Originally aired on YPR’s Flavors Under the Big Sky
Kay Erickson: For the 2024 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards nine made the list from Montana. Stella Fong, host of Flavors Under the Big Sky talks to two semifinalists from the Best Chef: Mountain category. In the world of food this is comparable to nominated for an Academy Award.
Stella Fong: Chefs Nick Steen Gullings of Walkers in Billings and Lee Johnson of MontAsia were two of the semifinalists for Best Chef: Mountain.
Walkers first opened in the Old Chamber Building in 1993 to move into its current location ten years later. Since Chef Gullings joined the team in 2017, he has now received two nods from the James Beard Foundation. So how did it begin for the chef that serves up cuisine that he touts as adventurous regionally farmed food with a hang that won’t be soon forgotten?
Nick Steen Gullings: I started Walkers as the chef and general manager, and I came in originally with the idea of being a partner with Bill Honaker when he was here. The idea was always to give him the opportunity to retire and for more or less, he was able to retire during my time and COVID hit, and he had to come back in a little bit…