Life of a Saltine

My First Trip with Bradford Heap to Teton Waters Ranch
~ Jaeson Thieme, General Manager, SALT

Waking at 5:30 in the morning on Monday isn’t a usual part of my routine.  But today I had good reason to do so.  I was going to be traveling in a private plane chartered by Teton Waters Ranch to tour their facilities, and learn more about the sustainable way our product is raised at SALT and Colterra.

Upon arriving in Idaho we were chauffeured off to the ranch and greeted by Ranch owner Jeff Russell, Ranch Manager Dusty, and Pasture Manager Lee. I am originally from Wisconsin and I am use to seeing black and white dairy cows huddled together in a muddy pasture in a relatively small place.  At Teton Waters, they first showed us a map of their land… 5000 acres is a very large map and I was a bit surprised to see brown cows and no mud.  We were all really excited to start the first part of our trip and get into the trucks to tour the land. 

Beautiful can’t even begin to describe the ranch.  I was reminded of the poor condition of feedlot cows in Wisconsin, and felt very sorry for them suddenly… they could be so much happier and healthier at Teton Waters Ranch. I felt so proud to be a part of the farm to table community in Boulder that honors and supports this way of life.  After seeing some of the great views we stopped back at headquarters to have lunch… Teton Waters’ grass fed beef burgers just like the Tom’s Tavern burger at SALT!!  Amazing!  Totally hit the spot.  And we can’t forget Jeff’s wonderful lamb stew!!!  Next, was getting on the horses to ride around!

I think we were all a little uneasy at first about getting on horses. I know for myself and Chef Alex it had been nearly 20 years since we have been on a horse. But, once we settled in, we were able to get a sense of what it is really like to be on the open range. Tiagan, Lee, and Dusty, the ranch hands, came with us and gave us a vivid description of what a feedlot cow farm was. He told us that he and six other hands would spend everyday just picking sick cows out of the herd. At Teton Ranch, his job was a bit more dynamic involving herding the cows to different grass plots to keep them healthy. Lee taught us about the native grass program, and how it affects the sustainability of the ground and makes the cows happy and fat. You could really feel a great sense of pride from Dusty when he spoke about the cows… especially during the winter months.  During the winter, most feedlot farms keep the cattle “green” which is essentially to provide them with just enough food to survive.  Teton Ranch believes in feeding their cows so they actually gain weight over the winter. 

We, at SALT and Colterra, want to say thank you to Teton Waters Ranch for allowing us to visit their amazing farm.  We learned why pasture (truly free roaming happy cows) fed on native grass, and when raised properly can be an amazingly healthy meal while supporting life the way nature intended! I never felt better about eating steak!

At Bradford Heap Restaurants, we believe in humane animal husbandry and the Farm to Fork movement. Farm to Fork ensures the shortest distance from farm to table. It doesn’t have to be sprayed with chemicals to protect it for the long haul to the restaurant, and it just plain tastes good. Our beef is raised in pastures and never goes to feed lots. It contains the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as Wild Alaskan Salmon. We support Teton Waters Ranch, Aspen Moon Farm, Jacob Springs Farm, Full Circle Farm, Oxford Farm, Long Family Farm, Monroe Farm, Munson Farm, First Fruits and Niwot Hops. 

Our former employee Megan sends us a Postcard from New Zealand! We all miss ya dear! Have fun out there! 

* * * * *

Hi there!
I just wanted to pop in and say hello from down under! I am currently
located in Hamilton, New Zealand, on the west coast of the North
island.  It’s a quaint, rural town slash city (barely though, they
maybe have 5 “skyrises” and a main strip of town that is mainly bars
and restaurants). Hamilton is known as the “city of the future”, but I
have yet to find out why exactly why it is called that…maybe i’ll
find out in the future? But what it does have going for it is some
pretty cool restaurants and bars (absolutely NOTHING like Salt, but
still cool to party and eat at).  So far i’ve traveled around the north
island—Rotorura (did some cool white water rafting), Auckland
(sailed!), Wellington, Raglan (go tmy tan on at the beach!), and lots
of other places.  It’s kind of funny slash ironic, I came here because
I wanted to see and explore the outdoors but sometimes when I look at
the scenery I secretly think to myself, “hmm…this looks somewhat like
Colorado or California.”  I’m not saying at all that this place isn’t
beautiful, cause everyday I am taken away by its beauty, but in some
respects it has open my eyes to a new beauty.  The beauty of my own
home.  I have realized that I live in one of the most beautiful places
on Earth!!  People say it all the time, but I think that by being able
to travel to a place half way around the world, I am able to appreciate
the beauty of Boulder on my own.

There is so much to do it’s kind of overwhelming to try and see
everything. In a couple weeks i’m going to the south island to do some
exploring, which should be really fun and lots of pictures.

I miss everyone at Salt!!!! You guys were a big family to me in Boulder
and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to work with you all! I
can’t wait to come back and share my stories with you! Being here has
made me appreciate the uniqueness of Salt and what we do there.  Here
in New Zealnd sustainability is a concern, but not to the extent where
the restaurants and public service sectors are thinking locally and
really making an effort to try and make a difference.  The restaurants
here do use less processed meat products, but not because they
necessarily want to be healthier or more environmentally sound, rather
because they have such a smaller population to feed.  Anyways, enough
of the “green” rant, all in all being here has been an AWESOME
opportunity and has really made me appreciate my home—BOULDER! I miss
all you guys and can’t wait to see you soon!  I’ll be back July 3rd,
just in time for the holiday!

