Vintage Restaurant: Handcrafted Cuisine from a Sun Valley Favorite
Review by Darren Sutherland
Vintage Restaurant
by Jeff Keys
Gibbs Smith
$34.95
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Anyone who has eaten at Jeff Keys’ Vintage Restaurant in Ketchum has experienced first-hand his culinary talents. With the recent publication of Vintage Restaurant: Handcrafted Cuisine from a Sun Valley Favorite, we also get to see Jeff’s talents with the
pen, and to experience his wonderful creations at home.
The new cookbook is like Keys’ cooking: simple, elegant and inspired, with a very independent, do-it-yourself attitude throughout. When looking for a photographer to shoot the book, Jeff steered the publisher away from using an out-of-town professional and stylist, and instead chose to work with local professional Glen Allison. The results are stunning. This attitude permeates the cookbook itself. While the food looks and tastes intricate, the recipes are presented in a simple, straightforward manner that makes a home chef, like myself, comfortable and confident in their creation. The stories and reminiscences that introduce each chapter underscore this point with their emphasis on the joys associated with the process of creating these dishes. The recipes offer a basis for a fresh and interesting dish, but don’t be afraid to enjoy your own experimentation.
The introduction to the chapter devoted to tomatoes encapsulates the Vintage mindset. Beginning with the simple words, “I decided to take a stand on tomatoes,” Keys explains how the tomatoes he was getting were different than the ones he grew up with in his parents garden. They lacked life, lacked energy. But he realizes that we don’t have to settle for mediocrity. He encourages would-be chefs to search out the organic and locally produced vegetables available at our local markets, both at the stores and during the summer at our two local vibrant farmer’s markets. It could be a small box of heirloom tomatoes off to the side of the produce section, but as more people demand high quality products, the markets and availability of those products will grow, maybe not quickly, but perceptibly. He advocates that we speak with our actions and our dollars, “it is a positive action, a quiet revolution, and a step towards making this a better world.”
At its best, this valley is a special place, simple, elegant, and inspired. Keys’ has captured that spirit with the Vintage Restaurant cookbook, and with his restaurant. The organic and local food markets are growing, new possibilities are arising, so pick up a copy of the book, and cook, use the best ingredients, and have fun.
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