Mountain Dining Issue
“I tend to go for seasonal, healthy, with an Italian twist— contemporary food. I am superpassionate about consistency and taste,” Pilkington says. “I definitely use some of my family recipes in my cooking—risottos, arancini and pâté; I learned from my dad.” Last year, at the Sundance Film Festival, Pilkington was the featured chef for four exclusive Oculus private parties, where, at two of the events, she served 200 people. With a small crew, she led a team of three sous chefs, her front of house person, Lydia Martinez of Elle Marketing and Events, and a small service staff on the floor. With just five days of planning, they were able to create some magic.
Chef Amanda Pilkington proves local chefs can wow Sundance celebs
Elegant champagne shooters
BY AIMEE L. COOK
26 Devour Utah • january 2019
Sundance chef Amanda Pilkington
KARI SIKORSKI
KARI SIKORSKI
Y
ou might say chef Amanda Pilkington has cooking in her blood. Since the young age of 13, while growing up in New Zealand, Pilkington worked at various restaurants, and in 2004, she and her family (her father is also a chef) opened award-winning Italian restaurant Vivo Enoteca Cucina. There, Pilkington honed her skills and later became a personal chef on private jets, satisfying her other passion for travel. Seeing the world expanded her culinary interest and skills as she learned the artistry of using ingredients from different places to create something unique and delicious. In 2012, Pilkington landed in Park City and has been serving meals to locals and celebrities ever since.
“I was approached two weeks beforehand,” Pilkington says. “It was the first time I had done anything on that scale by myself. I immediately called on the best people I knew to help. We talked out every detail, created strategies and worked through everything before we even bought ingredients and went to work.” Menus and budgets were created and submitted; then, crunchtime began. Pilkington and her crew served the vice president of Facebook, members of Black Eyed Peas and Ashley Judd, just to name a few celebrities who partook of her offerings.