Spokane native Chad White is the co-owner of TT’s Old Iron Brewery and Zona Blanca, a seafood-focused restaurant that celebrates the flavors of coastal Baja California, Mexico. Since opening in 2016, Zona Blanca has gained a strong reputation-- just like Chad, who has been recognized as a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef in the Northwest and Pacific in 2020 and 2022, and appeared on Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 13.

This June, Chad spent five days in Cordova, immersing himself in the Copper River salmon fishery. With a genuine curiosity, he explored what makes Copper River salmon unique. After he got back to Spokane, we hopped on a Zoom call to hear his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say.

JJ: What is your relationship with salmon?

Chad: My relationship with salmon in general is pretty modest. I’ve cooked with it pretty much my entire career. I probably eat it once or twice a month at home, depending on what’s available. It’s a great fish for me in terms of barbequing or eating it raw, but not something I consume or even have access to on a daily basis. 

JJ: How has your trip to Cordova and the tour of the Copper River fishery deepened your understanding of wild salmon?

Chad: I mean greatly. The trip to Cordova was really eye-opening. Anytime you can get closer to the source, it provides you a better understanding of the product you are working with. There’s an understanding of the process– of fishery husbandry if you will; how we take care of the environment, what the fishing season is like, which type of fishing is allowed, the regulations, who the fishermen are to give some examples. Getting to know the people who are at the source has always been exciting for me with whatever I am cooking–whether its proteins or vegetables–so being able to see it firsthand was incredible. I recommend it to any chef that is interested in cooking with salmon. Being right there on the soil talking to the fishermen and spending time on their boat, watching what they do, asking questions and then cooking the product. I’ll tell you this-- that was a lifetime experience. I’ll remember going to Cordova for the rest of my life. 

JJ: How do you source your salmon, and what factors do you consider when selecting a supplier?

Chad: Currently we use local purveyors NorthStar Seafoods here in Spokane and typically how I source products with them is I’ll have an idea for the menu and I’ll do some research on some companies or chefs to see what they are using. It’s been a little bit of a chore to get fresh seafood delivered to where I am, but after being in Cordova, Copper River is at the very top of my list now and so having the opportunity to also purchase direct instead of going through a middleman allows me to get the product I am looking for. We serve a lot of raw seafood i our restaurant, so the quality of the product has to be at the very, very top. Having a connection to the source has been great and it’s very important to me. 

JJ: Can you describe the importance of understanding the origins and sustainability practices in the food you prepare?

Chad: I think understanding where your ingredients come from and how they are being produced whether is how they’re being caught, how they’re fabricated, how they’re being put in a box, the ethos and the integrity of the company and how they treat their employees and the environment should be a top priority for any chef. If you don’t know about the food that’s going on your plate, I don’t think you should be serving it. It goes even further: if you can know the producer, the fishermen, it’s that much easier to understand. Going to Cordova and talking to Fish & Game and talking to environmentalists and other chefs–people who hang the nets and drive the boats–anything that gets you from scale to plate is incredible and I think that every chef, if they have the opportunity to experience it, should apply it to everything that is on their menu. 

JJ: Any last words?

Chad: I wanna come back! It was such a great experience. In my opinion, we barely touched the surface of salmon. I’d love to be upstream and to be on the boat as the fishermen are catching fish. Knowing more about salmon now, specifically in the Copper River region makes me want to put it on my menu more consistently just for having a better knowledge of it and being able to talk about it with guests. I really have a story behind it. There’s a story behind all food that we serve. It’s pretty remarkable.