Local chef competes on ‘Top Chef’

 by Sarah Glass

Few restaurants in the United States earn a Michelin Star rating. It is a distinguishing feature of outstanding culinary achievement. Chef and owner of the Ember and Grano restaurants in Hamilton, Brandon Dearden, has brought his experience working at such establishments to the Bitterroot Valley. He is also currently being featured on Season 23 of the competitive cooking show ‘Top Chef,” airing on Bravo and the Peacock streaming service.

A chance restaurant collaboration opportunity brought Dearden from California to Montana. Four years ago, said Dearden, “It was that time of my life where I’d worked 20-plus years in the industry, and I wanted to branch out and do my own thing… What I realized was — in California — if I were to open a restaurant over there, I would just be working for the chefs that I worked under. It would just be a spitting image of what they created in California already. I wanted to come to a place that was undiscovered, where no chefs were representing.”

While searching the internet for a place to invest in a new business of his own, Dearden found an advertisement looking for a chef and partner for a wood-fired restaurant concept in Hamilton, Montana. The request was specific, asking for someone who was Michelin-trained and could bring a fine-dining experience to the Hamilton area. Within a week of contacting the Stock Farm Club members who would become his temporary business partners, Dearden flew to Montana to do a tasting. The meeting was a success and the development of a business plan that would incorporate a multi-restaurant approach was initiated.

“Don’t get me wrong, it started with failure,” Dearden admitted, speaking of his and his partners’ initial investments in the Bitterroot Valley. “We launched Bullseye Burgers in Corvallis and Victor, and those fluttered pretty quickly. The sales weren’t there, and the concept didn’t work in those towns… We also tried to launch a butcher shop. We purchased a custom-cut butcher shop – North American – down here, and we were trying to go the USDA route. That kind of failed. And then, with Ember and Grano, these restaurants were successful right out of the gate.”

Today, Dearden and his wife own Ember and Grano “100%.” Both restaurants opened in 2024 and focus on integrating produce, meat and pasta from Montana-based food systems.

As fate would have it, said Dearden, “the executive producer for the production company [of ‘Top Chef’] is from Missoula.” Apparently, the former Montanan saw Dearden’s social media videos and, wanting a chef from the area, had someone reach out to him. “Now that I own my own businesses and have my own personal brand, I knew it was worth the opportunity and the exposure.”

Dearden and his chef brother, Jonathan, joined the ‘Top Chef’ competition showcased in North and South Carolina this season. The show features a panel of judges and numerous Quickfire Challenges that keep the contestants on their toes while they compete against each other and the clock. The last chef standing wins $250,000.

Famous chef Emeril Lagasse and comedian Fortune Feimster have been among the Quickfire Challenge presenters on the show in Season 23. In the episodes released so far, Dearden has won one such challenge for a cash prize of $10,000. The culinary prompt was offered by a panel of children who also judged the dishes.

Given a theme that sounded like it was out of a Madlib game book, the chefs had to serve up a dish relating to “Christmas in Colorado” and “puffified.” Dearden won the challenge with his maple syrup and corn nut ice cream creation. “I tell people that ‘Top Chef’ is a reality TV show, and they create these scenarios that are impossible… Competition cooking is like none other. You’re not able to train for it. You’re not able to think things out. You have to think fast on the fly. You know, the clock doesn’t stop.”

At the time of writing this article, both Dearden brothers have yet to be eliminated from ‘Top Chef.’ To watch them on their culinary competition journey, tune in to Bravo on Monday nights. The show is also available to stream on Peacock.