Seafood was the star of the show at “The Worlds Within” lunch on Friday, a collaborative meal at Matilda as part of the inaugural Chef’s Table Festival.
The light, four-course meal was designed by visiting chefs Fariyal Abdullahi and Gilberto Cetina, and while one is Ethiopian and the other Mexican, their cohesive meal showcased the global parallels between the two cuisines, Cetina said.
“You’d be surprised,” he said. “We found a lot of similarities in the way that we cook, from the types of chiles, the heat level, the way we use spice, to the use of like chile oils and how we use acid. She’s also a seafood chef, so there was a very organic synergy in putting the menu together.”
His opening course, a Baja California chocolate clam, was topped with hoja santa oil and guajillo oil, bringing a slight heat. For the second course, Abdullahi used housemade ash oil and berbere oil, a spice native to Ethiopia.
“I like to finish everything that I cook with some berbere, because I was born and raised in Ethiopia, and that’s basically my salt. I could not cook without berbere,” she said.
The ash oil is a product of keeping a zero-waste kitchen at her restaurant Har & Mar in New York City, she said.
“All the skins of alliums like onions, scallions, garlic, instead of throwing them away, we give them a quick char and I blitz it and then change it into an oil,” she said.
For Matilda chef-owner Ian Pope, the chance to work alongside chefs from around the world, who have their own techniques and practices, is why he first jumped on the Chef’s Table Festival bandwagon.
“The collaboration between Fariyal Abdullahi and Gilberto Cetina is a perfect example of what makes Chef’s Table so special,” he said. “Both chefs bring deeply personal approaches shaped by their heritage and experiences.”
Pope grew up in Sydney, Australia, where the food scene was built on diverse influences, he said. So it was a natural fit to welcome the two chefs to his kitchen.
He said his team took a supporting role in their five events, helping execute the visiting chefs’ visions. That’s one of the best ways to learn, he said.
“It also gives our team a rare opportunity to work alongside world-class chefs, observe different techniques and approaches firsthand,” Pope said.
As a longtime fan of the Chef’s Table documentary series, Pope said he appreciates their approach to storytelling and experiences.
“One of the things we love about Chef’s Table is that it goes beyond a great meal. It’s about celebrating the chefs, their journeys, and the inspiration behind the food,” he said.
It came through in the casual feel of the lunch, where Abdullahi and Cetina mingled with the crowd. They even invited some of the diners up to watch the plating process for Cetina’s third course — a saffron, lobster, Dungeness crab and mussels rice — in the open kitchen.
Cetina, whose restaurant, Holbox, is based in Los Angeles, said he was excited to see Park City chosen as the home of the inaugural festival. He’d visited a few times for the Sundance Film Festival.
“I mean, Park City is iconic,” he said. “I think it’s perfect for Chef’s Table to be doing the festival here because it is a place where you come to disconnect and live a larger-than-life experience. It’s a huge honor to be here.”
He said, from what he’s seen, all the chefs have been relaxed and enjoying the opportunity to serve guests.
“We’re really about sharing the moment with people,” he said about the hospitality industry. “It’s very important to continue to create community, not just within your family. … So continue to go out and support restaurants, and support organizations and people and creatives who are trying to put experiences like this together.”