My last time to Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie was four years ago to sample the fare from the new team of chefs. I enjoyed foie gras, salmon, and steak, all prettily plated with a number of floral and Native American notes.

Now there’s a new executive chef in town. Steven Snook, formerly at the Kenwood Inn and Spa in Sonoma County wine country, has taken the helm and brings his English accent and sensibility to the kitchen. At a recent preview dinner for local media, I enjoyed a spring menu that again included salmon, but also pork belly, lamb loin, and even geoduck as part of a green garlic soup.

What impressed me most: Snook’s sense of restraint in cooking, evident throughout the meal, but particularly in the “Potlatch Cured Wild King Salmon,” which some diners would surely worry to be undercooked. Snook asserted “I want the beautiful flavors of the Pacific Northwest ingredients to shine through,” explaining that his goal in preparing the ingredients is “to showcase the true flavors in their most natural and simple state.”

Here’s a look at the Salish Lodge dinner—plus a shot of the property, above, in its most natural and simple state.

  

Camp Korey green garlic soup with 63-degree quail egg, geoduck, and fermented onions

Confit & roasted pork belly with roasted baby gem lettuce, burnt onions, charred corn, and toasted mustard seed (paired with Salish Honey Ale)

Potlatch cured wild King salmon with Salish honey creme fraiche, bitter leaves, hazelnuts, and Pharaoh’s lemon

Roasted Martinez Family Farm lamb loin with milk-braised shoulder, morel mushrooms, English peas, and Camp Korey chocolate mint

Pistachio “Magnum” with Kirsch-soaked cherries, pistachio espuma cake, and cherry gel