My Favorite Recipes: Meet Pete Koerner, Colfax

Pete Koerner, proprietor of the Top Notch Café in Colfax, home of the world’s best burgers.

Prior to arriving on the scene in Colfax, Pete Koerner lived and worked in several places across the country. Growing up with his father in the military, Pete was born in Jacksonville, Fla. His family moved several places during his childhood, and they arrived in Washington state in the '70s.

Since college, he has worked in the food industry in one way or another.

“I started as a dishwasher, back when I was going to school in Bremerton,” he said.

At that time, Pete was employed at a large buffet.

“It was a big buffet where they had all the sports teams that had all their banquets there,” he said. “We were knee deep in dishes all day long.”

At another restaurant, Pete made pizzas and worked on the line. At another on Bainbridge Island, Pete was working as a dishwasher and learned more about cooking.

“A guy there taught me how to flip eggs,” he said. “That guy could flip two pans in one hand.”

Over the years, Pete said he has enjoyed working in the restaurant industry.

“Kitchen work, you're always working,” he commented. “It's something new every day.”

Pete went to culinary school at Olympic College, and he spent 15 years working at Black Angus. He credits his time there for helping him to become acquainted with meats, specifically prime rib.

“Black Angus, that's where I worked the most,” he said.

He met his wife Candace in 2002, and the couple was married in 2003. They welcomed daughter Jorja in 2004, and they have moved around to a few places since then. When he met Candace, he lived in Bremerton, and they moved to Bellingham to be nearer her family. Jorja was born in Victoria, B.C., and the family moved to Texas for a couple of years after that. Pete worked as a bakery manager at Costco there, and he also spent time at Costco in the meat department. He said he learned a lot about cutting meat there.

“I learned lots of cuts,” he commented.

Moving from Texas to Washington, the Koerners arrived in Colfax in 2010 and bought the Top Notch from Pete's nephew, Adam Koerner. They have been here ever since, and plan to be here for a while.

“It's a little family business,” said Pete, commenting that Jorja sometimes works at the restaurant with him and Candace. “It's kind of fun. I get to create and make things.”

Pete also said he enjoys the customers at the Top Notch. Many of them are regulars, and he knows some orders off the top of his head.

“I use some of these guys as my test dummies,” he said, laughing. “I get people's feedback. If they like it, I might put it on the menu. If they don't, then I won't. Food is about trial and error.”

Pete said he enjoys cooking over baking.

“Baking is a science; cooking is an art,” he said. “The only way you can mess something up in cooking is if you put too much of one seasoning. Baking, if you don't go by the exact, it might fall or something.”

One thing that has become popular is the prime rib night at the Top Notch.

“People love my prime rib night,” he said. “I credit me knowing about beef a lot from me working at Black Angus for 15 years.”

At the Black Angus, he assisted in cooking up to 400 pounds of prime rib each week.

Occasionally, he does catering, and prime rib is sometimes on that menu, too. For his catering, he is the sole cook, and he will have help with serving.

“You've got to know what you're doing,” he said. “One person can do it; it's just having people to help you to serve it.”

He also said that catering, and running a restaurant, are about organization and treating people right.

“It's all about organization, especially running a restaurant,” he said. “You have to have organization and make sure people are treated the way you want to be treated.”

Pete said he enjoys working in the Colfax community and being part of the small town atmosphere. He said it allows him to connect with and know his customers, and he enjoys seeing people help each other out.

“Some of the out of towners, when they come in, they're asking questions, and there's usually some regulars in here I can hook them up with,” he said. “That's one thing about a small town I like. It doesn't matter, you can always find something out or find someone who knows something.”

He also said it feels good to have people refer others to his restaurant.

Some of the recipes Pete is sharing are on the Top Notch menu, so some ingredients have been omitted. The process, though, is included here.

Prime Rib

For this recipe, Pete uses a prime rib rub. Some of the ingredients, minus proportions, are included below.

Beef seasoning

Garlic

Black pepper

Thyme

Kosher salt

Paprika.

Mix up the spice, and rub it on the prime rib. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees, and when ready, stick the prime rib in the oven for about half an hour. After half an hour, crank the heat down to about 250. For the first 15 minutes, leaving the prime rib in the oven, make sure the door is open so that the heat can come out and cool the oven down. Leave the prime rib in the oven at 250 degrees for about two or two-and-a-half hours.

The internal temperature, for a medium rare prime rib, should be around 140 degrees. If desiring meat to be less rare, leave the prime rib in the oven longer.

Pete said heating the prime rib initially at 450 degrees helps to lock in the seasoning and the juices.

Pulled Pork

A favorite at the Top Notch. Again, some of the ingredients, minus proportions, are included below.

Granulated garlic

Cayenne pepper

Black pepper

Ground oregano

Kosher salt

Paprika

Cumin

Sugar

The process is simple. Rub the pork butt in the barbecue rub, and let is sit for a day. The following day, smoke it for 13 hours in a smoker. After that, it is ready to serve. Pete noted he also uses this seasoning on fries.

Fettuccine

The ingredients for this recipe are included in the process.

Using chicken or shrimp, or whatever meat is desired, cook the meat with garlic and Italian seasoning. Then cook the meat in white wine, allow that to sauté off, and allow the meat to deglaze. After the meat is deglazed and the wine is reduced a bit, add some heavy whipping cream, and let that cook until it starts bubbling up. Then add mozzarella cheese. The cheese and cream together will thicken. After that, boil some fettuccine noodles, or noodle of choose, and throw the components together to make the final pasta dish.