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Inside Southern Utah’s Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile

A hotel for animal lovers, where creature comforts apply to humans and pets

David Graver

26 September 2024

The spectacular landscapes of southern Utah have served as the backdrop for thousands of films since the 1920s—from wild west classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to recent hits like High School Musical. In addition to the movie buffs, the town of Kanab draws adventure-seekers and nature-lovers who come to enjoy the many nearby national and state parks—and Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile is the perfect home base to explore it all.

With 40 well-appointed rooms and suites, it’s a surprisingly chic, mid-century modern oasis in the middle of the area’s distinct red canyons. It’s also the sister property to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest no-kill animal shelter. And, if you’re the kind of person who thinks the worst part of vacation is leaving your pet at home, this is the place for you. The Roadhouse is not just pet-friendly, it’s pet-centric.

Continental breakfast is included with your stay and includes fresh-baked goods like banana bread, but don’t think about asking for cow’s milk in your coffee—the Roadhouse is strictly vegan. With each room named after a Best Friends animal alumnus featuring stories and photos to pull on your heart strings, even non-vegans might find themselves converted after spending time among such devoted animal lovers. 

Spacious, wood-paneled rooms, featuring tiled bathrooms and smooth-sliding barn doors, are thoughtfully designed to prioritize pet needs almost as much as yours. Dogs and cats get their own sleeping nooks or beds so you don’t have to share. Outside on the beautifully-gardened grounds, hotel guests gather in communal spaces to trade stories and recommendations. There’s a dog park complete with a splash zone, self-serve pet-washing and laundry stations, café, and mercantile with plenty of cute merch.

If your own pet doesn’t do so well with travel, you can even borrow one: the Sanctuary provides furry friends for those who want to take them for a sleepover. It’s a unique chance to combine your vacation with a vacation for a shelter animal, and gives them some much-appreciated individual attention while you get a snuggle buddy.

Even if you don’t have time to volunteer, head up the road to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for a tour. The property boasts stunning views—if you can tear your eyes away from the up to 1,600 rescue horses, pigs, bunnies, birds, cats and dogs enjoying luxurious care on the property. Their vegan lunch buffet is famous—and free for hotel guests.

A little farther afield is the state’s oldest and most-visited national park, Zion. Or, go the dog-friendly route and explore Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park together. On the hottest days, book a guided hike at Peek-a-Boo Slot Canyon with Dreamland Tours. The vibrant red Navajo sandstone walls, towering 80-feet high, act as natural air conditioning—making this the perfect outdoor adventure when you need respite from the sun.

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Word of Mouth: Nantucket According to Cisco Brewers’ CEO, Jay Harman

A local legend offers eight spots for first-timers and returning visitors alike

David Graver

2 September 2024

Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand has been writing about Nantucket, where she lives, for decades. Her enormously popular beach reads about the exploits of “the misbehaving moneyed class” have not just sold millions of copies; they’ve also given rise to a cottage industry of tours. Fans now travel to the tony vacation destination eager to experience its distinctive brand of New England coastal charm for themselves. This summer, many had the chance to meet Hilderbrand in person at a book party she hosted at Cisco Brewers. The beloved combo brewery, winery and distillery is as famous as Hilderbrand is, at least locally. And its CEO, Jay Harman, is another unofficial ambassador for the island. He’s a bon vivant who seems to know everyone, everywhere he goes—but mostly, they come to him.

Cisco Brewers is so popular, in part, because it’s so many things. It’s a place to see live music, fuel up at food trucks, and sample some of the world’s best whiskey, which, yes, is made here—though the beer seems to get all the attention. In case that wasn’t enough on his plate, Harman recently branched out into vacation rentals with Cisco Surf Suites. The colorful apartment-style accommodations in the center of town are perfect for families or groups of friends.

Harman told COOL HUNTING it’s “the perfect property” to round out his portfolio because he wanted a convenient location “where guests can enjoy direct access to all that downtown Nantucket has to offer.” He offered up a jam-packed weekend itinerary ideal for first-timers and returning visitors alike.

