Meet Chef Matt Harris

Restaurant: Chef and owner of tupelo, Park City, Utah, Executive Chef of St. Regis

Niman Ranch Products Used: Iberian Duroc Pork, dry aged ribeye, top sirloin, ribs, pork chops, bacon, prosciutto, sopressata and capocollo

Chef Matt is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of kitchen experience. Like many in his profession, he started as a dishwasher because he needed a job. He thought it would be a temporary gig, but he never left. He says, “I loved the excitement and energy.”  

His more formal training began with Kevin Rathbun and Pano Karatassos of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group in Atlanta. He then trained at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s famed New York establishments and went on to open Atlanta’s critically-acclaimed Market by Jean-Georges. In 2009, Chef Matt was selected to open J&G Grill (his second Jean-Georges restaurant) and the St. Regis Bar (at The St. Regis Deer Valley). 

He was introduced to Niman Ranch lamb in 1999. Since then Niman Ranch products have been a constant throughout his culinary journey, making appearances in the kitchens he’s worked and on the menus he creates.  

When Matt opened tupelo in 2015 one of the signature dishes he launched was a Niman Ranch pork chop. He says, “I use Niman Ranch because it’s always consistent and I know it is always in line with what I believe in.”  

Matt continues to use Niman Ranch at tupelo Park City at at the Ritz Carlton properties he oversees. He’s attended the Niman Ranch Farmer appreciation dinner and visited producers farms, further strengthening his commitment to the brand.  

Matt says, “The financial and cultural impact Niman Ranch has on the small, rural communities is outstanding. Paying them an honest wage, endorses the farmers and trains them to do things the correct way, that is beneficial to the farmers, and has a positive cultural and economic impact on these communities.”