More than a profession

For chef Sara Harvey, making good meals is more than a profession - it's an ethos, a way to help improve her corner of the world by practicing her values and doing something pleasing for other people.

Back after a three-year hiatus, Harvey has worked at Alderbrook Resort & Spa for two years this go-around, starting as the chef and retail manager of the Union City Market, the resort's sister property, before stepping into the Alderbrook's executive chef role, overseeing the menus and food production at all of its outlets last spring.

Harvey's commitment to homegrown cuisine animates her work for the Alderbrook as much as it has during the past six years of her co-ownership of the Black Shield Oyster Co. in Brinnon.

Prior to her role in management for the resort, she spent two years as the culinary director and saloon manager for the Hama Hama Oyster Co. from 2019-21, working directly with their farming team - about as close to the source as you can get - to develop dishes and to shift to outdoor dining when the pandemic shut down most restaurants.

Harvey's professional hospitality career extends to 2005, starting with a succession of prep cook and barista gigs, and evolving into a cooking career, ranging from San Diego to Seattle.

She trained with "farm-to-table master" Brendan McGill at two gigs, and worked with the Hitchcock Restaurant Group on Bainbridge Island, and at restaurants in Seattle, including Toulouse on Queen Anne, RockCreek in Fremont and Luc in Madison Valley.

Like many chefs, her interest in cooking began at home, spending summers with her homemaker grandmother in the kitchen.

Harvey gave four-year college a go, twice, but she found that rather than encouraging students to ask questions, "it rewarded you for asking the right ones."

Meanwhile, Harvey worked in a coffee shop, and she was struck by how much she enjoyed serving food and drinks, and interacting with customers.

A switch to culinary school seemed like a natural fit - "My homework is cooking? Awesome!" - and Harvey graduated at the top of her class. She said she's grateful to have had the opportunity to make such a choice, which is why she's supported broader culinary educational opportunities ever since, from formalized internships to informal lessons on cooking that she's provided to coworkers outside of the kitchen staff.

Harvey has also sought to break down other barriers in food service, noting that it's a "diverse and minority-driven" industry, with a higher percentage of women than many professions, and yet, all too often, she's seen restaurants "dominated by this angry, bullying white dude energy," which she's sought to counter in her kitchens with mutual coaching and a spirit of cooperation.

"Very few of us actually get better, as either humans or teammates, by being beaten down and yelled at," Harvey said.

Harvey's ethics have factored strongly into her cooking career and practices, even when earnest examinations of her beliefs have led her to challenge her assumptions.

"I grew up in San Diego, with a bunch of hippies and feminists, so I went from vegetarian to vegan in my teens," Harvey said. "But from a food sourcing standpoint, I came to realize that being vegan was privileged rather than ethical."

Harvey has since come to embrace supporting sustainable local produce, and small farms providing high-quality meats, rather than "buying food from halfway around the world," which has inspired her and her partner's work as part of the Black Shield Oyster Co. for the past half-dozen years.

When she's not harvesting her own oysters off the beach, Harvey has favored wood-fired outdoor grilling over decorative table arrangements, although she added that the Alderbrook features impeccable presentation as well.

"At the Alderbrook, we get everyone from down-home rednecks to folks who arrive by seaplane," Harvey said. "It's all about getting to the root of a satisfying meal; honest cooking, with good ingredients, that develops positive relationships with your guests. I love to get people involved in that process, and I don't believe that privilege should be a determinant in it, as it all too often is. I want to leave people with an experience that feels bigger than just a dinner."

Harvey described her style of cuisine as "rustic, but not low-brow." She takes advantage of more traditional techniques, such as leaving cuts of meat on the bone, and using existing animal fats rather than turning to processed byproducts.

"The Alderbrook is a lodge," Harvey said. "We want our guests to feel as close to the source as possible. We try to forage for ingredients like mushrooms and berries whenever possible, and we use as much of the whole fish as we can, right down to cooking the collagen out of its bones."

For those interested in improving their cooking skills and who don't have the resources to attend culinary school or receive tutoring from professional chefs, Harvey recommends cooking meals, whether as a volunteer at a food bank or by asking whether you can help out in the kitchen the next time you visit friends or family for dinner.

"Food banks wind up with all sorts of random ingredients," Harvey said. "One time, we had a batch of jackfruit, and people were asking, 'What the heck is jackfruit?' So we did our best to cook up a family meal with it, to see if it can be done. There's nothing wrong with using YouTube university to supplement your culinary education, but cooking often requires all five senses to learn, including taste, touch and smell. I can tell when my clams are popping in the pan, just by listening."