Lemon Press

Everyone on Nantucket wants to start their day at Lemon Press, and for good reason, so make reservations accordingly. The cheerful and always-buzzing restaurant uses plenty of locally farmed produce in its inventive, Middle Eastern-influenced menu. This author’s party ordered orange blossom waffles for the table, but they were largely ignored in favor of a savory standout: the Persian breakfast pita stuffed with duck confit hash, feta cheese and date chutney. Dates were also a welcome addition to the delicious and dramatic-looking black “Blind Date” smoothie with bananas, tahini and activated charcoal. 

Nantucket Mermaids

Nantucket Mermaids began as a boat cleaning service decades ago; now, owner Leah Collins is the proud operator of Nantucket’s largest fleet of yacht charters. Friendly staff will help make sure your experience is luxurious and relaxing, whether you’re looking to island-hop or drink champagne while enjoying a glittering sunset. 

Millie’s 

If boats aren’t in the budget or bikes are simply more your speed (or you want to do it all), pick them up at Cook’s Cycles and take the scenic route to Madaket Beach. There, you’ll find Millie’s, an elevated beachside restaurant, where you can refuel with fried shrimp po’boys and lobster rolls. 

Cisco Brewers

Ask for the shortcut to take you from Millie’s to Cisco Brewers and feel smug about everyone else navigating traffic to get there. Cisco is where you want to be on a weekend evening, dancing to live music in the fresh air while nursing your choice of local bevvies. Sure, the Whale’s Tale Pale Ale has a cult following. But it’s a shame more people don’t know that Notch Whisky is distilled on premises, too—now that’s the really good stuff. 

Brotherhood of Thieves

Known colloquially as “Brotherhood,” the historic whaling bar and tavern dating back to the 1840s is a crowd-pleasing choice for dinner groups. There’s something for everyone on the menu, but don’t miss the creative sushi rolls highlighting local fish—or check out the pub-style menu at the beer garden outside. 

The Chicken Box

Whether you’re a resident or visitor, young or old, everyone ends the night at The Chicken Box in search of cheap(ish) drinks and a bumping dance floor. It might be a local band that has the crowd on its feet, or a big name passing through. Either way, it’s the perfect place to make sure you have stories to tell at brunch the next morning.

Galley Beach

Pretty tables are parked directly in the sand at Galley Beach under a sweeping muslin tent. It’s been a Nantucket landmark for a century and yet the menu is fresher than ever; we loved the clam chowder and a perfect lobster omelet with tarragon and creme fraiche. After brunch, guests need only move a few feet farther into the sand for a coveted perch under chic beach umbrellas. A dip in the Nantucket Sound is the best hangover cure—but if it fails you, servers are more than happy to supply you with a little hair of the dog. 

Cru

Cru bills itself as Nantucket’s premier oyster bar, and among stiff competition it may just be true. Getting a waterfront reservation here is a flex worthy of a special occasion. Local littlenecks are tiny and sweet, while the oyster selection is wide-ranging. We also loved the lobster fettuccine and New York strip steak with crunchy bronzed duck fat fries. By the time we were finished with dinner, a flock of fabulously dressed individuals had arrived to dance on the bar.

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Notes: On The Road With Rivian’s New Travel Kitchen

The auto brand’s culinary operations specialist, Alexandra Doody, on elevating the glamping and tailgating experiences

David Graver

22 August 2024

For adventurous spirits whose tastes are a little more elevated than camping in a tent, the concept of “glamping” has opened up a whole new way to enjoy the great outdoors. I like to think of myself as a low-ish maintenance type, but the truth is, this New Yorker wants creature comforts even when she’s out in nature. I can only endure so much oatmeal stirred in a coffee cup, especially when I’m hiking all day. So when I got wind of Rivian’s new Travel Kitchen accessory, which is designed to enable the preparation of gourmet meals wherever your vehicle takes you, I couldn’t wait to see how it could enhance my summer vacation.

“My favorite part about the travel kitchen is simply that it can go wherever,” Rivian’s culinary operations specialist, Alexandra Doody, tells me. “As long as you have a 120 volt outlet, you’re golden.” Doody had a hand in developing the Travel Kitchen, a cooktop that features two induction burners and can fit on any tabletop surface, although it’s of course optimized for Rivian’s own tailgates. “I think it’s a wonderful accessory for people to still be a part of the Rivian brand even if they don’t have a Rivian,” she continues. Made of eco-friendly materials, “it’s a really nice way to be able to cook sustainably and safely. It’s great for sporting events, or grilling at the park without the need for coal and firewood. It makes it easy to bring people together over meals pretty much anywhere.”

