Local chefs turn North Central Washington’s autumn harvest into creative, comforting menus
When summer begins to loosen its grip on North Central Washington, the region’s kitchens come alive with a different kind of abundance. Orchards fill with apples and pears, farmers bring in squash and root vegetables, and the forests offer wild mushrooms. For local chefs, fall is an opportunity to turn that harvest into something both familiar and unexpected.
For Chef Ben Herreid, owner and executive chef of Larch Restaurant Group in Leavenworth, the season is defined by abundance.
“Fall means abundance for me,” he said. “In the fall that’s when everything’s available. You wait and wait, and suddenly it’s like it’s coming out of your ears.”
Herreid oversees three Leavenworth restaurants — Prusik, Larch and Carta — each with its own personality but a shared emphasis on thoughtful cooking and regional ingredients. At Carta, that philosophy is taking an especially Pacific Northwest-focused direction, with menus inspired by the ocean, forest and field.
For Chef Top Rojanasthien, who owns and operates Atlas Fare in Wenatchee with his wife, Jenny, fall is about a different kind of abundance: the comfort of gathering around a table.
“For me, fall cooking is about family and friends,” he said. “Warm feelings, warm atmosphere, warm spices, just dining in comfort.”
Though their restaurants and culinary styles differ, both chefs approach the season with the same basic idea: Let the ingredients lead, then find creative ways to make them shine.
A Taste of Place
Ask Herreid which ingredient tells him fall has arrived, and his answer comes from the forest.
“One thing that comes to mind immediately is chanterelles,” he said. “We’re in the Pacific Northwest and we do a lot with foraging. Right now we’re just entering that season where chanterelles are going to come on board, and that’s going to be huge.”
For Herreid, chanterelles offer more than a seasonal flavor. They tell a story about where his restaurants are located.
“I feel like they’re unique to our region, and they’re abundant in our region,” he said. “They really showcase a flavor that is uniquely Pacific Northwest, and even more specifically the Cascade Mountains.”
That sense of place is important to Herreid, particularly in a destination such as Leavenworth, where visitors arrive from around the state and beyond.
“People travel here from all over the state, and they want to try something that really expresses who we are,” he said. “I think chanterelles hit it on the head.”
In Wenatchee, Rojanasthien looks to the orchards for his strongest connection to fall.
“We live in one of the best apple-growing regions in the world — which is why featuring the Cosmic Crisp apple was a no-brainer for us,” he said.
The Cosmic Crisp makes appearances at Atlas Fare in both sweet and savory dishes, including Apple Pie Bread Pudding and the Jenny Salad.
“It has that great balance of sweetness, acidity and crunch that makes it versatile in both sweet and savory applications,” Rojanasthien said.
Pears, carrots, parsnips and autumn squash also find their way onto his menus, offering the ingredients for dishes that feel distinctly suited to cooler weather.
Beyond the Butternut
For Herreid, fall’s ingredients become most interesting when chefs move beyond the familiar.
“There are so many varieties,” he said. “Everyone knows their butternut and everyone knows their zucchini. But I’m really excited thinking about things like red kuri squash.”
His relationships with local farmers make it possible to experiment with varieties that diners may not encounter every day.
“I have a local farmer that will grow several hundred pounds for me now,” he said. “And Jarrahdale, which is an Australian variety he’s been growing for me—it’s almost like a huge, Cinderella-style looking pumpkin.”
Rather than simply roasting the squash and putting it on a plate, Herreid’s kitchen has been exploring more elaborate preparations. One recent example is arancini made with Jarrahdale pumpkin risotto and Caciocavallo cheese.
“We’ve been doing really fun preparations with some of the more unique squash,” he said. “I feel like people need to venture out and try these other squashes because the preparations aren’t any different than your other squash, but the flavors are all unique. Maybe you’ll find something you like even better than butternut.”
At Atlas Fare, Rojanasthien takes a similar approach to balancing familiar ingredients with new flavors. The restaurant’s fall cooking incorporates the chefs’ love of travel and global cuisine into dishes designed to remain approachable.