Harvey also warned aspiring but impatient chefs that "practice makes competency, not perfection, because nobody is perfect," but by engaging in such practice, you can improve skills beyond cooking, and indulge in personal passions outside of cooking.

"If you're cooking as part of a group, or you're reading recipes you didn't write, you'll need to improve your communication and comprehension skills," Harvey said. "If you're passionate about getting fit, you can learn how to cook nutrient-dense, healthy meals. If you want to help others out, you can cook extra meals and serve them to those in need. I've taken bunches of food to folks living in nontraditional situations, who struggle with a lack of equipment or resources. It's how I learned to cook eggs in culinary school, by feeding my neighbors poached and fried eggs, until we all agreed it was time for something else."

Harvey has found cooking applicable to everything from researching medieval history, as she's determined how that era's meals were assembled and prepared, to playing video games - "Skyrim" and "Animal Crossing" each have cooking functions.

"If you're into gardening, you can grow your own ingredients for your meals," Harvey said. "I'm not, but fortunately, I'm friends with folks who are. There are people who never cook dinner, except for Thanksgiving or Christmas, because they're doing it for their families. The memories you make are absolutely more important than what's on the table, even though that's what you're using to make those memories."

Sara Harvey's Holiday Recipes

Sara Harvey shared with the Shelton-Mason County Journal some of her favorite recipes from the cookbook of her grandmother, "who is fundamental to my love of cooking and entertaining," and who died at age 93 last year.

Deviled crab

Ingredients:

• 2 cans crab meat, well-drained.

• ½ cup Hellmann's mayonnaise.

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, with shallots.

• ¼ teaspoon salt.

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.

• ¼ pound (1 stick) butter.

• ½ cup chopped onions.

• ⅔ cup breadcrumbs.

• 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Instructions:

While crab meat is draining, mix next 6 ingredients in medium-sized bowl.

Add crabmeat, set aside in refrigerator.

Melt butter in saucepan.

Add onions, cook until soft, but not brown.

Add breadcrumbs, toss and cook for a few minutes.

Add to crabmeat mixture, with baking powder, tossing together lightly with 2 forks.

Divide evenly in au gratin dishes, cover with freshly grated Parmesan.

Cook in oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until browned and bubbling.

Makes 4 servings.

Daddy's birthday cake

Sift together into bowl:

• 2 cups sifted flour.

• 1 ¼ cups sugar.

• 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons) baking powder.

• 1 teaspoon salt.

Add:

• ½ cup shortening.

• ⅞ cup milk.

• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla.

Beat vigorously for 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl frequently.

Add:

• 3 large egg whites, unbeaten.

Beat 2 more minutes, pour into 2 greased and floured layer cake pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Fill with lemon curd.

Frost top and sides with 7-minute icing, cover with coconut.

Peach Melba meringue shells

Ingredients:

• ⅛ teaspoon salt.

• ½ teaspoon vinegar.

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla.

• 3 egg whites.

• 1 cup sugar.

• ½ teaspoon green food coloring.

Instructions:

Add salt, vinegar and vanilla to egg whites, beat to stiff foam.

Add sugar very gradually, continue beating until very stiff.

Add food coloring.

Spoon in mounds on cookie sheet covered with plain ungreased paper.

Shape 8 3 ½-inch cups with spoon.

Bake in slow oven at 250 degrees for 60 minutes.

Remove from paper immediately, cool.

Just before serving, top with peach half, cut side down.

Spoon over Melba sauce, whip raspberry jam.

If too heavy, add corn syrup until sauce will pour.

Goes with whipped cream, if desired.

Pimento cheese-baked oysters

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded.

• 8 ounces medium yellow cheddar, shredded.

• 1 jar pimentos, drained.

• 3-4 ounces mayonnaise.

• 3 dozen oysters.

• Breadcrumbs.

Optional:

• 1 tablespoon chives.

• 1 tablespoon minced onions.

• 1 ounce roasted garlic.

Instructions:

Shuck the tops off the oysters, leaving the meat in the bottom curved shell.

Mix all of the other ingredients together, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Put 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture on top of each oyster in the shell.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake at 400 degrees, until the oysters reach 165 degrees inside, the cheese is bubbling and the breadcrumbs are browned.

Eat immediately with toasted bread.

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
[email protected]