I was eager to put it to the test out in the wild, but I wanted to minimize my margin for error. I headed to the gorgeous Under Canvas glamping outpost near Acadia National Park, which has a full-service restaurant on site—just in case the Travel Kitchen failed me. It folded up easily in a carrying case like a veritable Mary Poppins bag of handy extras, including dimmable string lights and retractable poles for nighttime cooking, a cutting board and drawers and inserts to help keep utensils organized.

I had Doody to thank for that thoughtful touch. When the Travel Kitchen was in early stages of development, she was asked to use it in a parking lot and weigh in on the design. “In any regular kitchen you have all your tools and extra things that you don’t have when you’re on the road in the middle of nowhere,” she says. “So I was like, maybe we should have some holders so that when we fold this up people can store their knives, silverware, can openers and corkscrews. I got to feel it out and give the engineers the input of the little things that are really, really necessary when it comes to this portable kitchen.” The end result is impressively streamlined and fits in any trunk. I personally enjoyed the option to store it in the Rivian’s “frunk,” or front trunk, a convenient storage space.

It was almost time to watch the sun set over the Maine coastline by the time I was ready to make my first meal. Doody shared a delicious one-bowl recipe for zucchini corn fritters with avocado chipotle sauce—which we’ve included down below. “It is something that’s a little more elevated than your regular camping dish,” she says. “I try to create recipes that are approachable and not too much prep but are surprising to have in an outdoor or remote area where you just don’t expect something like that.” Indeed, not many campers cobbling together meals out of trail mix and granola bars are used to feasting on hot veggie fritters outside their tent. The Travel Kitchen is a game-changer for us glampers.

Over the course of my trip, I found myself reaching for it often. I picked up a grilled cheese to go for a hike on Cadillac Mountain, but by the time I reached the summit, the sandwich had gone a bit soggy and I only ate half. Returning to Under Canvas, I pulled out the Travel Kitchen and reheated it in the pan, grateful to enjoy it in all its gooey, golden splendor. Leftover fries got the same treatment, crisping back up beautifully on the cooktop. I found the setup as easy as promised, and appreciated features like the prep space that’s designed to remain level and stable. Plus, not needing propane or an open flame to make my meals reduced carbon emissions and minimized the risk of a cooking fire.

My efforts had been rewarding and satisfying. But for my last meal of the trip, it was time to heed the siren call of a lobster roll. I packed up the Travel Kitchen once more and headed to the bustling restaurant I’d been doing my best to ignore in the main gathering area of the Under Canvas campus. My lobster roll became a complete meal with an appetizer of local mussels in a chorizo broth that my lovely server brought me and cleared away while I didn’t lift a finger except, you know, to put food in my mouth. 

The Travel Kitchen is available now for $1,400. Look out for Rivian’s expanding Adventure Gear assortment coming soon.

Alexandra Doody’s Zucchini Corn Fritters with Avocado Chipotle Sauce

Fritter
4 large eggs
4 cups shredded zucchini-squeeze water out in cheese cloth
3/4 cup yellow onion-shaved thinly
4 cups corn kernels
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
4 tsp salt
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose flour (have additional on the side in case needed)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup avocado, mashed
2 tsp chipotle powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp lime juice
1 bunch Cilantro, finely chopped
Lime zest
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, add the egg and beat them until combined. Add the shredded zucchini, onion, and sweet corn, and mix to combine all the ingredients. Add the garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, flour, salt, baking powder, and Parmesan cheese. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet to form a wet batter.

Heat 3 tbsp of avocado oil over medium heat in a skillet. Once the oil is hot, scoop 1-ounce (or 2 tbsp) dollops of batter into the skillet. Press the batter out into roughly 3-inch round fritters, leaving at least 1-inch between each fritter. Pan fry the fritters, flipping once until they are golden brown on both sides, 3-4 minutes per side.

