Chef Christopher McLean is the executive chef and beverage director at The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, overseeing the resort’s multiple dining concepts, including its signature restaurant, Litchfield’s.
What is one of the things you most enjoy about The Wigwam Resort?
It’s a beautiful resort and I’ve always been intrigued by historic hotels, so this being an almost 100-year-old historic hotel was wonderful to me. I didn’t know as much about the property until I moved to the area and my aunt encouraged me to check it out. I learned that the hotel was originally designed by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Back in the 1920s when they were still making tires with cotton this was the best climate to do that – so this is where all the big-time people at Goodyear Tire would come and visit before it was opened to the public. Another fun fact is that the windows have triangles in the shape of the original tire treads of Goodyear Tire.
Tell me about your background and how you became a chef.
I was in army intelligence for a while and fell in love with cooking, so I knew when I finished my time in the military, I was going to be a chef. I started studying the lineage of many different chefs and traveled, taking my family around like a nomad, to work for top chefs around the country. I lived in Napa Valley, and then moved overseas, living in the Netherlands and Germany. I then moved to Ghana and was picked to be the personal chef for the president of Ghana. It was quite amazing to have so many people come through and I actually got to cook for the Queen of Sheba who was the most amazing, wonderful lady. I then came back to the United States and was the chef for the Lone Ranger movie, making breakfast and dinner for all the amazing people in that industry. I also worked for the PGA Tour, which paid for my first and second level sommelier training before I moved overseas.
How do you incorporate your experiences into your role at The Wigwam?
Now, I draw a lot of inspiration from my surroundings in the Southwest. I’m classic French- and Italian-trained. However, I’ve spent a lot of time in the Southwest and have fallen in love with this cuisine. I’m merging Native American and Southwest here and using a lot of ingredients that native tribes would have used. We recently had a wine dinner where I did a buffalo dish with the three sisters component to it with corn, squash and beans.
I’m also able to tie my experiences into new menu items. One of the craft cocktails that I introduced is the Copper Cosmo that uses Absolut Elyx Vodka. It’s a fun copper still vodka, and when I was living in West Africa, I got to see people that worked for me and my friends carrying big jugs of water on their way back to their village, and when I first started making this cocktail, with every bottle of the vodka that I would buy, Absolut was donating a week’s worth of water to a family in need in a developing nation – so that hit home to me.
How do you plan the events – like the wine dinners – you’ve been hosting on site?
I have so many cool culinarians here – I don’t just do the wine dinners myself. I draw the culinarians’ names out of a hat and what course they’re going to do, so it’s a lot of fun. It’s good for our guests because they get to experience different chefs, techniques, backgrounds and histories. The chefs also get to go out and talk about why they decided on the dish they did. I’m passionate about being able to teach and help these amazing culinarians grow, and this is one way I’m able to do that.
When I came to The Wigwam, I was very excited that I was chosen to be not only the executive chef but also the beverage director, so I get to use my training to bring the entire experience together. A lot of people don’t realize that being a sommelier isn’t just about wine – there’s wine, but you also learn about spirits, beers and cigar service.
What should people know about The Wigwam?
People don’t know what we have here in the West Valley – The Wigwam is a true hidden gem. A lot of the people who have lived here for a long time know about it, but there are so many people moving into this area, and I think they’ll really enjoy the history of this place. We’re bringing amazing food and wines to the area and we even just got a really nice award from Wine Spectator.
