Since opening its doors in March, Ember, a wood-fired restaurant tucked away in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, has been fully booked every night. While Hamilton may not be the typical destination for fine dining, that’s exactly what chef Brandon Dearden likes about it. "I wanted to come to a place that was undiscovered," said Dearden, Ember’s head chef and co-founder.
"It was an absolute culture shock, but the reality is there's such a need for a fine-dining restaurant here in the town." Brandon Dearden, Ember’s head chef and co-founder inside of the downtown Hamilton, Montana restaurant on July 9, 2024. About 90% of the menu items are sourced locally.
The menu features a variety of American dishes, including vegetables, fish, meats and desserts, many of which are cooked in a wood-fired oven. The menu changes frequently to highlight seasonal ingredients, Dearden added. Highlighting local produce wasn't just about flavor; it was a deliberate choice based on Montana's resources.
“You can go to this beautiful farmer's market downtown in Hamilton but nobody serves the farmer's market vegetables,” Dearden said. “There's so many cattle here, but yet you can't go to a restaurant and get local beef. And it just made it really clear to me.
We have to change that.” Inside Ember, a wood-fired restaurant in downtown Hamilton, the open kitchen layout is designed to allow diners to connect more with the staff by watching their meals being prepared. Partnering with local farmers.
