Christine Keff

Christine Keff launched her culinary career with a two-year apprenticeship in New York's renowned Four Seasons in 1978. Following her Four Seasons training, Keff worked in New York City for 10 years, developing the concepts, menus and assisting in the full design and development for 3 restaurants. From 1987 to 1988, Keff traveled extensively throughout the United States and Asia, spending time in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia before relocating to Seattle where she had a vision to combine her culinary travels with a passion for the fantastic products of Pacific Northwest.

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Achieving a lifelong ambition, Chef Christine Keff opened Flying Fish in July of 1995. Located in the burgeoning Belltown neighborhood, Keff's seafood bistro appeared in major publications across the country including the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Wine Spectator, Decanter and Food & Wine. In March of 1999, Flying Fish received a 4-Star rating by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, sharing this award with only one other restaurant in the city. Two months later, the James Beard Foundation recognized Keff as the Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest/Hawaii.

In 2005, Flying Fish marked its 10th anniversary with celebratory events and monumental undertakings that include Keff's subsidizing of an 18-acre farm in the Kent Valley south of Seattle which provides the certified naturally grown produce for the restaurant and converting 100% of the restaurant's raw ingredients to being 100% organic or harvested in the wild.

Keff's professional memberships include the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, membership in the International Association of Culinary Professionals, The James Beard Foundation and Chefs Collaborative. In 2008 she was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Salmon Center’s Wild Salmon Hall of Fame. Keff is the first chef to win this award, which honors those who demonstrate a passion for the preservation of sustainable wild salmon populations.

CHRISTINE'S FEATURED RECIPE

Crispy Skin Salmon with citrus- olive oil sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 6 oz. Salmon filets, skin on, scaled
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For the glaze:
1 oz. ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 oz. scallions, finely chopped
1 oz. garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ oz.rice vinegar
2 oz. hoisin sauce
1 Tbs. sambal
1 oz. black vinegar
2 oz. chicken stock
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For the sauce:
(yields 1 cup)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1T sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste


Directions:
For the glaze:
Sauté ginger, garlic, and scallions. Add rice vinegar, sambal, hoisin sauce, and black vinegar. Bring to a simmer. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Let cool; season to taste.

For the sauce:
Combine the orange juice and lemon juice with the sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce down to a syrup thick enough to coat a spoon. Let cool. Put into blender and add olive oil in a slow steady stream with the blender running. Season with salt to taste. Set aside. (Must be used within 2 hours)

For the fish:
Coat salmon with the glaze. Grill over a charcoal fire, skin side down, until crispy. Flip over and continue cooking, about 7 minutes total cooking time. Serve with sauce.