In May, Buick invited a group of writers to visit the Walla Walla Valley, chauffeuring us around in brand new vehicles. The first stop was Woodward Canyon, which recently upped their culinary game with the addition of a certified organic garden highlighting Mediterranean ingredients and refined dining at the Woodward Canyon Winery Reserve House. Chef Sager Small returned from a long stint in Seattle to cook at his parents’ winery, and the results are delicious.
Q: How did you end up cooking at Woodward Canyon?
A: I had always thought I would go back to Walla Walla. It’s my home and I began to appreciate it more while I was living in Seattle—especially the agriculture and food. The decision to move came out of many conversations with my girlfriend, who’s also in the industry, essentially convincing her there is opportunity in Walla Walla for young professionals like us.
Q: Where were you cooking in Seattle before you moved back? Is that where you started cooking?
A: I left Walla Walla at 18 after a short internship at the late 26 Brix with Mike Davis to go to the Art Institute of Seattle in the culinary arts program. After a quarter or two, I made an 18-year-old’s assessment of the best restaurants in Seattle. My dad took me to lunch at Rover’s and after, I decided to write the chef a letter formally asking for an internship.
I interned there through culinary school, for two years, then worked briefly at Tulio in Downtown Seattle before moving to Cafe Presse, which was then a new restaurant on Capitol Hill. After about four years there, I moved back to the Rover’s company to open their new restaurant, Luc. I worked there for another two years then took time off to travel in Argentina. After that, I took the lead line position at Cafe Presse for the remainder of my time in Seattle. I think I took a lot from spending childhood trips in the South of France with my parents.
Q: What inspired the menu at the Reserve House? Were you developing food specifically to pair with certain wines?
The menu is definitely food I like to eat, as simple as that: pasta, cheese and fresh, ripe vegetables. If you’re going to do it simple, your ingredients have to be the best you can get—which is kind of a problem sometimes here. So, we kinda had to try new thing and grow what I knew I would want to serve. I always drift toward Mediterranean, European flavors and preparations, but I’ve been taking a lot from my girlfriend’s Greco-American family; they love food as much as my family does. Greek food is really fresh, clean, healthy and really interests me.
I would have to say my Horiatiki (Greek village salad) is probably the most popular and indicative of my interests. I make the salad from our organic garden cucumbers and tomatoes, Greek feta and kalamata olives. Instead of raw onion in the salad, I use chives and chive blossoms, which grow like crazy out here. The dressing is based on the one my girlfriend’s dad makes.
Q: What are your future plans for the restaurant and for your cooking career?
Moving forward is a difficult issue. Having spent so little time back, it’s hard to say what the future holds. As I see it, the plan is to do more events like winemaker dinners and receptions in our reserve house highlighting the garden and, of course, the wine. I’m planning to keep making food I can stand behind with produce from our garden and hope the people in Walla Walla will remember they live in a very, very cool place, where we can grow almost anything, make great wine and food, while still knowing the woman who supplies you lamb necks and her dogs.
One of the best times for me was when a family that had been teaching in Greece came in and liked my Greek salad so much they ordered two and insisted I come out. They had actually been in Santorini about 6 months prior and were so happy just to have the tomatoes they thought existed only in Greece and were resigned to never having them again. That was awesome: they were so happy just for tomatoes.
