Jeremy Pugh

For 36 years, the Wagstaff Family has owned the concession on the edge of the reservoir at Deer Creek State Park. The mom and pop of this mom and pop, Doug and Julie Wagstaff, ran the boat rental and a burgers-and-pizza type joint to feed hungry boaters and provide summer jobs and a good work ethic to the Wagstaff kids. “They succeeded,” says Tamara Stanger, the new chef at the new restaurant The Lakehouse at Deer Creek. “Those kids know how to work.” 

Stanger was hired by Brad Wagstaff, who, carrying on the family tradition, committed to the property by signing a 30-year lease. But the next generation wanted something more than just a summertime burger shack. The restaurant space has been completely renovated inside and out and features a large open patio at the lake’s edge, hence the name. 

Stanger is not new to Utah. She grew up in the small mining town of Eureka (we had to Google that, too) working in her mother’s restaurant, a down-home meat and potatoes place that was an anchor in the small community. She never left the kitchen, working her way into high-end restaurants in the Phoenix-Tempe area. Her return to Utah was kismet; she had been wanting to return to her roots, literally. See, Stanger is part of a new generation of chefs that want to venerate old cooking styles with a focus on foraging, or gathering ingredients from nearby land. 

“Food tells a story,” she explains. “I want to look at the ways the early settlers and Native Americans cooked and what they cooked. I grew up foraging and most of our meat was hunted or fished. The first thing I ever foraged was wild rhubarb. I made ice cream out of it. It felt like treasure hunting.”

Stanger’s menu reflects this back-to-the-land sensibility paired with her formal chef training. The food she forages, she explains, can’t be used in large quantities but rather provides an accent to recognizable fare. You’ll find frybread cooked in duck fat, tortillas made with Utah blue corn, garnishes featuring tart local cherries, a bolognese with rabbit, heirloom sourdough bread, pine nuts, juniper sprigs and even acorns, used to laboriously make the acorn flour featured in this former pastry chef’s intriguing acorn pie. 

“These mountains are just covered in acorns,” she says. “It takes a lot of time to process them. You have to leach all the tannins, roast them and grind them. But it’s worth it. These are foods and techniques that are unique to Utah and help tell Utah’s food story.”

Opened last summer, The Lakehouse will be open year-round catering to the boating crowd in the summer and the ski/Sundance crowd this winter. 

“The Wagstaffs wanted a legacy,” she says. “Our mission is to help define Utah food and make it beautiful to draw people from around the world. Michelin stars? Utah itself is a Michelin star and we want to share that.” 

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If you open a typical spice cabinet in the U.S., you’ll find a handful of small plastic bottles. Prominent up front will be granulated garlic, some dried basil, chile powder, sage left over from Thanksgiving one year, rosemary, cilantro, cumin—possibly cinnamon and nutmeg for baking. Open a spice cabinet in India, and it’s an entire world of spices and herbs and potions—secret family blends, medicinal vials and packets of seeds. The cost of these Indian spices are breathtaking compared to America’s. Chefs who travel have been known to carry theirs in a locked case. The flavors they create, evocative of all things exotic about India, can be incorporated into anyone’s kitchen. Here’s a rundown of favorites and ways to use them.  

Carom Seeds (Ajwain)

Not really seeds, but a fruit pod of the plant that resembles parsley. They’re quite fragrant, bitter when eaten raw and spicy (i.e. hot). They’re used in breads, specifically parathas, and in dishes with green beans or lentils.  

Cloves

These are used medicinally, especially for mouth pain. Used in savory and sweet foods, they are an important part of the dry “master blend” called garam masala. Indian chefs cook them in oil to release their oils, along with peppercorns, cinnamon and cardamom. This mixture shows up in curries and simple rice pilafs. 

Coriander

This spice is found in nearly every Indian kitchen. The round seeds (from the coriander plant) are roasted in a dry pan over high heat until they pop and move in the pan. They’re then ground and used often with chicken and fish dishes; the citrus flavor complements both. Try it in chicken tikka masala. 

Cardamom

Both the green and black varieties are used for cooking. These sweet, slightly perfumey pods (green) are often found in desserts such as pudding. The pods are cracked to release their seeds, which are then crushed to release their oils. Black cardamom is used more judiciously. Only the seeds are cooked, often with meats, as the smoky flavor complements braised or char-grilled meat. Try them with lamb. 

Mace

The dried, orange, weblike covering of the nutmeg seed, it’s delicious dropped into a curry, giving a flavor you’d know as familiar but would probably never guess. Simply chop some and add to rice a few minutes before it’s ready. Use it in pickling fruits and vegetables as well. As for the nutmeg itself, keep them whole and grate them as needed into curries and in baked goods, or to top the lassi—a sweet yogurt drink refreshing in summer with mangoes. 

Fenugreek

For curry fans, this is your spice. With its earthy flavor and aroma, these tiny seeds elevate the Madras curry blend to its proper place among royalty in the spice cabinet. You can’t eat Indian pickles without tasting this seed, too, along with its mate, the mustard seed. When you leave an Indian restaurant, often there is a bowl of seeds by the door to spoon out and chew as a digestif. The leaves of the fenugreek plant are what gives butter chicken its slightly fennel flavor. 

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