You may know Utah’s mountains for their steep slopes and fluffy snow that makes them ideal for skiing. I know the landscape as the best place to enjoy an unforgettable and delicious chef-prepared outdoor dinner.

My meal in the Utah mountains begins on a patio in September, overlooking more than 3,500 acres of beautiful rolling hills on all sides as the golden hour passes above them. I am on the vast property of The Blue Sky Lodgea hotel in Collection Inns Resorts which merges luxury accommodations with the natural beauty of the Wasatch Mountain Range.

I went to Blue Sky at the end of summer to eat at Wild Cuisinean elaborate outdoor kitchen that relies exclusively on the open fire to cook everything. Meals cooked over a fire always seem better, and the food at this pop-up near Park City is so incredibly special that I recommend it as a must-do experience for anyone who loves delicious fine dining, communal dining, and natural beauty.

Described as the “ultimate luxury outdoor kitchen”, Wild Cuisine is a customizable kitchen and warming table concept from director Guy Ritchie. There’s not just one – the facility can be built anywhere, and people can even purchase a WildKitchen for their own home at a premium – but this facility in Blue Sky has hosted a series rotating cast of renowned chefs throughout summer 2024, where guests can enjoy elaborate dishes cooked with state-of-the-art equipment. The venture was so successful that WildKitchen will return to the property in the summer and fall of 2025 with a new roster of chefs.

Blue Sky WildKitchen’s chefs use its charcoal and wood-fired oven, grill, cast iron griddle and more to prepare meals for family-style dining on a heated table, perched atop ‘a small mountain on the property. so guests can watch the sun set around them while they eat. When I arrive for dinner, I am immediately greeted with a cocktail and appetizers distributed around an observation deck so we can appreciate the scenery before sitting down. (My first bite is a bison tartare crostini with a generous amount of rich, salty Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.)

Most of the ingredients served at WildKitchen dinners are locally sourced—hence the choice of bison for a tartare—and sourced on-property when possible. Blue Sky has an on-site garden called Gracie’s Farm, which provides seasonal vegetables for guest chefs to use in their menus.

While I dine on this unique live-fire experience, I have the chance to sample dishes cooked by Chef Hillary Sterling of Ci Siamo in New York. (Other chefs on the list this year included Sebastian Benitez of Francis Mallman’s Los Fuegos in Miami, Kim Canteenwalla from Honey salt in Las Vegas, and Viet Pham for 2011 F&W Best New Chef, a three-time James Beard Award semi-finalist.)

Sterling is known for both cooking over fire and her emphasis on seasonal ingredients in her own restaurant, and this shines through in the smoky, flavorful and delicious Italian dishes she places on the table.

Dinner begins with the chef’s signature pizza bianca, topped with a bright and punchy salsa verde and anchovies. We enjoy grilled scallops accompanied by marinated and tender miniature zucchini from Gracie’s Farm. Of the nine dishes we eat – spread across four courses of antipasto, pasta, secondi and dolci – a cheese and potato stuffed cannelloni with dried cherry tomatoes vies for most memorable bite position with a smoked lamb shoulder and mustard greens garnished with currants and pine nuts.

When I arrived at the WildKitchen outpost, Sterling was busy searing the lamb shoulder on the grill one last time, although she explained that it had been slow-cooking all day. One of the nicest parts of the open kitchen is that you can talk to the chef while he works. The other guests and I watched her take advantage of the fire oven, grill, and hotplates to carefully balance the preparation of each dish while ensuring others stayed warm.

Sterling’s cooking relies on simple, perfectly cooked ingredients, and she has conquered the finicky nature of live fire. Charred onions are blackened on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside. A briny tonnato sauce is packed with umami without being too fishy and pairs well with earthy roasted vegetables for dipping.

As each plate arrives – we eat as a family, taking turns serving ourselves from large platters of food – servers serve wine pairings chosen by sommelier Rand Elsbree. My glass is never empty.

One of the best parts of our meal is getting to know the strangers at the table. I’m chatting with a couple of Chicago lawyers who are away from their kids for the weekend, and two newlyweds are sitting across from me; after the second lesson, I learn that we have a mutual friend.

The table we’re gathered around is made of copper and lightly heated (with wood, of course), and the WildKitchen’s proprietary design keeps any smoke from wafting into our faces. A ring of beautiful kitchen utensils hang above us, a visual reminder that you can actually cook. on the table if you make it hot enough, but tonight it’s just keeping us warm.

A dessert of roasted stone fruit and whipped cream, along with rainbow cookies from Chef Sterling’s Ci Siamo team, concludes the meal.

If you ask me what includes a perfect dinner, a meal together, food from a famous chef and the taste of food prepared over an open fire, all of these are on the list. When you factor in the mountaintop view and the chance to see each dish being cooked over flames in an outdoor kitchen, this dinner becomes unforgettable.

WildKitchen at Blue Sky is closed for the winter months, but will return next year with a new roster of chefs and their unique menus. You don’t have to be an on-site guest to purchase a ticket for one of the meals, so you can even stay in nearby Park City if you prefer. Come back here in the spring to reserve a spot as early as possible – they are sure to sell out.