What is happening in the kitchen at Zeitgeist?
It’s the time of the summer when gardens are bountiful, and local restaurants are making the most of it.
At Zeitgeist, chefs and bakers are using as many local ingredients as possible by rotating through weekly specials.
Kitchen Manager Stuart Gordon showed how they make a “carrot bomb” risotto, which was one August weekly special, with carrots poached in carrot juice.
“We started out with kind of your basic arborrio rice risotto with a veg stock,” he said. “This is a vegetable stock we make with the trimmings from the vegetables we’re using in the kitchen every day.”
It’s a vegetarian option. To up the inclusive ante, Head Chef Cody Packingham made a gluten-free, vegan appetizer.
“I am making a favorite. It stays on the menu year-round,” he said. “It is a gluten-free, vegan tempura cauliflower.”
They just swap out the garnishes. Right now, it has pickled onions, watermelon radishes, and micro cilantro grown on Zeitgeist’s roof. It’s a dish that made Packingham think twice about ordering an app like fried cauliflower.
Kyle Aune/WDIO
“I never ordered it, and then I started making it every day and kind of fell in love with it,” he said.
For a sweet finish, Head of Bakery Erik Haaverson made a gluten-free pistachio cake with cherries he and Gordon foraged themselves.
“I really want to always be making desserts that really respect the season they’re being served in. And with cherries being in full swing right now, that was one I really wanted to push for,” Haaverson said.
Zeitgeist’s restaurant is open every day but Monday.
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Dining and Cooking