“Following the concept of Atlas Fare, we try to incorporate our love of travel and global flavors into familiar dishes,” he said. “It is no different with our Fall dishes.”
Ingredients such as miso, mustards and spices add depth to comforting dishes without overwhelming the ingredients themselves.
“Incorporating ingredients such as miso, mustards, and spices add umami notes that enhance our comfort dishes,” he said.
Comfort With a Creative Edge
Fall menus have a natural advantage: People are ready for food that feels warm, hearty and familiar. But neither chef sees comfort as a reason to stop experimenting.
At Atlas Fare, two newer dishes — Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Carrots — lean into the flavors and colors of the season.
“The dishes are inspired by the comforting tastes of slow cooking and warm spices,” Rojanasthien said. “In addition, the dishes visually express the beautiful earthy colors of Autumn.”
His curry squash soup has also quickly become a guest favorite, while Washington- and Oregon-sourced wagyu braised beef and steaks add locally raised meat to the menu.
At Carta, Herreid is looking toward roasted meats and game as temperatures drop. Oregon rabbit is among the ingredients he is excited to work with, while a porchetta made with Carleton Farms pork is being developed with hazelnuts and porcini pappardelle.
“I feel like that’s going to be a super solid fall dish,” he said. “All the flavors seem like they’re going to be solid for the end of summer into fall.”
Apples also provide a natural bridge between the season’s sweetness and its savory flavors. Herreid is planning an apple tarte Tatin served with a Beecher’s cheese cookie and ice cream.
Raising a Glass
Wine is another part of the autumn experience, and both restaurants approach pairings as an opportunity to broaden the meal.
At Carta, Herreid relies on his sommelier and manager, Genevieve Helligso, to develop pairings that complement the restaurant’s regional focus.
“I go to Genevieve,” he said. “She’s our sommelier and manager, and she is just phenomenal with wine. I lean into her for those.”
For the current Carta menu, the goal is to keep the wine list close to home.
“The current menu we’re doing for Carta is going to be specifically targeted Pacific Northwest,” Herreid said. “That was one of her deals—that she only feature local wineries on that menu.”
At Atlas Fare, Rojanasthien takes a broader approach, reflecting the restaurant’s international influences. Guests can choose from old-world and international wines, as well as Washington selections.
“With wine, it’s all about personal preference, and there are no wrong answers,” he said.
The goal is to understand what guests enjoy and help them find a pairing that works for them, whether that means a Spanish tempranillo, French champagne or a Washington red blend.
Bringing People to the Table
Ultimately, neither chef is simply trying to showcase a particular squash, mushroom, apple or cut of meat. The ingredients are a means of creating an experience.
Rojanasthien hopes his fall dishes bring guests back to the simple pleasure of eating together.
“Firstly, we hope they enjoy the flavors and feel like they made a great choice,” he said. “Secondly, we hope the dishes evoke a sense of comfort that they may feel enjoying a meal at their own home with friends and family.”
Thanksgiving, his favorite holiday, captures that idea.
“The idea of sharing a decadent meal with family and friends in a comfortable atmosphere will always inspire how we cook and serve our meals,” he said.
Herreid hopes for something similar, while also encouraging diners to slow down enough to let food create memories.
“I’m hoping people come here and slow down,” he said. “I feel like we live so much in the digital and AI and all of these influences happening in our lives, and I really want people to be able to slow down and have an experience.”
He has seen firsthand how powerfully a dish can connect someone to a memory. A guest once became emotional after eating one of his roasted mushroom dishes because it reminded her of foraging with her father, who had died the year before.
“That’s the kind of connection food can sometimes have if we slow down and enjoy it and get out of the rat race,” he said. “We want people to experience that. To take them to another place—a good place.”
That may be the real taste of fall in North Central Washington: not simply the familiar flavors of apples, squash, mushrooms and warm spices, but the opportunity to gather around a table and experience them in new ways.
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