Written by Brad Iwen
While researching the best restaurants in the Black Hills on the ol’ Google machine, I read about a newish chef-driven concept in Custer. There aren’t too many ingredient-forward “fine” dining spots in the hills, but a few have started popping up in recent years. Skogen’s site didn’t have a ton of info, but it did have some great images and a great looking menu. There were two sentences on the site that piqued my curiosity and prompted me to want to explore more: “Skogen means “The Forest” in Norwegian. This name is a nod to their heritage and surroundings.”
For me, part of the magic of the Midwest Food Stories project is discovering chefs that tweak the norms of the traditional midwestern dish. Finding the artists that have figured out ways to evolve the meat-and-potato mentality is paramount for this project. There were two dishes on The menu that seemed to fit this bill perfectly. The first was a sweet corn ravioli with a dill butter sauce, popcorn, parmesan cheese and shaved Australian winter truffles. I was intrigued. This is light years away from your typical Black Hills restaurant dish. The second was a play on deviled eggs. I’ll admit it, I have a huge soft spot for deviled eggs and I always order them whenever they pop up- especially when I’m at a restaurant that features a creative, adventurous chef. These particular deviled eggs were topped with some smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and some fresh chives.
Chef Joseph Raney of Skogen Kitchen in Custer, South Dakota, prepares some Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs.
I reached out to Chef Joseph and thankfully he agreed to hang out and talk a kittle shop and show us how he does what he does. Before we get to that, let’s explore the town of Custer for a minute. My wife and I have loved adventuring in the Black Hills for the last decade for so. We love the lakes, the hills, the lack of people, and the fresh air. We typically stay away from the touristy things and focus our energy and time on the great outdoors. Custer, which is located in the southern Black Hills has always been one of our favorite towns, mainly because of the geography, the scenery, and the close proximity to Custer State Park, which is an incredibly diverse park with a wide range of environments and a great assortment of wildlife. It’s a beautiful town nestled right up next to the hills and has a great main street with historic buildings with lots of character. Population? 1800.
Chef Joseph is from Los Angeles and he had a very successful career working as a chef in many different restaurants there. He committed himself to at least a year in each restaurant and only moved on after he felt he learned what he needed to learn from that particular experience. He met his wife, Eliza, while working at a restaurant in Newport Beach. She was originally from the Midwest and after 7 years of living in L.A., she really wanted to get out of the city and move back to a small town. She didn’t really care where exactly, she was just yearning to get back to small town living. They had read about Custer in a book somewhere and on a whim, Joseph decided to go check it out. Eliza couldn’t get the weekend off work, so Joseph went without her. It’s worth noting here that neither of them had ever been to the Black Hills or Custer before. Joseph drove around with a realtor all day throughout the hills and nothing really struck his fancy…until they arrived at their last stop for the day, which was Custer. He said it just felt like an adventure…an adventure he thought his wife would really love. So, he put an offer in on a house and it was accepted. And that was that.
Chef Joseph Raney, owner an chef at Skogen Kitchen in Custer, South Dakota.
He wanted to move because he knew it would make his wife happy. The reality was he felt it was a massive compromise. He was happy where he was and his career was moving in the right direction, so he felt that it was either happiness for him in L.A. or for his wife somewhere in small town America. This was a mental tug-of-war that he created in his mind, but was still willing to make the move for his wife and the sake of adventure…even though his L.A. peers joked that his fate would be becoming a professional fry cook once he got to South Dakota.
His wife loved Custer. Really loved it. Joseph hadn’t planned on opening a restaurant in Custer at first, but as time went on he felt himself really missing the restaurant life. He missed the energy of the kitchen. He and Eliza began working through what their restaurant in Custer would look like and unfortunately, he heard time and time again that his style of cooking would never make it in a town like Custer. This lead to some sadness, doubt, and frustration, but they decided to go for it anyway. They both understood that the simple equation to running a successful restaurant was equal parts generous customer service and amazing execution of innovative dishes. Joseph’s goal was to prove that it is possible to have the same quality of restaurant in a town of 1800 people that is more the norm in cities like New York or Los Angeles.
Joseph said that it took moving to Custer to fully understand and tap into all that he had learned in Los Angeles. And that includes everything from creative ingredient play to managing a team successfully. He quickly realized that most of the people that have worked for him aren’t pursuing a career in the culinary arts. They are simply looking for a good job that allows them the opportunity to live in a town like Custer. He also realized that people in this region were a lot different than people in L.A., and definitely not in a bad way. He soon discovered that his happiness was elevating and making this move was paramount to his success as a chef and business owner. He has cultivated relationships with regional growers like Rob Stanton from Stunningham Farms who operates on 100 beautiful acres just down the road in Hot Springs, SD. This collaboration has opened up a lot of great opportunities to work with fresh, local ingredients and also has lead to an ever-changing menu at Skogen Kitchen. This is part of the allure that has made this restaurant so popular in this region. It is the go-to special occasion spot in town and also a bright spot for traveling foodies. Contrary to what all the haters had predicted, Skogen Kitchen was extremely well received from day one and has helped elevate the overall food scene in Custer.
Chef Joseph and his wife Eliza play a very important role in demonstrating what creative cooking can look like in a small rural town in middle America. The dishes that he made for us during our visit were extremely fun to explore: ingredient-forward compositions that were fresh, delicious, and incredibly well executed. Watching Chef Joseph craft the sweet corn ravioli was delightful and mesmerizing. A lot of love was put into every step of that process and the results were outstanding. The earthy and savory notes of the Australian winter truffles played beautifully with the subtle sweetness of the farm-fresh corn. The inclusion of popcorn and freshly-shaved parmesan was not only delicious, but created a really fun experience exploring the different textures and notes of the dish. He also created a traditional Italian dish with some local Dakota melon, Spanish vinegar, and some burrata cheese. Very simple, but a very inviting and delicious summer dish that gives homage to cultural cuisine, but again executed perfectly with fresh local ingredients. And the deviled eggs? On point. Those will definitely be a part of my next dining experience at Skogen.
So what did Eliza think about Custer when she first arrived? Joseph said she was mad during the drive from Rapid City up to Custer. Not because she didn’t like what she saw, but because he had not told her how incredibly beautiful it was. She thought they were moving to a typical town in the Great Plains, and was not expecting the scenery to be so gorgeous or the town of Custer to be so iconic. Making this move has proved to be life-changing in so many positive ways for both Joseph and Eliza, but also for the chef’s culinary evolution as well. I highly recommend putting Skogen Kitchen on your short list for your next culinary adventure.
Skogen Kitchen Film
If you are need of any outdoor gear while you’re in Custer, check out the South Dakota Outdoor Shop. The owners are super cool (and featured in this film) and have tons of knowledge of how to best enjoy all of the amazing outdoor adventures around this region. They have gear for rent AND a sweet little bar to cozy up to after a long day of playing outside.
https://southdakotaoutdoorshop.com
And if you’re looking for freshest ingredients while you’re in the Custer region, check out Stunningham Farms. They grow over 120 different veggies on their 100 acre farm near Hot Springs. They also partner with other growers from other regions to provide a wide range of goods. you can find them on Facebook to see where they will be set up next.
https://www.facebook.com/Stunningham-Farms-361060141378419/
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