Chef Patrick Garmong

At the age of 17, Patrick started working by bussing tables in the Turf Club at Emerald Downs and immediately found a passion for the hospitality industry. While attending college at Central Washington University, studying political science with a focus in law, he worked for the Dining Services, specifically in the Catering Department. While there he performed every function imaginable, from serving tables to washing dishes and eventually leading the kitchen in the absence of a recently resigned chef. Nearing completion of his undergraduate studies and debating which law school to attend, he decided to get on an airplane and head to Manhattan, New York.

In Manhattan, he attended the Institute of Culinary Education, working with a number of the best chefs in the world. While there, CWU called and wanted him to return and take over as the Chef of the Catering Department. He stayed for five years, focusing on the food and taking it from institutional catering to restaurant-focused food. While there he became not only the chef but the Department Manager, at the age of 27, overseeing all aspects of the department. Working with a staff made up entirely of students, he learned to teach and train.

Feeling burned out working for the State system, he took a job with Sodexo where he was made the executive chef at Oregon Technical. He moved quickly on to being Food Service Director at the Police Academy in Salem where he stayed a year. It was here that he expanded his knowledge of the financial side of the business: P&Ls, management practices, etc. It was also here that he realized he wanted to cook, not process paperwork.

While speaking to one of his friends, a Red's Fly Shop Guide, he learned of the Executive Chef opening at Canyon River Ranch in the Yakima Canyon. He applied for and got the chef job and has been there since April/May 2013, officially opening the Canyon River Grill in August 2013. He focuses his cuisine on being fresh and local, coining the term "Columbia Valley Cuisine." Working with local producers and vendors he has been able to enhance the quality of products being offered in the valley.