On winter nights in Park City, the dining room at High West’s Nelson Cottage is intimate, the cadence of the evening unhurried and the meal that unfolds over several hours is designed to be a complete experience. That sense of deliberateness mirrors the approach of Chef de Cuisine Julia Sorroche, now in her third season leading the kitchen through its most demanding time of year.
Sorroche’s path to Park City began in Brazil, where she received formal culinary training rooted in classical technique. Early in her career, she also pursued specialization in baking and pastry, and after completing her training, Sorroche moved to New York City. There, she staged at Michelin-starred restaurants across multiple tiers and was mentored by a James Beard Award-winning chef, experiences that sharpened her palate and provided further understanding of what it takes to operate at the highest level of fine dining.
Like many, Sorroche’s trajectory shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An opportunity to relocate brought her West, where she discovered Park City and, through it, High West Distillery. She joined the company as a lead line cook at the Saloon, but it was Nelson Cottage — High West’s intimate, reservation-only tasting menu restaurant — that ultimately aligned with her background and professional goals. She was promoted to the cottage kitchen after a year, where she’s overseen menu development and execution as chef de cuisine for the past three seasons.
What distinguishes Nelson Cottage from many tasting-menu restaurants is not only its scale, but its philosophy. The menu changes every two to three weeks, sometimes more frequently, and each iteration is built entirely around what is available and at its peak in Utah. For Sorroche, that level of seasonality is not a marketing angle but a professional necessity.
“It really values the product itself. If I have something that is in its prime quality during the summer, like tomatoes, for example, why would I want to source them in the winter when they don’t have that same flavor, that same zhuzh that I want to bring to the plate?” she said.
The cottage’s format also challenges convention through its whiskey pairings. Rather than wine, each course is matched with a High West whiskey, requiring Sorroche to think differently about how a meal can cooperate with the spirits.
It’s all a creative exercise, she said, in many ways a dream job compared to the usual line cook roles.
“I love being creative. I love being able to experiment with different flavors and then making fusion, of having a little bit of my background, that Latin influence, with maybe some Japanese style of cooking, or maybe some French background of a dish,” she explained. “I think that’s very exciting, not just as a culinary person, but also as a person in general.”
As a proud Brazilian, she said that her menus at the cottage always include a nod to her roots.
“In some way, shape or form, you’re going to see Brazil there. And I think I’m just very proud of that for my heritage. Even if it’s not a Brazilian food per se, or even a Brazilian dish … there’s always going to be a dish that has green and yellow, mimicking the Brazilian flag,” Sorroche said. “I like to bring those colors in, makes me happy about it.”
Winter is when that experimentation is most demanding. Menu development begins with a survey of available products.
“I’m not going to bring something that is about to end the season because it’s cheaper, because the purveyor wants to get rid of it. No, I think it’s more about, let’s get something that’s new, that’s fresh, that’s just coming in,” she said. “I want to use the ingredient at its prime.”
January and February can be particularly challenging, she said, as even cold-weather produce tends to taper off. So Sorroche leans into technique and transformation, using a single ingredient in multiple forms to maintain interest and contrast.
That philosophy also extends to proteins. While duck breast is a staple on many Park City menus this time of year, Sorroche said she avoids cooking by expectation. If duck appears on the cottage menu, it is because the surrounding ingredients, timing and concept support it, she said. And even then, Sorroche may opt for a leg if it better suits the dish.
And then there’s the progression of the menu: in the winter, the dishes lean heartier. But to prevent people from filling up on heavy dishes, she’ll start with lighter, refreshing courses that build to the warmer notes.
But guests never know what they’re going to get, an element of surprise that is woven through the Nelson Cottage brand.
“Even if you read the menu, it’s not necessarily what you imagine,” the chef said.
That philosophy was evident in a recent winter menu that opened with a dish labeled “ravioli.” Rather than a traditional pasta, the course was a light, refreshing interpretation designed to cleanse the palate for the meal. Apples — one of the few fruits that remain reliably in season throughout winter — were cooked down into a translucent gel that mimicked the shape of ravioli, filled with diced scallops and celery root.
Ultimately, menu launch days are where the team’s theory meets reality. Sorroche said her team arrives early to run the entire menu with front-of-house staff, tasting, adjusting and refining details before the first guests come. That run-through is often where final decisions are made, and where instinct and experience guide last-minute changes.
The relationship with guests does not end at the plate. Sorroche regularly visits tables throughout the evening, welcoming questions and feedback — a practice she sees as essential to hospitality, not an interruption to service.
“I want to make the guests feel important, because that’s just how I think people should approach the business. The guests are important, and they’re the ones who are eating the food. So I do want to know their feedback. I do want to see their reaction as I come to the table,” she said.
That dialogue has helped build a loyal following of locals and repeat visitors, Sorroche said, many of whom return specifically because they know the experience will never be the same twice.
“I have never repeated an item on the menu, so even if people love it and ask me to bring it back, it still hasn’t come back,” she said. “It will get to the point where something is repeated, but as of now, I’m very proud of that. So it is a one-and-done experience.”
Winter is also when Nelson Cottage offers its most robust programming, running seven nights a week and adding “elevated” menus that are eight courses and pair extra rare whiskeys. Their first one was New Year’s Eve, and then a shortened version of that menu will become the usual service for the following few weeks.
Looking ahead, Sorroche is candid about her aspirations. With the Michelin Guide now operating in Utah as part of its newest Southwest Guide, she sees recognition not only as a personal goal, but as a reflection of her team’s work.
“I do think that the way we cook here at the cottage — something that I’ve always wanted to win is a Michelin star. So I’ve always tried to push myself,” she said. “If the Michelin Guide were to come, I want to be ready for that.”
She emphasizes that any recognition would belong to the entire cottage team, whom she encourages to contribute ideas and explore their own creativity within the menu.
“I think that would be awesome, not just from a personal standpoint as a professional accolade, but also as something that I think my team and everyone at the cottage would love to get, is that recognition,” Sorroche said. “Hopefully, fingers crossed, we’ll have a star up on our little cottage wall.”