- Andrew Fuller, a former pro snowboarder, now owns Oquirrh Restaurant in Salt Lake.
- Fuller, a James Beard Award semifinalist, opened Oquirrh with his wife in 2019.
- The restaurant is noted for its unique dishes and welcoming atmosphere in Salt Lake City.
SALT LAKE CITY — For Andrew Fuller, snowboarding led to the unlikely journey of ultimately becoming a chef and restaurant owner of Oquirrh.
Oquirrh, located in downtown Salt Lake City, serves up a unique take on familiar foods.
Fuller is a chef to watch in the kitchen.
He was recently named as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mountain Region. The James Beard Awards are one of the most prestigious awards a chef can get in the world of cooking.
And this is the third time he and his restaurant have received the honor.
The finalists for the James Beard Awards will be announced March 31.
"I'm really grateful when people choose to spend their time at Oquirrh, and I'm happy to be able to provide a space to gather and be part of the city," Fuller said.
Subconsciously being fascinated by cooking
It was snowboarding that led Fuller to his first job in a kitchen.
Fuller first started working in kitchens at age 15. He first worked at a country club in Colorado bussing tables. Then, in order to be part of a work release program at his high school to get a half-day off to snowboard each week, he talked to the chef about getting some hours working inside the kitchen. He agreed.
At one point, he got reprimanded for lingering too long in the pass where the food is passed on from the kitchen to the dining room. He was just fascinated with watching what was going on in the kitchen.
"I remember very specifically knowing what she was talking about," Fuller said. "Because when I had a minute, I would stop and I would sit and I would watch the cooks cook because I was so interested in that."
A journey to becoming a James Beard Award semifinalist chef
Fuller had grown up watching his mom, who he says is "a fantastic cook," make family dinner for him and his family almost every night each week. But what really inspired him was being in kitchens.
After graduating high school, Fuller was supposed to go to work at the snowboard camps at Mount Hood, but he unfortunately tore his ACL, so instead he managed the little pool grill at the country club.
The pool grill served "super simple pool food," but the experience gave Fuller the opportunity to see what it was like to manage a kitchen, even though it was a tiny one.
"I think that gave me kind of like a lot of ownership over my little space that I felt like was mine," Fuller said.
"I remember that being an important situation for me to be in because I wasn't the boss. I had bosses, but not really on a daily basis," Fuller continued. "There wasn't people necessarily looking after me. And I think that that maybe gave me a lot of confidence because I was young."
After that summer, he moved to Park City with a friend and bounced between Oregon, Lake Tahoe and even Austria with his pro snowboarding career. He landed back in the Salt Lake City area.
Snowboarding was funding his life until the recession hit, and he lost a couple of contracts, so he started working two jobs at different kitchens to make ends meet. While he was working at The Copper Onion in Salt Lake City, he met his wife Angie, and he realized they both had similar goals.
That led to the couple opening up Oquirrh in 2019.
Opening Oquirrh
Angie runs the hospitality side of Oquirrh while Fuller manages the kitchen side of the restaurant.
"She is so good at making people feel welcome and making people feel like their time here matters," Fuller said. "I think that that's what makes Oquirrh special is that human connection. And she's just so good at forging that. I'm really fortunate to have her as the other side of my team."
The two bring a human connection to the space and provide a space for staff and customers to feel welcome.
"I want my staff to be excited to come to work," Fuller said. "I want them to work in an environment that's creative. I want them to work in an environment where they have a voice."
What's behind the name Oquirrh?
Why did they name the restaurant Oquirrh? Fuller wanted a connection to something local, and he liked the idea of naming it after the less popular mountain range on the west side of the valley.
"We always kind of saw ourselves as just this little kind of husband and wife-led small restaurant," Fuller said. "And so we like the idea of us being Oquirrh."
What I ordered
I went to Oquirrh on a Tuesday around 5:30 and was greeted with friendly, helpful service. The vibe is cozy with a big window facing the downtown street.
Here's what I ordered:
- House Sourdough Bread: I would say ordering the bread at Oquirrh is a must. They make it in house, and it's crunchy on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside. The butter also has the perfect blend of salt. It also pairs well with some of the other main dishes.
- Milk Braised Potatoes: These are a menu staple for a reason. They're delicious. It's a dish of heirloom potatoes, curds and whey vinaigrette served on top with alliums as a garnish.
- Mafaldine Pasta: This dish was incredible. It was cheesy and creamy with fresh noodles and just the right hint of spice with chili flakes with toasted pine nuts that add that perfect crunch. I highly recommend this one.
- Matcha Mille Feuille: For dessert, this dish was a star. It's a mille feuille pastry with matcha cream and a raspberry sorbet. The flavors are unique and layered in the best way. It was different than anything I've ever tasted, and it was delectable.
- Affogato Tiramisu: This dessert was also incredibly delicious. The coffee-flavored ice cream paired with tiramisu was a perfect blend of flavors.
The menu changes and rotates frequently, so there's always something new to try at Oquirrh.
Overall, the experience was exceedingly pleasant, and the food was unique and delicious. I plan on going back.
"We really do want to have the image of like you can come here and celebrate a birthday or an anniversary — this can be a special occasion experience," Fuller said. "But it can also be a random Tuesday experience."
Storefront information
- Address: 368 E. 100 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84111
- Hours: Monday-Friday 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m.
- Price: $$
