The “Bear” Essentials
Chef Hank “Bear” Ullman has a very simple approach to his menu at The Marcus Whitman Hotel and Conference Center; use the best local, organic ingredients possible in a way the showcases the valley at it’s peak.
Bear Ullman is the executive chef The Marc Restaurant. When owner Kyle Mussman reopened the hotel, restaurant and conference center he had high hopes to “up the ante” for the restaurant, the bar and the banquet menus. Bear’s philosophy carries through to every aspect of the menu and even the wording on the menu itself highlights the local farms that he sourced.
When Bear was losing a micro greens producer, he convinced another organic farmer to buy out his business with the agreement that he would support her in her efforts.
In order to have one of Bear’s favorite proteins, pork, on the menu he purchased a couple of local pigs and had the same farmer raise them through the summer.
He visits local organic farms on a regular basis, usually along with his 2 and 7-year-old daughters so he can get ingredients like celery root and squash blossoms at their absolute best.
There are so many different things going on at any given time in Bear’s kitchen that a bystander like myself wonders how anyone keeps track of what is going on.
During a recent lunch hour I watched the kitchen run almost like a choreographed dance. Each chef and sous-chef moving throughout their section of the kitchen with precise speed in hopes of maintaining the restaurant’s goal of serving lunch guests from start to finish in 30 minutes or less. The restaurant specializes in moving lunch visitors through a great lunch at an amazing price and fitting it in their lunch hour.
The restaurant has many different programs including the very popular “Chef’s Table”, where small groups can come and enjoy 6 course meals in the kitchen right in the middle of the action. For $125 per person Chef Bear develops a custom menu around local wines for groups of 4-12 people. Usually, most groups hand over total control of the menu to Bear and enjoy the element of surprise when they sit down for the evening.
One of the most popular features at the restaurant is in the adjacent bar - The Vineyard Lounge – where they offer great $5 plates as part of a 4-6pm happy hour. Bear says that the small plates are so successful that he assigns one chef to make fish tacos, which has become a signature small plate in the Lounge.
Chef Bear has seen the effects of the economic slow down and realizes that area restaurants have not been immune.
“We’ve struggled like everyone in the current economy to find different approaches to our business model, but we are fortunate that we have different outlets and we are constantly working to have the highest level of ingredients, service and atmosphere for visitors and locals alike”.
The Marc Restaurant is open Monday – Friday for lunch from 11:30am-1:30pm and daily for dinner 5:00 – 9:00pm. The Vineyard Lounge is open daily from 4:00pm – midnight, with happy hour specials from 4:00 – 6:00pm daily. The Chef’s Table is by reservation only by contacting Chef Bear at (509) 524-5118.
