Garnished, with real dirt.
“Our quick story begins with resolving my wife’s health challenges by simply focusing on nutritious whole foods and diet changes. The best way for us to do this was to eat local and organic––little of which is reflected in today’s cooking television shows and media. Inspired by the power of food, I decided to parlay my award-winning career in action sports and adventure filmmaking into creating Foodterra. Foodterra focuses on the importance of knowing your food, supporting local and connecting the nutritional and environmental rewards of organic and regenerative food choices.”
Arden Oksanen
ERIC WILSON
After several years of traveling through Europe working as a chef and opening his own cafes in Denmark and Sweden, Wilson was ready to settle down and found himself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He instantly fell in love with the expanse, the rivers and the world-class fishing. Once he found out there was a serious food scene, he was sold. That afternoon, Wilson walked into The Range, a restaurant in downtown Jackson featured in Gourmet and Bon Appetit and a Wine Spectator award-winner, and asked the executive chef for a job.
Wilson has been in Jackson for over a decade now, moving on from The Range to chef positions at other esteemed valley restaurants and guest ranches until, eight years ago, he decided to become a private chef. Since then it’s been a whirlwind, he gets to go all over the place, fly in helicopters and private jets. If he wasn’t so jazzed about this good fortune, it’d be easy to hate him.
Wilson wows clients with his energy and the inspiration he draws from ingredients. Don’t ask him to plan a menu in advance, but set him loose at the weekly farmers’ market and ask him to have a dinner for eight ready that evening and he’s in heaven. He calls it free-style cookery, and clients love it once they learn to trust him.
Jackson Hole food producers, from the morel hunter to ranchers raising lamb, pork, and beef, and farmers growing as much as can grow in a valley with a three-month growing season have come to trust Wilson too. They see how he freaks out over their work and how he respects it in his food. On a recent assignment in Costa Rica, Wilson asked a young woman selling her father’s fish if he could rent her homemade grill. That led to more conversation and soon the father, a fisherman, was bringing the best of his daily catches to Wilson. Spiny lobster? Sure, he’ll work with that.
Wilson’s enthusiasm and spontaneity—in the kitchen and meeting new people—is what ties the different elements of Foodscapes together. How many professional chefs do you know that are excited to cook and serve a meal in an uncontrolled, outdoor environment?
Watch Eric In Action
ARDEN OKSANEN
Born and raised in Jackson Hole Wyoming, Arden Oksanen enjoys living largely on the “Buy the ticket, take the ride” philosophy of Hunter S. Thompson. He has been producing, directing, shooting, and editing action/adventure sports films and HDTV programming for over 20 years. Arden specializes in adventure storytelling in extreme environments, whether it’s from the deck of a Volvo 70 sailboat racing across the ocean, on a remote stretch of river in Madagascar, or on snow covered peaks alongside the Line Of Control in Kashmir.
In addition to producing several award winning action sports and adventure films his work has been seen on National Geographic Channel, NBC, Fuel TV, Rush HD, and Showtime and he has done projects for companies including Nike, JanSport, Apple, Red Bull, Puma and Teton Gravity Research to name a few. An adventure and a camera have been his passport to explore, travel, and document experiences few people ever get to see.