ROCK SPRINGS– Coyote Creek brought on a new executive chef back in March of this year, and he brings years of experience and expertise.

Born and raised in Douglas, Wyoming, Chef Shane Ramseier returns to Wyoming to bring his culinary skills to Rock Springs.

Throughout his time at Coyote Creek, Ramseier has been building brand new menus for the community to enjoy. How does he come up with his dishes?

“It’s pretty much whatever pops into my head. I experiment a little bit. I follow the trends that are going on. I try to one-up people, try to set my own trends,” Ramseier said.

Chef Shane Ramseier’s Experience

Ramseier studied culinary at Le Cordon Bleu and has worked at restaurants and in kitchens in Wyoming and Las Vegas.

In 2011, he worked at Encore Las Vegas as a cook. He then returned to Douglas where he was an executive chef at Chutes Steakhouse for three years. He later became executive chef at the Four Aces steakhouse in Glenrock.

Opening his own restaurant remains as one of Ramseier’s proudest accomplishments. It was a New York Style pizzeria and Italian place. He received a best new restaurant award from the Wyoming Restaurant and Lodging Association.

After about one year of running his own restaurant, he returned to Las Vegas and started working at MGM International Corporate.

“I became the executive chef right before I came here,” he said.

Ramseier said that if you start tracking his experience in the kitchen from his first dishwashing job, he has 20 years of experience.

Aspirations of Becoming a Chef at a Young Age

His dreams of becoming a chef were born from drawing inspiration from his grandfather.

“My grandfather was a chef in the military,” he said. After his first dishwashing job, he “just never got out of the kitchen.”

Though Ramseier didn’t see himself returning to Wyoming again, he said “things are working out pretty well here”. He is thankful that the community is open to trying new dishes.

“The community is very accepting of new things. If they don’t know what it is, they’re still going to try it,” he said.

Steakhouse Cuisine Remains Supreme

As much as he enjoys experimenting with dishes, he likes preparing steakhouse cuisine the most.

“I just like braising things and grilling things,” he said. He enjoys making ossobuco, an Italian braised veal dish.

As for his favorite food to eat, pho is by far is favorite (a Vietnamese soup).

“It kind of saddens me that there’s no place here that sells pho,” he said.

Perfecting Sous-Vide Cooking

While Ramseier is here in Rock Springs, he would like to become the only chef able to do sous-vide in the area.

“In sous-vide cooking, we’re going to put herbs, and flavorings, and aromatic vegetables in a Cryovac with a steak, and cover it, seal it shut, and then poach it in that bag. So it’s like cooking it in a bag at a constant temperature of 130 degrees. The temperature will not go over that.

“So the outside of the steak will kind of turn brown and then you’ll sear it off, just so you get good caramelization on it, and then it is completely medium done 100 percent throughout. And it’s gonna add a lot of flavor to it.”

In and Out of the Kitchen

Ramseier describes his personality in the kitchen as much like Gordon Ramsey.

“If you watch Gordon Ramsey, that’s pretty much how I am, minus the screaming. I don’t like to scream at people, but it will happen from time to time. I’m very professional. Get it done get it done now type of person. I’m very strict,” he said.

Outside of the kitchen, Ramseier said he is fun, has a good sense of humor, and can be kind of crude. Though he’s at Coyote Creek from sun up to sundown, when he does have some free time he enjoys camping, fishing, and ranch work. He likes horses.

“Typical Wyoming stuff,” he said. He likes spending time at the Flaming Gorge because it has “good fishing and it’s quiet.”