By: Roger Naylor
Perhaps no restaurant in Arizona is so appropriately named as the one that wows the guests of Castle Hot Springs. With one word it tells its story. There is a philosophy packed within those few letters. Harvest.
It evokes a timelessness, when we were still in tune with the seasons, when we were part of a natural cycle. It conjures a sense of wellness. We gathered the food and we feasted.
Harvest.
That’s still how things are done at Castle Hot Springs. Meal preparation begins not indoors but outside beneath a warm Arizona sun. It starts with the gathering of crops—most of which grow within sight of the restaurant. Minutes before they become ingredients, they are rooted in the soil. Then, at their peak, they’re carefully plucked, pulled, and snipped then carried into the kitchen. It’s time to make dinner.
“The menu of Harvest is the collaborative work of the farmers and chefs. Together we plan what will be planted for each season and the dishes evolve from those ingredients,” says Chris Knouse, Executive Chef of Castle Hot Springs.
It is Chef Knouse’s talented staff that plates the final product. They receive the accolades and recognition. Yet as he is always quick to point out, it is only possible through a group effort.
That collaboration is part of what makes each meal at Harvest so vivid, so remarkable. The creative culinary skill of the chef is just the finishing touch on a process that began months earlier with a few passionate people huddled together in an office poring over seed catalogs.
Long-range vision combined with unrelenting attention to detail create a farm-to-table experience like no other. Here the table is surrounded by the farm, connected to it. Much of the food consumed at Harvest is grown just footsteps away. The rest is locally sourced using the same sustainable methods employed at Castle Hot Springs. The breakfast and lunch menus change seasonally to take full advantage of the farm’s bountiful yield. But the dinner menu is created anew each day, highlighting the very best of what’s available at that precise moment. Dinners are based on that day’s harvest.
“We know ahead of time what is planned to harvest so we can be prepared for that product,” says Knouse. “But we still have to taste the product to see how we need to adjust the dish for balance. As new crops come in and old crops phase out, our menus and dishes evolve to adhere to them.”
Adaptability is the key because sometimes plans are thrown out the window. Dishes must be changed or reinvented. The chefs rise to the challenge as they constantly seek new ways to highlight the bounty growing all around them and the best way to bring those flavors to life.
With more than 150 rotating crops grown at Castle Hot Springs, abundance is at hand. Something is always reaching its absolute peak. Chefs work closely with the farm team determining what’s available on each particular evening for their daily harvest menu.
Knouse himself stays in touch throughout the day discussing everything from the ripeness of carrots to how many eggs the chickens are laying. He is keenly aware of the resort’s special terroir. Crops are irrigated with the mineral-rich spring water that flows from the canyon. Vegetables and herbs can take on those minerals giving them a unique flavor to be utilized only here at this desert resort. Working so closely with the land guides the resort staff to a sense of stewardship.
“We are currently embracing regenerative farming and green practices,” says Knouse. “This is something we take very seriously at Castle Hot Springs and within Harvest.”
Those practices include using 100 percent compostable paper goods, as well as composting all food scraps to replenish the soil, which in turn leads to healthier crops. Soil teeming with organic matter is not only good for the planet but produces nutrient-rich food.
Yet despite doing everything correctly weather still plays a hand. There are cold snaps and heat spells, droughts and downpours, as farmers since the dawn of time can attest.
“We have learned as a team that there is no guaranteed crop,” says Knouse. “Sometimes Mother Nature throws us a curveball and we adjust. We have to be creative and that is what we enjoy doing in the first place.”
Dinner at Harvest—served as a multi-course tasting menu—perfectly captures this place and this time. The work of so many people combine just to create healthful, indulgent, and delicious meals every evening here in the shadow of the cactus-clad Bradshaw Mountains where the seasons and the harvests still matter.
After a day of adventure, or relaxation, or both while at Castle Hot Springs, remember that this dinner is more than just a meal. It is an expression of joy. It is a final bit of harmony for your body and your spirit. So much had to come together leading to this exquisite feast. Savor it because no one else will have this particular experience. This is the food you were always meant to eat.