SALT LAKE CITY CHEF’S TABLE

One conversation with Steven and you’ll see that he’s always a little ahead of the curve. He’s got a long list of ideas and an even longer history with Salt Lake City. A film student from Michigan State, Steven had hopes of being in the film industry on one level or another. After some time on task and a few reality checks, Steven found himself in Salt Lake City at the corner of 1290 South 1100 East operating Liberty Heights Fresh.

At the time, a specialty market of Liberty Height’s caliber showed one part vision and perhaps a few parts insanity. In 1994 Utah sat entrenched in bizarre liquor laws and odd restrictions, leaving the food scene in a constant position of limbo. On many levels Steven was in an uphill battle, but one that eventually paved the way for a thriving specialty food scene in Salt Lake City.

Spend an afternoon in Liberty Heights Fresh and you’ll see a special caliber of customer who knows about local farms, understands cheese on a higher level, and asks questions that you’d never hear at your local supermarket. Steven’s market simultaneously created the need for an elevated quality of home ingredients and satisfied it for Liberty Height’s loyal base.

Liberty Heights isn’t cheap (because fine ingredients aren’t cheap), and you won’t find Steven apologizing for that any time soon. In fact, he uses the critique of his prices to have the bigger conversation: “We spend significantly more on health care than we do food. If we spent more money on better food with less chemicals and preservatives, then our need for health care would reduce greatly.”

Idealists like Steven are the grease for the wheels of change. Steven laid much of the foundation on which the local food scene stands with said grease. Many ought to be thankful.

CHÈVRE BROWNIES

For the brownies:

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided

6 ounces chocolate (preferably 60 percent cacao)

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

¾ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the chèvre topping:

¼ pound chèvre

½ egg, beaten (about 2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons cream

2 tablespoons sugar

To prepare brownies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8 × 8-inch or 9 × 9-inch pan. Line with parchment paper and grease that as well.

Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

In a mixer with the paddle attachment (the paddle attachment gives the brownies a fudgy texture), combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, slowly add ¼ cup of the melted chocolate and butter mixture to the egg mixture. Continue adding chocolate ¼ cup at a time. Beat until all the chocolate is combined into the egg mixture.

Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Pour into prepared pan.

To prepare chèvre topping: Combine chèvre, egg, cream, and sugar in a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy. Pour the topping over the brownie mixture and swirl with a knife or spatula to create a marbled top.

Bake for about 45–55 minutes or until firm in the center. Cover the pan with foil for at least the first half of baking to prevent the chèvre topping from burning. Let cool, then slice and enjoy!

Clinton Felsted knows technology, not farming. At BYU he started a company that afforded him the money and time to give to a vision for better food in Utah. Take a walk with Clinton around the farm and you’ll hear his passion and vision delivered in a way resembling Ray Kinsella’s distant looks and compulsion to build a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield.

So why did Clinton start La Nay Ferme? He believes in food. Better food, to be more specific. He aims to generate a better relationship between people and their food. Even people of means eat garbage because they don’t understand food. Clinton believes that everyone should spend time on a farm seeing how things are grown and understanding the work of the farmer. Take a look at the list of ingredients on the back of a pre-made salad from a grocery store or chain restaurant and you’ll come across a list of ingredients that even your high school chemistry teacher is unfamiliar with. Then eat from a La Nay Ferme CSA and taste what vegetables straight from the ground taste like. It’s a far cry from what most Americans eat daily.

La Nay Ferme is a force for good in a world where food is more often created in a laboratory than by the sweat of an honest farmer. Visit a farm sometime and see what food really looks like.

Her house screams Austin, Texas, with its loud colors and weathered boot collection, but her work, sometimes with obscenities, speaks for itself. Her spunk, fearlessness, and decades of experience as a food writer combine to make Mary’s work deep and interesting, and at times you think, “Can she really say that?” The answer is yes.

Local foodies know Mary as a food writer for Salt Lake Magazine who was crowned editor in 2014. She’s the face and force behind the Salt Lake Dining Awards, which are the most meaningful awards for local restaurants. The annual event is a who’s who of local dining culminating in the announcement of Best Restaurant. Even if local restaurateurs try to play it cool and act like the awards are meaningless, no one has ever turned down their award, and every winner proudly hangs the award near the entrance of their restaurant.

Salt Lake City found gold when Mary moved to town. She’s a mainstay of the local food scene and an advocate for its success while demanding that it be great. Steven Rosenberg from Liberty Heights Fresh says, “Salt Lake City doesn’t really understand how great we’ve got it having Mary Malouf as a writer in our town.” We agree. In due time, we suppose.

LIBERTY HEIGHTS FRESH

CHÈVRE BROWNIES