Once the fritters are finished, place them on a serving platter and sprinkle with a little bit more salt.

For the chipotle sauce:

Combine the mayonnaise, avocado, chipotle powder, dried oregano, salt, cilantro, minced garlic, and lime juice. Whisk until smooth and serve with fritters.

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Word of Mouth: Cocktails in Cayman

Cocktail culture is getting more serious on Grand Cayman thanks to bartenders aiming to put it on the map as a global destination for food and drink

David Graver

12 January 2024

Grand Cayman is known as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, but it has yet to land a bar on the World’s 50 Best list—for now. Against a postcard-perfect backdrop of beaches and palm trees, talented bartenders across the island are working hard to change that. Chief among them is Jim Wrigley at the extraordinary Library by the Sea, who puts a tricked-out lab to work along with local artists to concoct some truly fantastical drinks. That said, all of the following destinations are mixing up creative cocktails worth seeking out—and maybe even planning a trip around. 

Library by the Sea

Gorgeously built in the Kimpton Seafire’s former library and with touches of local history still present throughout, Library by the Sea has kept its bookish spirit even as it has transformed into a space for serious cocktails. Wrigley and his team draw inspiration from the rare and first-edition books lining the walls; they aren’t precious about letting guests pluck them off the shelf either. Like any great bartender, Wrigley is gregarious and warm and full of great stories. “We allow our imaginations to run wild and are limited only by our creativity,” he says. And he is not exaggerating: out back, he runs an industry-leading lab that offers complete control of every ingredient, from a rotary vaporizer to a 3D printer. There’s a zero-waste policy that helps explain a fermented carrot wine bubbling away in that rotavap for a future Benjamin Bunny-inspired cocktail to complement a Beatrix Potter book in the library. 

The team’s passion seems to come particularly alive for children’s books; for a new drink inspired by The Little Prince, Wrigley says, “we were like little kids creating these spellbinding moments of nostalgia.” He hired local ceramicist Aimee Randolph to create hand-molded asteroids as the drinking vessel, and each comes topped with a figurine of le petit prince himself, made from recycled plastic pulled from the ocean. 

It’s not Randolph’s first project for Wrigley; she also makes the ceramic oyster shells glazed with mother of pearl for the bar’s instantly iconic “From Cayman, with Love” cocktail. Ian Fleming set many of his stories in the Caribbean and it was apparently a Caymanian fisherman who taught James Bond how to scuba dive, a detail Wrigley couldn’t resist running away with. Bond himself would surely approve of the result: a subtly tropical twist on a martini made with local sugarcane spirit infused with island botanicals, sea-mineral vermouth and a homemade fruit cordial. “It wouldn’t be an oyster without a pearl,” Wrigley says, delicately placing a pearl onion shimmering with agar inside the shell. 

Door No. 4

The chic art deco cocktail bar Door No. 4 would be at home in New York, Paris or London. All the better, then, that it’s on Grand Cayman, where former Diageo ambassador Simon Crompton now leads a popular “Cocktails & Canapés” class where you can learn a little something while you shake, stir and pour. The platonic ideal of a cucumber margarita is paired with local snapper aguachile and plantain chips, while an espresso martini has never tasted more delicious than it does served with a nanaimo bar. 

The Brasserie

Vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs from the adjacent garden show up all over the food and drink menus at the bustling restaurant and bar, The Brasserie. An expert botanist tends to her green space lovingly; turns out, the chef is her husband. The white guava punch, made with Hennessy Pure White, is garnished with florals and bilimbi fruits, while the Cayman Fashioned extracts oil from banana skins and coconut for a velvety mouthfeel. 

Cayman Cabana

Cayman Cabana is a party on the water where the good vibes are always, well, vibing. A weekly farm to table dinner with ocean views at communal tables overflowing with platters of fresh fish and conch fritters might just be the best deal in town. The owner, Luigi Moxam, is a local legend. Cocktails made with the local Seven Fathoms rum keep the party going long after sunset as strangers become friends over island punch. 

