When the devastating blow of COVID brought Chef Karl Holl and his brother’s Oregon-based catering business to a grinding halt, they were forced to imagine a new path forward. The company was considered one of the top caterers in wine country at the time and had 120 events booked for the year, Holl said.

“Within three days of COVID, it was all gone. Our whole business was dependent on people being together,” he said.

Four years later, “Portland’s Monthy’s” 2018 Chef of the Year has found himself on the “ultimate stage.”

Holl was named the executive head chef at Brasada Ranch in 2023, where the culinary program includes two pool snack bars, a bar and grill and a high-end restaurant.

The last of those is Holl’s most ambitious project yet and there’s a sense everything he’s done since assuming his new role has been leading up to its unveiling.

Now called Wild Rye, the restaurant held its soft opening on June 20. And its menu has a story to tell.

High Desert flavors

Wild Rye features ingredients foraged from the ranch, located on what used to be a 1,800-acre sheep farm.

Holl’s approach involves “digging into the history of raising sheep in the High Desert (and) how they sustain themselves through foraging the wild rye that grows all through the High Desert.”

Wild Rye is not simply the name of the restaurant, but a theme that carries throughout, along with Holl’s love of foraging.

“It’s also about making that connection with the community and the farmers and everyone around us to create that local component,” Holl said. “Without my farmers, I don’t have a drum and without my meat purveyors and my ranchers, I don’t have my lead singer.”

Watching the seasons change, he’s taken notice of the High Desert’s ruggedness, its sweeping swing in temperatures and fire season when the ranch is enveloped in a cloud of heavy smoke. Holl has incorporated techniques involving charring, burning and smoking that tell the story of the High Desert on a plate.

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Cooking from the heart

It’s not easy for Holl to distill his approach to cooking, but to put it simply, it’s a labor of love.

“I cook from my heart,” Holl said. “I cook thoughtfully and seasonally.”

If Holl could choose one dish that embodies the spirit of Wild Rye, it would be the juniper braised lamb shank paired with a rye berry risotto and seasonal vegetables ($58). The lamb shank is marinated for a few days in juniper branches, which have been foraged from near Brasada Ranch.

While Holl considered seasonality, diversity and production utilization, it was a dish that evolved naturally, he said.

“It’s this natural story that kind of just made itself and I was just the person that put the things together,” Holl said.

Additional signature dishes on the menu include thinly sliced beef tenderloin with Dungeness crab ($69) and smoked beef carpaccio ($21). The carpaccio is a nod to the early days of Holl’s career working in Napa Valley but with a twist. It’s made with High Desert beef, black garlic aioli fermented in-house and foraged Pacific Northwest pickled mushrooms.

King of the burgers

Holl wanted to balance the menu with an offering that was comforting and recognizable and with that came the $50 burger.

Holl was resistant to adding a burger to the menu at Wild Rye, given that burgers are served elsewhere on the property. Given the high demand of the classic dish, he came up with what he considers the “king of the burgers at Brasada Ranch.”

A bone marrow brioche bun sets the tone for this extravagant twist on the classic dish. It’s swiped with butter churned in-house and the bun contains a little bit of rye. Truffle aioli, foie gras butter lettuce, bordelaise onions and Washington smoked provolone from Ferndale Farmstead top the burger, which is served with a helping of fries.

If that wasn’t enough to merit the price tag, Holl adds a final touch: gold dust.

Holl said diners indulging in the meal are often caught covered in gold, or have a gold mustache.

It’s fun, Holl said. “It reminds me not to be too serious.”

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The cocktail program

Holl’s culinary art is complemented by Scott Baird, cocktail creator at Wild Rye.

Baird is the founder of the internationally acclaimed bar Trick Dog in San Francisco, recognized by the World’s 50 Best Bars list, the James Beard Foundation and the Tales of the Cocktail conference, according to the restaurant website.

He’s also an old friend of Holl’s, whom he met in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2010. Baird understands Holl’s approach of telling a story through food while having a little fun. His background as a savory chef and knowledge of product and seasonality has been instrumental to the program that is being created at Wild Rye, Holl said.

“When you work with a friend, it cuts a lot of the fluff out,” Holl said. “You just get to the point and get to work and you’re creative, you inspire each other to be creative.”

Wild Rye is Holl’s opportunity for a fresh start, following the loss of his catering company Spätzle & Speck in Portland.

The stage has been set for Holl to tell the story of the High Desert, the sheep farm that formerly occupied Brasada Ranch and the spirit of the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s been a fun journey and resetting, recalibrating my settings,” Holl said.

Details

What: Wild Rye

Location: Brasada Ranch, 16986 SW Brasada Ranch Road, Powell Butte

Contact: brasada.com, 541-203-6213, reservations accepted at opentable.com, @wildrye.brasada

Hours: 5-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday

Price Range: Appetizers and small plates $11-$21, large plates $35-$149