This year, Snake River Grill celebrates its 30th year as one of Jackson’s most iconic fine dining establishments. Leading the kitchen into its next decade is Executive Chef Addison Fleming.
Fleming grew up in central Florida, originally wanting to be a musician. However, his first job as a pizza delivery driver soon propelled him into the kitchen, where he discovered a passion that drew him to attend culinary school.
Since then, Fleming moved between kitchens at Beaver Creek ski resort and Grand Teton National Park before diving into fine dining in the city of Chicago. There, he worked in the Michelin star restaurant Entente, where he progressed from garde manger to sous chef. He also cooked at the world-renowned Alinea Restaurant and later was a sous chef for chef Stephanie Izzard at her restaurants, Cabra and Girl & The Goat.
Ultimately, the pandemic had Fleming looking for a change of pace and scenery, which serendipitously brought him to the Snake River Grill. About the restaurant, Fleming said, “It has the ability to captivate people and provide this special quality or character that I’ve really never been able to find in any other restaurant that I’ve worked in.”
We are eager to see Fleming implement his modern techniques at Snake River Grill, and in the meantime, we discussed with the chef some of his previous experiences and culinary influences:
What was your biggest takeaway from your time in Chicago’s fine dining scene?
I learned a lot about technique and really honed my palate. For instance, at Alinea we were making sugar balloons that would float and the strings were made from apples. They have a very theatrical experience and keep you guessing. So, I learned to perfect refined techniques and completely out of the box thinking. Now, my mind is some sort of amalgamation of that and working with local ingredients to drive creativity and quality.
What inspires you about fine dining?
My dad is also a craftsman, but of a different kind. He’s not a chef, but he’s built custom homes, some of the best homes I’ve ever seen. He’s the one that taught me about attention to detail and doing everything the best way possible. And I think that’s why I was so driven towards fine dining—that level of refinement, execution and technique.
Have you always enjoyed the genre?
Once I was in culinary school, I started doing a bunch of research and learning about all these top tier establishments, and I got extremely excited. Some people look at these really small plates or tasting menu restaurants and don’t want anything to do with it. I was the opposite. I was so excited to see the amount of science and creativity you could put together to create a dish. That was so intriguing to me.
What direction would you like to see the Snake River Grill take in the future?
Well, the menu has followed a very similar format for a very long time. And that’s worked and still does work, so I have to ask myself, “Are we changing something just for the sake of change? Or are we doing it because we truly believe it is actually time to change?” And so that’s where the difficulty lies. Our key phrase here is rustic elegance, and that’s why we have white linens in a log cabin. I really like that about this restaurant, but I’d like to see our guests moving away from this idea that they need to have their own thing—that this is my entree, and we all have our own separate things. When I eat with friends, we order a ton of different food for the table and share all of it. That style of dining would allow us to refine things further and put fewer things on the plate.
Outside the kitchen, what foodie events do you look forward to in the summer?
I love the Saturday farmers markets. They are a great way for me to pop by and talk to all the farmers and see what they’ve got going on and also, just get inspired. Some days I’ll pop by the market and see that somebody’s got the first strawberries, and so I’ll run a dessert special that night, or get inspired to cook at home for myself.
Who are some of your favorite local producers?
Rafe Rivers from Canewater Farm—he’s doing truly great work. We have a lot of small farms that do grow great produce, but he’s really got it dialed, knows what he’s doing, and cares about the quality. And there’s Jon Shumway, from Shumway Farms—he’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met in my life. And their dairy and beef are some of the best I’ve ever had.
What do you think is an underutilized or underrated ingredient?
Good tomatoes. People may say, “Oh, I’ll just buy heirloom tomatoes from Sysco. What’s the difference?” But the difference is huge! How they’re grown and treated matters. We buy tomatoes from Ted Wells, at Alpenglow Farm, and I’ve had people just buy a bowl of them because they’re so good. I don’t think that’s something that people appreciate much anymore because it seems so commonplace to get heirloom tomatoes.