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Chef Daniela Soto-Innes Conducts the Culinary Concert of a Lifetime

The beloved restaurateur prepares an outdoor feast in honor of the new Añejo Cristalino Organico from Jose Cuervo’s Reserva de la Familia

David Graver

23 November 2023

In a field of agave plants stretching as far as the eye could see, lightning frosted the spiky tips of the succulents as thunder boomed overhead. Pelting rain drove in sideways under the roof of a makeshift restaurant where one of the best chefs in the world was getting soaked. Daniela Soto-Innes had prepared an outdoor feast in honor of the new Añejo Cristalino Organico from Jose Cuervo’s Reserva de la Familia line. She and her team had been working on the menu for days. There was to be squash blossom and lobster aguachile, lamb belly barbacoa and quince pot de crème to finish. Her guests were supposed to be drowning in tequila, not rainwater. 

The sudden storm brought drama and a change of plans. Soto-Innes, who has been called “the most vivacious woman in the world,” was cheerful as ever; every cook must be able to roll with the punches, but not just anyone can do it with such good-natured warmth. Her plating station was getting the worst of the downpour, so she abandoned her fine-dining vision and ran over to the communal table in the center of the gazebo bearing pots and pans straight from the stove. “It’s family style now, guys!” she laughed. “Help each other, serve yourselves!” Lubricated with tequila, increasingly damp diners were happy to bump elbows and load up each other’s plates in the flickering light. Sparkling cocktails made with the Añejo Cristalino Organico enhanced with harvest quince, lemon and orange bitters were refilled as fast as they were drunk. The mood was festive, convivial. By the time dessert was served, laughter was ringing out louder than the thunder.

Soto-Innes has moved back to her home country after extraordinary success in the US. Running NYC’s modern Mexican restaurants Cosme and Atla, she became a James Beard Award-winner at just 25, and the youngest woman ever to be crowned the world’s best female chef. But where to go after making culinary history at such a young age? Offers came pouring in for her to open restaurants in different cities. But a louder voice was calling her home. 

“I wanted to feel my roots. And I wanted to see what it was like to grow a seed in Mexico,” she says. “Everyone that I’ve encountered here has so much love for their story and their culture. I feel like a little kid in a candy store again, you know? And I wake up feeling extremely excited about what’s next.”

Soto-Innes cleared time to talk to Cool Hunting about the inspiration for her upcoming restaurant Rubra in the surf town of Punta Mita, how to drink her favorite spirit and the partnership with Reserva de la Familia that made her burst out into song.

Congratulations on Rubra! Do you have an opening date yet?

If everything goes well, we’re really pushing to open at the end of this year. 

What brought you to back to Mexico after NYC? 

Do you know when you have a feeling in your gut or in your heart, about what you want your next step to be? Even if you’re like, “I have so many things going on and I have the perfect job and if I stop this, it might not make sense, but I really wanna do this.” I feel like it happens to everyone. And sometimes we’re scared of starting over. But after the pandemic, I just felt it in my heart. Something was missing about learning more about my culture and myself. I wanted to come back to my roots and continue to be a student. 

For the world’s best female chef to say, “I want to be a student,” that’s really interesting.

My sisters and I grew up playing sports and we were always so competitive, but also we knew what a team was, and it was about starting over, practice and doing the best that you could do. In most sports you’re never the best—it’s your team. And you celebrate together, but you cannot just settle. I’m still young and I said, “I’m just going to go for it.” A lot of opportunities came my way, but I needed to slow down a little bit. My dream growing up was, one day I’ll work in New York for a really amazing chef.

And then you worked in New York and you were the amazing chef. 

I never thought that would happen, and I never thought it would happen so soon, to me. I always said, “it will happen to someone that is close to me and I will make sure that I’m there to support them.” And then it just happened. We were opening all these new restaurants, but there reached a point when I said, what else is for me to discover? 

Seems like you’re doing plenty of discovery now. 

When you open your own restaurants, for a chef, the easiest thing to do is the cooking. The hardest thing is, how does everything work together? The architecture, what is your kitchen going to look like, how is the space going to feel? I always have New York in my heart, but in Mexico, everything works differently. It’s a new chapter in our lives because I’ve worked with the same team for almost 10 years and they’re all here now. It’s the first time that I’ve lived on the coast in Mexico. It’s amazing, waking up with palm trees every day.

