For dozens of years many have recognized Yosemite National Park for its majestic natural beauty, but over time it also has garnered a reputation for fine food, mainly because of the high-caliber cuisine served in the dining room of the national treasure’s luxurious, 99-room Ahwahnee Hotel. Once the subject of Ansel Adams’ famous black-and-white photograph, “Moon and Half Dome,” the location today is not just a feast for the eyes, but also the palate.
From the west alcove windows of the 335-seat restaurant, diners can view the solid-granite mountain wall and the white water plunging down Yosemite Falls, described by some as the tallest waterfall in the United States. And on winter days, those floor-to-ceiling windows frame the picture-perfect, snow-dusted wonderland that captured Adams’ heart and imagination. Still, diners are in for even more of a treat as they sample the delights offered inside the 6,630-square-foot dining room, which is situated under a 34-foot-high peaked ceiling of sugar pine timber adorned with hanging wrought iron chandelier candelabras and buttressed on the sides by granite pillars.
The dining room is generally set up to serve 180 at dinner, though it can accommodate as many as 350.
Focusing on the plate The hotel and dining room, operated by the parks and resorts division of hospitality and foodservice specialist Delaware North Cos., is one of the jewels in the Buffalo, N.Y.-based contractor’s portfolio of national-park accounts. Under the watchful eye of executive chef Percy Whatley, guests are treated to the kinds of food he characterizes as “California Mediterranean.” What first seems to be a faux Mediterranean reference is transformed into reality by the proximity of the produce-rich San Joaquin Valley, a melting pot agricultural workplace for descendants of the original Southern European, Middle Eastern and Mexican settlers in the region, a few hours drive from Yosemite. “We get lush produce from the valley—the olives, grapes, garlic, fresh zucchini and asparagus, pistachios, almonds, lots of citrus from the orchards,” Whatley says. “That allows me to work right from the start with high-quality ingredients.” A steady supply of fresh meats and fish also are readily available because of the proximity to the sheep and cattle ranches in the valley and to the seafood brought in from the Pacific Ocean and streams in the Northwest. Kevin Kelly, president of DNC’s parks and resorts division, says Whatley, who has been at The Ahwahnee for more than 15 years, has reached the top rungs of the company’s culinary ladder without making any missteps. “We’re really proud of the way Percy has developed and worked his way up,” Kelly says. “He did everything, from dishwashing to becoming a line cook, then leaving to get his degree at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. He’s gone on to get executive chef certification and is doing a great job at The Ahwahnee.” Whatley, however, says his ascension has been easy since Delaware North has given him just the right amount of autonomy to develop his own sense of creativity. “They give me pretty much all the creative control I want,” he says. “They don’t try to put the strong arm on chefs to standardize menus. There’s just too much of a variety in properties.” Delaware North’s other park accounts include concessions operations at the Grand Canyon and Sequoia National Park. In addition, the company operates the upscale Balsams Grand Resort hotel in Dixville Notch, N.H. Robert Anderson, former executive chef at The Ahwahnee and current chef-owner of V restaurant at the Victoria Hotel in Murphys, Calif., is not surprised by Whatley’s success. He says his protégé has always exhibited star quality. “He was pretty typical of a bunch of young people about 15 years ago who just hadn’t decided in what direction he was going,” Anderson says. “But there was something different about him. When he came onto the scene, he had this intangible kind of spark in his eye. Some folks have it, some don’t. He impressed me as the kind of guy you could hand the ball to and he would run with it.” Agrand space from the inside out Today Whatley and his 60-person staff prepare an average of 1,800 dinners weekly in addition to some 4,000 full-service lunch, breakfast and in-room orders from hotel guests. They do it all from a 6,500-square-foot kitchen. “That kitchen is enormous,” says Mark Franz, executive chef and co-owner of the popular high-end seafood restaurant, Farallon in San Francisco. “Just the bakery in The Ahwahnee is gigantic. Any pastry chef I know would love to have that