My name is Earl James Reynolds, and I am the Chef and F&B Director at Dancing Spirit Ranch. After working my way up in the kitchen at local restaurants in Whitefish, I eventually enrolled in the Seattle Central Culinary Academy. The program emphasized the importance of local food systems and cooking with the seasons. This would immediately become a flagship piece of my culinary philosophy.
After graduating the program with honors as “Most Outstanding Culinary Student, '' I began cutting my teeth at one of Seattle’s premier restaurants, Canlis. During my time in Seattle I was no stranger to the famous Pike Place Market. I was enamored with the sense of community between farmers, fishmongers, bakers, cheese makers and chefs.
For nearly a decade, I worked at premier restaurants along the West Coast where I fine tuned my culinary skills. Eventually, the Rocky Mountains began to call, so I made my way back to my home state of Montana. I began building relationships with farmers while sourcing local ingredients, helping to raise the culinary bar and set the standard for seasonally inspired menus in the Flathead Valley. My whimsically-plated dishes and clever flavor combinations earned me a 2023 James Beard Foundation nomination for Best Chef in the Mountain Region.