What are you noticing about the food and drinking culture here as compared to what you saw in New York? 

The culture is completely different. What I love about New York is the speed. Everyone is always like, “let’s go, let’s go.” Here, everything is a lot calmer, less rushed. There’s more music. Lots of music. Everybody says cook with the soul. But Mexican food is like a recital for me.

You seem so energized by it. 

I have so much energy. Mexican food is about the soul of the cook and the environment that they’re in. The storyline of the fields, the farmers, the agriculture, aligned with the sounds and the colors. So everything is like poetry. The chiles, the way they smell, the way they feel. We have so much variety of different cultures and cuisines in Mexico. We have all kinds of weather; snow, tropics, desert, mountain ranges. You can have a journey. You can feel like you are in Switzerland and still be in Mexico. If you go to Oaxaca, there are seven moles. If you go to Vera Cruz, you have the most amazing seafood, and the best vanilla that I’ve ever had. If you go to Tabasco, if you go to Chiapas, you’ll have little tiny tortillas that are so perfect, and if you go to the north, you’ll have these huge flour tortillas that make a beautiful dance. Sometimes Mexican food in the United States might just be red rice with mole and chicken in it. 

And similarly with tequila, I think some people have one idea of what it is or what it’s for. 

People think tequila’s a cheap drink for partying. No, it takes so long for the agave to grow. You can take a shot but it is not for shots. There’s art and complexity behind every bottle. For me, tequila is for sipping. In Spanish we call the sips abecitos, little kisses. 

That’s lovely! Have you tried the new expression?

It’s amazing. I tell everybody that it is like the Star Wars movie. When I saw the bottle, I felt… [singing the Star Wars theme song]

The dramatic music!

Yes, exactly, It’s so elegant and smooth. I think it’s extremely sexy and complex and very easy to drink. 

How did the partnership with Reserva de la Familia come about? 

I’ve been a huge fan of Reserva for a while. And my team has as well. And one day I got like 15 calls and I said, “what’s going on? Is everybody okay?” And they’re just like “Oh my God, we got the Reserva deal!” Everybody was so excited. It’s been a very lovely time. It feels already like a family, everyone is so kind and knowledgeable. I’m learning so much. 

Interview lightly edited for clarity

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Interview: Chef Omar Collazo on Omni Amelia Island Resort’s “Fish to Fork” Festival

An idyllic destination with a culinary competition between star chefs from around the country

David Graver

5 June 2023

“This is the easy part,” said Omar Collazo as his eyes scanned the ocean on an early-morning fishing trip. The 42 year-old executive chef at Omni Amelia Island Resort, where he oversees no fewer than 10 dining locations at the idyllic Florida destination, was smack in the middle of the annual “Fish to Fork” culinary weekend, which features three days of lavish meals and entertainment capped off with a competition between star chefs from around the country. That May morning, each chef was on a different chartered boat, racing to reel in their catch of the day to use in the final night’s cook-off.

As the big man on campus, Collazo was also shouldering the weight of every meal throughout the festival. He’d made dinner for 400 the night before, and had a full day of events ahead of him. But for now, there was just one task at hand. The boat radar indicated he’d found the perfect spot for hauling up some bait, and it wasn’t long before he had bigger proverbial fish to fry. The fishing lines started dancing. The first big catch was a black tip shark, followed not long after by a bonnet head shark. Collazo gutted them right there on the floor of the boat.

Now all he had to do was use the sharks in some kind of dish that would convince voters to choose him over other competitors—including Ben Norton, executive chef at Husk in Nashville; Carlos Raba, co-owner and chef at Clavel in Baltimore; Jes Tantalo, executive chef at Redlight Redlight in Orlando; Katsuji Tanabe, owner and executive chef at a’Verde in Cary, North Carolina; and Ricky Moore, founder and owner of the Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham. This year was Collazo’s first time competing himself, while also overseeing the event.

On the final night, the chefs set up booths on the hotel grounds where they’d prepared the fish from their respective boating trips and paired cocktails to boot. Brightly-attired guests in their Florida finest mixed and mingled, sampling each dish and voting for their favorites live. Collazo had gone the handroll route with his shark (which tastes much like swordfish), serving his spin on sushi atop a vibrant green pool of spicy curry in tinned fish containers. Suffice it to say, Collazo won the competition—and then carved out time to share more of his story with COOL HUNTING.