Later for now!

Megan

After graduating from Parsons with high hopes of landing an architectural job in my dream city of Boulder… and moving here without having ever been and not knowing a soul… I landed at SALT. Well, that wasn’t the plan. But doesn’t that random unforeseen point “B” to your point “A” make it all so exciting?

My Dad has a habit of referring to events only a week ago by asking, “Doesn’t it feel like forever ago that (such and such) happened?” Well, maybe. Eh, not really. But I will say about six months at SALT and, no matter how fast or slow it’s gone, it feels… right. I’m so thankful for having landed here, with you! You great salty crew you! You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge, dedication and positive attitude. No, really. I love my little work family! …And all the random memories we highlight with our humor each and every day:

- Baking and everyone giving Julie credit.

- “KEVIN! Randy from ‘el-taco’ on line one!” 

- Conor my jerzie boyie. - “I’m from Staten Island!”

- Evan and his bowing of the head with hands in prayer… and agreeing from across the room with a quick little nod of the head. How are you reading my mind?

- “Yeah lets get old Jamo’s section full, huh boo?” The only waiter I don’t worry to triple seat.

- Overusing the word “ow” because all the boys harass me. I’m back in 3^rd grade. 

- Beth, Mike, Annie, and Lauren’s impressions of their server styles. Seriously hilarious.

- My visits at the host stand from the servers and backwaiters throughout the shift J Our sporadic one minute convos keep me going!

- Me freaking out when Olivia asked me to drop a dessert. “OMG what do I do?! Position one? Where?!”

- “Little Evan”… is ok I’m “Little Dana.” Better yet, I’m “Ann.” Why don’t I get excited when someone tells me their name is Dana? Have I lost my identity? Ann? Dana? Huh?

- Demanding the servers empty their pockets of those tiny little colored pencils. Who is taking themmmmm???

- Sawyer, Taylor, and Hadley replying with a sweet “ma’am.” Definitely not in Jersey anymore.

- Knowing the servers by their color on the computer. Olivia will always remind me of the color red. Jeff, white. Ian, black. Annie, pink. Beth, lavender. Ania, light blue. Shaun, yellow… aw, we’re like a little rainbow!

- Calling down to the office from the host phone to ask if Micah is in, only to hear in reply (insert bad impression of lady’s voice here), “No he’s not!” Nice feminine side kitchen crew. Alex was that you?  

Laughing at the many nuances throughout the day makes me love working with you all. And even with all the humor working at SALT has taught me a great deal of patience, multitasking skills and professionalism. I am so proud to be a part of the team. We certainly have a great bunch of quality people here. Sharing in the success of a new and well-respected restaurant with solid principles and some seriously talented chefs is an honor. I’m sincerely happy to come to work everyday (well, except that one time it was raining). (Oh and that day I foresee me wiping out jogging up and down the stairs). Thanks for the laugh lines!                  - Much love, Little D.

Working hard has never been so easy.  Hands down, SALT has been the best job I’ve ever worked at.  As a professional in the food industry, I have already progressed a long way within the one year I have been working in the Pearl St. corner restaurant. I joined the SALT team as a back-waiter, full of confidence from my training at the Flagstaff House.  It wasn’t hard to instantly love the fine dining and homely aspect SALT has to offer. I also enjoy how it is up to the staff to turn SALT into the to-be place in the foodiest town in America.  I was actually able to throw in suggestions of how to help smooth over the small kinks the new restaurant faced within the back-waiting position.  Only a few months after I joined SALT, my hard work landed me my first server position.

            Since I am such a young server, I heavily relied on the other senior servers who all have incredible credentials. SALT has molded a deep family attitude within the staff, so I have no problem learning tricks of the trade from the servers and managers.  Now everyday I feel more and more comfortable with making sure our guests have the time of their lives and want to come back.  At SALT, we strive for excellence and are always looking to improve.  Therefore, I took it upon myself to continue to improve as well.  In order to be the best server I can be, I decided to observe one of our best servers.  Mike Joyce dazzles his guests; a lot of this has to do with his knowledge of wine.  He knows so much, because he studied hard to earn his introductory sommelier certification.  I had zero wine knowledge before entering SALT, so it seemed far-fetched for me to be like Mike.  However, thanks to our passionate Beverage Director Evan Faber, obtaining a sommelier certification seemed manageable. 

Evan has been teaching the SALT servers about wine and cocktails in weekly classes.  Whether it is a blind tasting, printed study guide, or even field trip to a local brewery, his passion has rubbed onto all of us.  This made me really understand that food is only half the fun of dining. The right beverage can make the food even better and the food can also improve the beverage.  It is a win-win for everybody.  Eventually, I decided it was time to work with Evan to study for my own sommelier certification.  Yes, I studied my butt off, but I can now tell you that learning about wine is fun!  Now the senior servers I look up to are asking me for detailed wine information. It’s pretty cool.