SALT LAKE CITY CHEF’S TABLE

Whether dining for lunch, dinner, or Sunday brunch, Em’s menu of graceful and stylish foods keeps you coming back. Simple and refined, the ambience invites you in, and the food satisfies the hungry diner.

Chef/owner Emily Gassmann turned this historic facade, originally Center Street Market, into a room that feels as inviting as her home, with comforting smells coming from the kitchen and special care from the staff, all couched in the eclectic Marmalade neighborhood. Emily Gassmann’s restaurant embodies the neighborhood bistro.

A restaurant’s menu tells the diner details about the chef and what she values. Em’s menu shows her personal style and touch in every dish, whether it’s a perfectly poached egg sitting on crisp grated potatoes or well-cooked fish topped with sauce seasoned to perfection. High-quality, local ingredients are not a trendy boast or clever marketing plan. That’s just how things are done in Em’s kitchen. Every dish is polished to perfection.

You can see Em’s deep enjoyment and passion for food by her well-worn cookbooks. This self-taught cook spends any down time she finds scouring through new and old cookbooks. She never leaves for vacation without a cookbook in hand, enjoying several newfound recipes during her break and returning with inspiration.

Though Em’s Center Street spot feels like a hidden gem in Salt Lake, the real secret lies in the patio. Open in good weather, the patio overlooks the western mountains and is covered in vines and surrounded by beautifully potted plants. This is where you want to be on a cool summer night.

Em’s provides a full dining experience. Alchemy Coffee sits next door, where you can grab a coffee before or after eating. Enjoy the Marmalade neighborhood while you’re at it. Visit the capitol, walk through Memorial Grove or hike up City Creek Canyon for a full afternoon adventure along with a meal at Em’s.

WILD SALMON OVER CREAMY CABBAGE

In a large skillet combine the cabbage with the butter and olive oil. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, then add vinegar and cream. Simmer until cabbage is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With a sharp knife score the salmon in a crisscross pattern, cutting through the skin and just slightly cutting into the flesh. Generously season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over moderately high heat. When hot, place the salmon fillets, skin side down, into the skillet. Cook without turning until the skin is very crisp, 2–3 minutes (cooking time will depend upon the thickness of the salmon). With a wide spatula turn the salmon over and cook for barely 30 seconds. Leave the salmon in the pan and remove it from the heat. The salmon will continue to cook as you prepare the plates with the creamy cabbage.

Spoon cabbage into the center of four warmed dinner plates. Top with a slice of salmon, skin side up, and spoon the warm sauce around the cabbage. Serve immediately.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE POTS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, then set aside. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thick and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat until smooth. Fold in the flour and melted chocolate. Spoon the mixture into five 4-ounce ramekins (greased and floured). Bake for 15 minutes.

To prepare raspberry sauce: Simmer fresh raspberries over low heat until they start to fall apart. Sweeten berries to taste with sugar (more or less to taste) and cook for an additional 2 minutes. As needed, thicken the sauce with cornstarch or thin with water. Top unmolded cakes with warm raspberry sauce.

New research claims that Utahans were making chocolate before any other state in the union. But Utah can’t take the credit. To be more specific, Utah wasn’t even a state nor had Columbus sailed the ocean blue when the discovered chocolate was being made. The folks making chocolate were actually Ancestral Puebloan people near present-day Blanding, Utah, which is close to the four corners portion of Utah. Many locals are surprised to hear that in AD 750, on present-day Utah soil, Native Americans were paving the way for one of the largest industries in the world.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF UTAH

To commemorate the incredible discovery and even more incredible cacao bean, the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) put chocolate on display in early 2014 to show the city its place in the chocolate world. With a number of classes, seminars, and events, NHMU helped tell Utah about something far different and better than what they normally find in a Hershey’s wrapper. Thanks to NHMU and the exhibit’s main sponsor, Harmons Neighborhood Grocer, the narrative surrounding chocolate is changing.

Yes, it’s a snack of sorts, but it’s so much more. In the same way that wine and cheese is a deep, rich well of nuance to be studied and enjoyed, so is chocolate. Different chocolates taste differently depending on their origin and means of preparation. The NHMU exhibit united chocolate makers and lovers alike.

CAPUTO’S CHOCOLATE CLASS

Don’t take our word for it. Take a class from Caputo’s that explains on varying levels (beginner, intermediate, and expert) the story and science of chocolate. One of the best chocolate selections—in terms of quality and quantity—in the world lives on the shelves of Caputo’s Market. Most of the fine chocolate–loving nation knows about Matt Caputo and his efforts to differentiate between “fine” chocolate and “standard” chocolate.

Salt Lake Magazine, a local authority on all things culinary, put Caputo’s Chocolate Class on their SLC Bucket List. As the winds of change blow in Utah, much of the wind’s origins are within the walls of Caputo’s at their classes. In the beginner’s class, the attendee is instructed on the things to look for, taste, hear, feel, and smell when determining if a chocolate is really good or if it’s diluted with excessive vanilla and sugar. Most chocolate in the grocery store line is the latter. He’s not saying that the massive chocolate brands are entirely bad (well, he kind-of is saying that). He is saying if that’s your only experience with chocolate, then you’ve never actually experienced chocolate.

Caputo’s classes have built a club of food geeks (their words, not ours) who surround local producers doing things the right way and support them in whatever way possible.

SOLSTICE CHOCOLATE

Scott Query is one such lucky recipient of the local scene’s excitement and generosity. Scott and his wife, DeAnn, started Solstice after fifteen years of fascination with chocolate, all starting with the process and art of tempering chocolate. When Solstice started releasing bars, shelves carrying said bars were almost always empty due to demand. Scott discovered how to do, or more accurately, chose to do things that most respected the cacao bean and the person eating his chocolate. He sourced his beans responsibly and gave great care to every step of the process, much like a cobbler making fine shoes. Every detail matters. After only a short time in business, the Querys are experiencing praise from around the world for the chocolate coming out of their lab.

CHOCOLATE CONSPIRACY

AJ Wentworth of Chocolate Conspiracy is another leader in the chocolate charge in Utah. The Chocolate Conspiracy formed out of a love for nutrition obtained at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona. During his time there he developed an “insatiable love of raw, vegan desserts.” His primary focus within that was the cacao bean, which eventually inspired him to start his business crafting chocolate in old-world ways.

Chocolate in Utah is gaining steam and fans by the dozens. Yes, dozens. It’s not a massive movement, but it’s one rooted deep in quality and passion, where a handful of fans make chocolate at home much like the beer fan makes beer at home. Just like any other hand-crafted movement, growth is slow, but that’s the way most artisans prefer it.