What brought you to Omni Amelia Island?

I’ve been basically cooking in kitchens since I was 16. I started as a dishwasher. I studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando. After school I bounced around a bit. A chef friend of mine that worked here always talked about how cool it was, how they did a bunch of chef kitchen dinners and they were always kind of on top of the trends. I remember visiting one time and how massive the property was and this huge talented chef team. And also seeing the Sprouting Project [part of the property that includes a state-of-the-art aquaponic greenhouse, expansive organic garden, large collection of beehives, chicken coop and barrel room where the culinary team hosts monthly sustainable dinners], which kind of started out of nothing. Seeing that investment side into food and beverage, I was like, this place is going to do things.

Is that pretty rare in this industry, at this scale?

It is, yeah. I mean, we’re business people too so we do have to be diligent about how we spend and how we use labor to make sure things are profitable, but we don’t talk about the bottom line as much. It’s a lot about guest experiences and how everything falls in place. It’s a very guest-forward kind of property.

Is that different from your previous restaurant jobs?

It’s one of the reasons I left the previous job for this one. I was running a seafood restaurant. Private owners can make decisions that don’t make sense for chefs, like wanting to switch from fresh to frozen fish and things like that. That’s when I knew it was my time to keep moving because that’s not something a chef is going to want to do. Going from there and knowing the quality that this hotel buys—like, all the shrimp on the entire property is fresh. And that’s more expensive, but it doesn’t matter because we catch shrimp right outside in these waters. So being able to utilize local product and actually support local shrimpers, that’s a big part of Omni.

What would you say is the goal of “Fish to Fork” and how has it changed over the years?

A big part of it is showcasing what our team can do, from setups to service and coming up with some cool ideas and then seeing them through.

Are you thinking in terms of locals, tourists or other chefs?

A little bit of everything. These chefs that came through, they’ve probably never really heard of us, but when they see the tools that we have and the product that we use, it’s kind of like, “Wow.”

What is the best part of a destination culinary festival from a chef’s perspective?

We’re in the kitchen so much that we don’t really get to venture off and meet other chefs. Doing things like this is a great opportunity to actually meet another chef and get to know who they really are. It’s not like you’re saying hello or doing a table touch. It’s on a more personal level and we don’t get many opportunities like that because we’re always in the kitchen.

Is there any crazy thing you’ve pulled off that really stands out?

I have a boss that lets you get out there a little bit and he supports things whether you’re gonna fail or do really well. I’m very cautious when I jump into things, though. One of the amenities on the second night of the festival was actually beer that we brewed here on property. It took us about three months of trial and error figuring out what works. We pick projects like that—like, let’s ferment things. Let’s make beer. We do our Sprouting Project dinners and those are times where we’re not following recipes, we’re making things that we’ve never made before and it kind of gets us out of the day in, day out grind of running a restaurant. And we’re able to pull chefs from different outlets and the cooks that are excelling and deserve a little break. We’ll basically pull people together and just kind of create something new. We do that monthly.

I think the thing that surprises us most is it sounds like it’s a very nimble, flexible environment, which you just don’t really think of when you think of a resort chain.

We definitely take following recipes and creating standards very seriously on property, but when it comes to things that are seasonal and changing, we’re really open-minded about it.

Is there a menu favorite that’s not seasonal or connected to “Fish to Fork” that is a fan favorite that will never leave the menu there?

There’s one dish at the Veranda restaurant, the crab-stuffed grouper. It’s basically like crab on top of grouper that has Parmesan cheese that kind of melts on the fish. It’s funny, I think every chef has tried to pull that away and guests just don’t accept. They’re not having it! It’s been on that menu for like 30 years. We jokingly call it the goopy grouper. You’re not going to change the goopy grouper.

How are you feeling after winning the competition?

This whole event was a really big challenge, but man, it was easily the coolest thing I’ve ever done.

Hero image courtesy of Deremer Studios Jacksonville Commercial Photography