Imagine a flash mob that serves food. Really spectacular food. Now you’re thinking like chef Gavin Baker, the visionary behind the guerrilla restaurant called Mist:Salt Lake. (Are you also wondering about a possible “Gorillas in the Mist” reference?)
We’ve never met chef Baker, but we’re guessing he has some pretty good stories to tell at the dinner table. According to his biography, in his 38 years, he’s “served four years in the Marine Corps; hiked from London to Scotland in the dead of winter; tricked the U.S. government into a research visa to Cuba; taught villagers in the Himalayas how to make pizza; worked as a chef for an illegal spear-fishing yoga commune off the coast of Thailand; traveled the entire coastline of India one night bus at a time; trained a staff of non-English speaking Indonesians how to run a sustainable kitchen on an island not far from Papua, New Guinea; cooked at the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Cup in Germany and five Masters golf tournaments; and was executive chef for Justin Timberlake’s restaurant on the Sunset Strip.” Oh yes, he’s also cooked with legendary Jean-Jacques Rachou in New York, and was a sous chef at The Fat Duck, 2005′s “Best Restaurant in the World.”
But back to his latest project, Mist:Salt Lake. This “guerrilla restaurant” will be open for just four weeks, from January 19, 2012 – February 19, 2012, to coincide with the Sundance Film Festival.
Here’s how it works: You buy a ticket ($150 per person, plus tax and 18% gratuity), choosing one of two time slots available each night. You arrive in your best “Tokyo After Midnight” attire (chef Baker isn’t sure what this means either; smart casual is close enough) and settle in for a 3.5- to 4.5-hour, 15-course meal worthy of Michelin stars. Wine is not included, but you are welcome to pop your own bottle without paying a corkage fee.
On Monday nights, a guest chef (including Chef Colton Soelburg of Communal; Chef Viet Pham of Forage; and Chef Ryan Lowder of Copper Onion and Plum Alley) will join Baker in the kitchen and create his own dish, which will remain on the menu all week until it’s replaced by the next guest chef’s creation.
Baker’s guerrilla concept is no gimmick. The big-picture idea is to connect people from different regions to their indigenous foods, and he painstakingly plans each menu, from ingredient selection to recipe research, cookery and technique to final presentation.
Ultimately, Baker hopes that by targeting locations with overlooked or undiscovered food traditions, then researching, reinterpreting and showcasing those indigenous foods and customs, he may be able to share sustainable solutions to the global food crisis.
To learn more about The Mist Project and Mist:Salt Lake, click here. To purchase tickets, click here.
