" she says. Or she's starting to send pictures to my phone that I can't really even make out what they are ... but she's learning.
(This was part one of our Chef Chat with Bryan Hulihee of Roaring Fork.
Check out part two tomorrow and stay tuned for a recipe on Thursday.)