kind of space.” The kitchen initially was built to accommodate service for a much bigger hotel, which was to be expanded from the original structure that was built in 1927. But the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression ruled out plans for additions to the main building. Since then, however, 24 cottages have become part of the hotel property, bringing the total accommodations to 123 rooms. In 1987 the hotel was designated a national historic landmark. Franz, a frequent visitor to Yosemite and The Ahwahnee, says the place is like no other he has visited. “There is just a certain grandeur about the place,” he says. Chef de cuisine Ambrush Lulay, a former culinary instructor at Chicago’s Kendall College who has worked at The Ahwahnee for the last seven months, believes that the words “make do” are not in Whatley’s vocabulary, nor in his own. “He knows this business inside and out, and after being at Yosemite for years, he knows everyone and has their respect,” Lulay says. He describes Whatley’s leadership style as one of “gentle persuasion to do it right.” “He gives a lot of freedom and guidance at the same time,” Lulay says. Pastry Chef Kees Thuys points out that when he was hired two years ago, Whatley asked him to create the desserts for an important upcoming special event. He went right to work on the dessert preparations. “[Whatley] never came to me and asked, ‘What do you think you are doing?’” Thuys says. “His thing is: ‘You know it better than I do. I hired you for this job; now make it happen.’” PHONE: (209) 372-1489 WEBSITE: OPENED: 1927 CUISINE: California Mediterranean PER-PERSON DINNER CHECK AVERAGE WITH BEVERAGES: $68 BEST-SELLING DISH: grilled peppered Angus beef filet mignon SEATS: 335 AVERAGE WEEKLY COVERS: dinner, 1,800; breakfast, lunch and dinner, 4,000 CHEF: Percy Whatley OWNER: National Parks Service; Contractor: Delaware North Parks and Resorts division Events attract special guests One very special occasion at The Ahwahnee is the Bracebridge Dinner, which dates back to 1927 and now accounts for nearly 3,000 covers over eight dinners during a 12-day period in December, Whatley notes. The Christmas at Bracebridge Hall event has evolved into a major production, running approximately four hours, that recreates an English Renaissance banquet complete with seven courses and a cast of 100 singers and actors. “It’s just a fantastic tradition that has become more and more popular over the years during the Christmas season,” says parks and resorts president Kelly. In March, Heritage Holidays also is a regular event. In addition, there are vintner holiday packages available in November that showcase winemakers and their products during two- and three-day events through December. The Ahwahnee hotel and dining room have always attracted Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes, politicians and dignitaries, practically since the founding years. The list of notables, says Yosemite spokesman Kenny Karst, includes Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin, Gertrude Stein, Walt Disney, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Greta Garbo and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip. And Ansel Adams was a constant visitor after he fell in love with the place. More recently, guests have included actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and first lady Laura Bush, who visited with some friends during a horse-riding excursion. All folks from different walks of life whose common bond is a fondness for the area’s natural beauty, great hospitality and good food.Menu Sampler Pan-seared diver scallops with celery root puree, winter spinach, truffle emulsion $17.25 Roasted pumpkin-ricotta agnolotti with ginger, shallot, sage brown butter $14.25 Dungeness crab cake with cucumber-sweet corn relish, saffron aïoli $17.25 Roasted rabbit loin—pea shoots, shallot marmalade $16.50 Grilled peppered Angus beef filet mignon, with a Cabernet demi-glace, Point Reyes blue cheese-red onion gratin, garlic mascarpone mashed potato and winter spinach $39.75 All-day roasted Niman Ranch pork with sweet potato purée, braised red cabbage and chestnut pan sauce $28.75 Oven roasted Superior Farms lamb rack with Delmonico potatoes, lavender scented succotash, crispy parsnips, sautéed escarole and lamb jus $42.35 Grilled Pacific swordfish with garam masala spiced couscous, tahini roasted eggplant, spinach lime-red pepper coulis, basil oil $28.75 Chocolate walnut mousse in blackberry sauce $9.75 Chocolate sampler: espresso torte, white chocolate mousse and chocolate sorbet $9.75