Chef returns home for fishing, food

Malcolm Orser’s career path as a chef has led him across the nation and eventually back home to Kalispell.

“Pick a city, any city — Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Mobile, Seattle [and] New York City,” Orser said in describing where he has worked as an executive chef.

Three years ago, Orser, 61, packed up his chef’s knives and moved back to Montana.

Orser said he returned home to be closer to family, but it didn’t hurt that he also will be able to partake in his favorite pastime, fly fishing, in the majestic scenery of Montana.

Orser said he loves fly fishing for its complexity, discipline, patience and tranquility.

“My father was a master and I think he taught everybody in our family,” Orser said.

“Both my parents have passed on, but they were fanatical fly fishermen. I’ll probably be out on the water this afternoon. I just got a new fly rod for my birthday.”

Orser’s family has a lot of history in the Flathead Valley.

He noted that Logan Pass in Glacier National Park was named after his great-great uncle.

Currently, Orser is executive chef for Kalispell Public Schools.

When it comes to introducing children to healthier food or atypical recipes such as hummus or tabouleh, it’s all about presentation — and small samples, according to Orser.

Even during hot weather, Orser dresses impeccably in his “chef’s whites,” a double-breasted long-sleeved jacket and apron, when preparing meals for the district’s free summer meal program.

The Flathead High School graduate remembers being exposed to cooking as a young boy in the kitchen of his parents’ Fifth Avenue East home.

“I used to tag around behind my grandmother and my mom in the kitchen,” Orser said.

It wasn’t long before his friends became aware of his culinary know-how.

“In Scouts I was the only one that could cook when we were out on camping trips,” Orser said. “I found something I enjoyed and stuck with it. I just think there’s so many ways to express yourself, a different way to use creativity.”

Before Orser graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York City, he studied elementary education at the University of Montana. He said the education degree benefited him when he taught culinary arts at the high school and college level for about 10 years.

“It [working with students] keeps me young. It’s a breath of fresh air to be around kids, understand their mindset and to light the fire” to get into a culinary field, Orser said. “It’s not an easy career, but there’s so much you can do with a culinary degree — food styling for pictures in a magazine, food science and product development.”

His first full-time chef position was at Glacier Park’s Many Glacier Hotel in the 1970s.

“A big flood happened right in the middle of the season and we had to close down,” Orser said. “Coincidentally, two years ago I went back to work in East Glacier, more out of curiosity. It’s not the place you go to make money or fame, but there’s a good group of people working there.”

Orser is low-key and didn’t set out seeking fame in the culinary world, yet he has received numerous awards and recognition for his work. One of his greatest accomplishments was being voted by colleagues and recognized by peers as the American Culinary Federation’s Atlanta Chefs Association Chef of the Year in 2002.

“It was totally unexpected, something I couldn’t even imagine,” Orser said.

He is a Certified Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation, the level below Certified Master Chef, which is the highest level attainable that few chefs hold, according to Orser.

In addition to his experience working in restaurants, teaching and certifying chefs, Orser has worked in commercial food product development making items that people might see in a grocery aisle or deli. As a food product developer, Orser said he had to learn the science of food.

To stay on top, chefs have to be multidimensional in their abilities.

“Look at the big picture — that’s education, that’s technology, that’s skill development,” Orser said.

Even when Orser hangs his white apron up at work, he never tires of cooking for himself, family and friends.

“Even for my birthday people asked me, ‘What do you want to do, go out?’ I said, ‘No, I want to grill out,’” Orser said.

And it’s often the case that people are afraid to cook for a professional.

His advice when cooking for guests is to use familiar recipes.

“Do what you do well,’ Orser said. “If you’re inviting someone over, don’t experiment. That’s never a good idea. Don’t look through a cookbook and say, ‘I’m going to try that tonight.’ Don’t force that on people at a dinner party. Do something you’re comfortable with, something you’ve done and done and you know it’s going to be good.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.