BY KAREN BOSSICK
Karl Uri knew that Kevin Lane was a 2025 James Beard finalist for Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific when he asked him to jet down from Alaska to prepare a glamorous dinner for Sun Valley patrons at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute.
But, in between the time Lane accepted the invitation and now, one of Lane’s two restaurants in Seward, Alaska, was also named Best Restaurant in Alaska by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
The Cookery was honored for its thoughtful and inventive use of fresh oysters and locally farmed meats and produce from the Kenai Peninsula, including fiddleheads and mushrooms that Lane forages himself.
“Being named a James Beard finalist last year was a very unexpected big surprise. And now this—” said Lane. “I just want to cook some good food and put a smile on people’s faces.”
Lane will serve up the flavors of coastal Alaska at the 6 p.m. March 21 dinner at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute in Ketchum. The dinner will include Amuse Bouche, a scallop crudo; spring vegetable and salmon salad with smoked oyster tonnato and peanut salsa, Shawarma-spiced black cod and a rhubarb posset featuring roasted strawberry chutney with tarragon shortbread.
Pretty fancy for a kid who grew up in the Sacramento Valley of California and landed in the business of seafood by accident.
“We were a meat and potatoes family—my mother’s side being from New Mexico and my Dad’s side from Texas. I have memories of gentleman’s farms—small garden plots in my relatives’ backyards. But we hardly ever ate fish, let alone prepared it,” Lane said.
But. after high school, Lane moved to San Diego where he got a job at The Fish Market shucking oysters and cooking steamed mussels and clams. It was there that he developed a passion for fresh seafood.
“We developed a lot of pride shucking oysters at the front bar because we could see the customer versus being in the back kitchen where the only person you ever dealt with was the manager,” he said. “They had their own fishing boats so they’d bring these high-quality, fresh ingredients back and put them on these mesquite grills, transfer them to a plate with a couple sides and let the products speak for itself. Even today I try not to mask the quality of the ingredients we serve.”
After attending culinary school in Sacramento, Lane was offered a sous chef position in Juneau. He served as an instructor at the Alaska Culinary Institute, during which he advanced Alaska’s culinary reputation by leading the state’s first student team to the American Culinary Federation’s regional competition in Hawaii.
Eventually, he and his wife Stacey opened The Cookery. And then they opened The Lone Chicharron—Seward’s first taqueria—a block away in 2019.
“Having lived in California, Mexican food was always there. The Lone Chicharron’s menu is simple: tacos, burritos and tortas. I make my own tortillas and telera bread for the tortas so I pump out food fast, especially in the summer when it’s tourist season.”
If the food at The Lone Chicharron is simple, the food at The Cookery is not.
Lane makes Alaska Dolmas using lamb and bison. And he flavors Lebanese and Kuwaiti food with lots of garlic, lemons, olive oil and fresh herbs.
Appetizers include warm cashews with rosemary, butter and chili flakes and mushroom toast with black garlic aioli. You can wash your halibut chowder down with a lavender soda or strawberry Nojito and top off your meal with Cream Cheese Ice Cream topped with strawberries, balsamic syrup and bacon.
“My father’s family was from Kuwait so he grew up with Middle Eastern food. And I grew up eating a lot of black-eyed peas because we grew them in our garden. So, I make hummus with black-eyed peas. I like the flavor, even though it’s not very common.”
While working at Alaska’s culinary school, Lane had students bring in traditional foods from their villages, and that included whale blubber and seal oil. Those haven’t translated well to the restaurant, though, he said.
“Most of the Alaskan population, in all honesty, has a Midwestern palette—meat and potatoes, fish fried or baked, corn on the grill and salmon. We get our oysters from Homer, which is 60 miles away as the crow flies but takes four hours to drive. Halibut and black cod season start the end of March. And in summer we get a ton of salmon and halibut so there’s a bounty of stuff.”
Lane has been following the Sun Valley Culinary Institute on social media, having met Uri, its executive director, 13 years ago when Uri worked for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
“I’m excited to get down there—I’ve been to Coeur d’Alene but never to Sun Valley. And it’ll be a little winter break for us—not quite Mexico warm, but a little bit warmer considering it’s 5 degrees here today.”
Lane, who was named Alaska’s 2023 Hero of Hospitality-Chef of the Year in December 2023, hopes to tell a story with food while in Sun Valley.
“The restaurant business isn’t the easiest business to be in, but our philosophy is: They’re coming to our house and we want them to feel as welcome as if they were coming to our home for dinner. It doesn’t matter if you’re serving a Three Star Michelin meal or hamburgers. To be successful, you buy the best quality product you can and show it off. And you have to be hospitable and make people feel welcome—like you’re giving them a warm hug.”
PAELLA, DUNGENESS CRAB AND SCHNITZEL NIGHT COMING UP:
The Sun Valley Culinary Institute has a host of culinary classes coming up ranging from Pizza Night with Rico to a dinner with James Beard Award Winner and Iron Chef America Champion Vitaly Paley.
Sun Valley Culinary Institute will also be the beneficiary of Warm Springs Music Presents: Brats for Bratz featuring GoldFish. The evening from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at The Liberty Theater in Hailey will include two complimentary drinks, brats prepared by Harry’s Fine Foods and performances by Luke Ross and the electronic duo GoldFish, known for their Afro House sound.
Learn more at https://www.sunvalleyculinary.org/upcoming-classes-and-dinners.