“Not every job has been the best job, but you get what you can out of it and grow and learn in whatever way you can.” That attitude has helped Chris Bork move up the culinary ladder in St. Louis, a city with increasingly discerning diners who have come to expect a lot from their food.
The chef and part-owner behind the new and well-received Vista Ramen in Benton Park started in the business at a young age as a dishwasher. “I just moved up in the ranks from there and liked cooking,” he says. “I was competent at it.” While not originally from St. Louis, he moved here when he was 16. Bork spent a few years in London, where he studied cooking at Westminster Kingsway College before returning home in 2005. “Niche had just opened, and I really noticed stuff was starting to happen with the local restaurant scene,” he recalls. “St. Louis is great for young chefs. It’s not cheap to open a restaurant anywhere, but it’s much more economical here than in other large cities.”
Bork should know. Owning his own place has been his dream for a while, but it didn’t happen overnight. “It’s great, but there is a lot of baggage that comes with owning a restaurant,” he says. “Even though it’s very difficult, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” His chef’s resume includes Wildflower, Revival (a stint with Cary McDowell that he remembers fondly), The Mud House, Blood & Sand (where he was hired as the inaugural executive chef) and Peacemaker. “Blood & Sand was really the place where I found my creative voice,” Bork notes. “I left there to pursue my own thing but realized I needed partners. For me, doing something completely on my own didn’t make sense.”
Enter The Mud House owners Jeremy and Casey Miller, whom Bork refers to as two of his best friends. “Our paths crossed again, and they were looking to open a ramen shop,” he says. “At the time, there weren’t really any in St. Louis and the concept was perfect for the Benton Park neighborhood. We wanted something that was affordable.” While ramen wasn’t what Bork had in mind, he was on board—as long as he could add something unique to the menu. “I needed something other than ramen,” he says. “No matter what chef is here, there has to be that outlet to work creatively.” The menu includes a number of small plates that highlight Bork’s inventiveness in the kitchen, like pumpkin miso agnolotti, kimchi pancakes and grilled octopus.
Creating the menu involved a lot of testing, resulting in staple items and rotating specialties. “We hosted numerous pop ups, which are a great way to get feedback. A couple times a month, we cooked in the Millers’ kitchen and invited friends over,” Bork says. The menu is seasonal, and he tries to use local provisions as much as possible. “We’re still new, and I’m building up my inventory of farmers,” he says.
For now, Bork is exactly where he wants to be—making people happy with food and hospitality. “We put in a lot of hard work, and the positive feedback is great, but I just take it and move on to the next day,” he says. The partners have aspirations of opening another spot, but there is no timeline yet. “The main goal now is just to continue to be awesome!” With a blaring neon sign that proclaims ‘Vista,’ a cool urban vibe and regulars who visit more than once a week for much more than noodles, ‘awesome’ shouldn’t be hard to maintain.
■ 2/3 lb. chestnuts, roasted and shelled
■ 1.5 oz. bacon
■ 1.5 oz. butter
■ 2.8 oz. onion
■ 2.8 oz. carrot
■ 4 ¾ c. water
■ 1 ₂⁄₃ c. cream
■ 1/2 c. white wine
■ 1/2 t. vanilla
■ salt and pepper
» Melt butter over medium heat and render bacon.
» Add onion and carrot, and sweat 5 minutes.
» Add chestnuts, season with salt and pepper, and cook 5 minutes.
» Add white wine and reduce by half. Add cream, water and vanilla. Bring to simmer and cook 15 minutes, ensuring chestnuts are tender.
» Puree, pass through chinoise.
» Garnish with smoked scallops, roasted broccoli and pickled ginger.