Meet Chef Geoff Rader!

All of the food at the Gannett Grill is prepared under the supervision of Chef Geoff Rader – previously the executive chef at Cowfish. Geoff possesses a wealth of restaurant experience, resulting from years of training and hard work in the agricultural and culinary worlds. His menu for the Gannett Grill focuses on tasty, innovative presentations of some of the most popular items in modern American cuisine, including:

• Delicious, 12-inch, New York-style, hand-tossed pizzas that are made from scratch and cooked on stone in the grill’s pizza ovens.
• Juicy burgers made from local beef cattle raised free of hormones and antibiotics by Wyoming Custom Meats.
• Salads and entrees prepared with delicious, homegrown vegetables – including arugula, asparagus, broccolini, carrots, cherry tomatoes and butternut squash – from an onsite organic garden.
• An extensive array of sandwiches and bar munchies that go great with the ice-cold microbrews from the Lander Brewing Company (available at the adjoining Lander Bar).

Originally a native of Chico, California, Geoff’s culinary career actually began while he was exploring the field of agriculture. While working on his agriculture degree at Chico State, Jeff undertook a senior project – under the tutelage of an accomplished former chef from Chez Panisse – that involved growing organic produce for a vocational culinary program. This introduction to agricultural marketing instilled in him a long-lasting love and respect for organic, locally grown foods.

After college, Geoff pursued an externship at a small winery, where he developed and refined his knowledge of fine wines. A subsequent move to Colorado eventually led him to Lander by way of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Once in Lander, his years of experience in the agricultural and culinary fields saw him hired as a cook at Cowfish by then-Chef Ted Furguson.

Relying on his accumulated expertise with organic foods, Jeff established the onsite organic garden that the Gannett Grill and Cowfish still rely on today for homegrown vegetables.

When Furguson stepped down in 2007, Jeff took over the helm at Cowfish as executive chef, a post he retained until assuming co-ownership of the Gannett Grill with Jill Hunter in 2010, and becoming the head chef there.