Our Story
Chef Chet Saign, was born in Minnesota, but raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was taught from a young age the fundamentals of baking and operating a smokehouse along with butchering meats, from his parents. Chet studied by way of an apprenticeship under a classically trained French chef from China named Henry Sing Cheng. Chet spent 28 summers at the award winning, French New Orleans restaurant, 410 Bank Street Restaurant in Cape May, NJ. He also worked among some of Salt Lake City’s finest restaurants including La Caille, the Park Café and the Sante Fe as well as Deer Valley and Snowbird Resorts in the winters.
Nancy Saign, was born in Cape May, NJ and studied at Rowan University and East Stroudsburg University. Growing up in a seaside resort at the Jersey shore, Nancy was born into the hospitality industry. During the off-season, opposite summers in Cape May, Nancy began traveling to Utah to work the hospitality season at Snowbird Resort, teaching snowboarding, with the belief that Education & Hospitality go "hand in hand". Once settling into her career as Marketing and Special Events Director for the Chamber of Commerce of Cape May, Nancy looked forward to one day owning her own business but also found joy in helping others find success in their business. It was during this time, 1998 that she met Chet.
Chet worked his way from line cook to Chef de Cuisine at 410 Bank Street Restaurant. Nancy took over marketing for the restaurant after leaving her career in Marketing & Special Events. Chet and Nancy married in 2004 and after a few years of working together, began leasing the business.
Chet and Nancy continued to travel cross country from New Jersey to Utah seasonally, while raising their three children. Teaching the next generation about hospitality, traveling from place to place, but all the while searching for a space to one day settle permanently to open their own restaurant.
In January of 2020, on the eve of the Pandemic, Chet and Nancy purchased the building that formerly housed Café Diablo, a popular restaurant started back in the 90’s by Chef Gary Pankow, in Torrey. That winter Chet and Nancy homeschooled their kids, settled permanently and spent time reflecting on past experiences and creating a vision for their new restaurant - agreeing on the importance of using locally sourced, whole foods and offering guests something healthy while on vacation.
In search of a name and a brand for the new endeavor, homeschool offered the flexibility for a family research project delving into Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding area history which inspired the “Hunt & Gather Restaurant” name. The Fremont Culture laid the fundamentals for the business model by implementing a “close relationship with nature and each other, often living together in small, multi-family communities” and living a Hunter-Gatherer lifestyle. The Hunt & Gather Restaurant was created to offer guests a place to dine surrounded by kindness and hospitality and opened in July of 2020.
Chet and Nancy experienced a fast paced, highly competitive lifestyle while running their restaurant on the East Coast. Moving forward, they chose the small close-knit community of Torrey to create their own restaurant for a few reasons. They wanted to slow down a bit and really focus on quality over quantity, getting to know their guests and sharing with them their passion for creating Slow Food and showcasing local products. Chet also especially wanted to work with youth of the community to mentor students interested in the culinary field who were looking for an internship or apprenticeship.
From the ocean to the mountains Chet and Nancy, now bring to Torrey, UT, a passion for quality healthy meals, cooked to perfection in a kind and warm environment.
Now the kids are growing up and are a part of the restaurant. You will see their oldest son hosting, their middle son dishwashing and their youngest daughter doing prep work or taste testing. Nancy & Chet invite you to dine with them as they continue to write their story!