In the weeks leading up to Dish Fest, we’re presenting our readers with exclusive chef interviews so they can learn the stories behind the Best Dishes being served at the third annual food festival.
Bryan Gorton serves as executive chef at Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, where he’s in charge of all dining outlets. For Dish Fest, he’ll be on deck to prepare a popular dish from Kembara, the resort’s new Pan-Asian restaurant. On March 14, a few days before the PHOENIX magazine festival, Gorton will oversee a progressive Dish Fest dinner with wine pairings at Kembara, and sister concept, Tía Carmen, a restaurant that combines Southwestern cuisine with European and Latin American influences. Both restaurants are in partnership with celebrity chef Angelo Sosa.
What are you preparing for Dish Fest?
We are preparing one of our signature dishes from Kembara, the crab fried rice. We cook it on a traditional wok, so we’ll be bringing portable woks with us to Dish Fest. It has oyster sauce, lump crab, sugar snap peas and is finished with fresh curry leaves. It has a beautiful flavor at the end.
What do you like about this dish?
The rice has a ton of flavor. I loved eating fried rice as a kid, and this is fried rice on steroids.
How does Kembara differ from most hotel restaurants?
We’ve only been open for a few months and we encourage people to come and experience what Kembara has to offer. We’re doing dishes from all kinds of Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. We’re a true Pan-Asian restaurant. The décor is not what you’d picture at a J.W. Marriott Hotel. We’ve got neon lights and graffiti on the walls and it’s a little bit edgy. Kembara has a unique vibe.
What kind of music do you like to listen to in the kitchen?
My go-to music is the Red Hot Chili Peppers station on Pandora and anything in that genre – ACDC, Guns and Roses.
