Global Food Collaborative

It is no wonder that Kirsten can better tell her own story.   Besides working with her husband and children growing their family operated Alaskan lodge business, Kirsten has devoted the past 26 years studying and learning about culinary and culinary tourism.    She studied at the Cordon Bleu in Paris as a direct result of one of her lodge guests.  She has traveled the world looking at life through a culinary prism.  She has a Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide and most recently a Masters in Creative Writing.

Her journey continues as she expands her craft providing her guests an experience like no other. 

Kirsten arrived in Alaska in 1980 as a public health nurse.    Shortly thereafter, she met her husband Carl and they transitioned to a dramatically different career path of owning and operating remote (far off the highway systems) Alaskan lodges.    Those lodges include Winter Lake, near the Finger Lake Check point along the Iditarod Trail and Redoubt, a bear viewing lodge on the west side of Cook Inlet.    Winter Lake is open year-round and the logistics and planning for the lodges require 6 to 10 permanent employees and 40 during the summer season.  Her husband and two daughters work side-by-side in the business, as well as other family members that represent 3 generations.      Of all of the challenges involved in running a business, Kirsten remarks that one of the most difficult is in keeping the successful business small.      After all, the uniqueness of this business is its ability to provide a world-class experience.    This means being true to their clientele with a personal and attentive relationship between the proprietors and the visitors who come from around the world. 

The family just purchased the Tutka Bay Lodge in February, so this will be their first season "in the bay".    The lodge is located in one of the most spectacularly scenic locations, a 25 minute water-taxi ride from Homer.      The lodge has 6 private guest cabins with a main lodge that captures the spectacular view.

Kirsten is excited to learn the culinary resources of the region and get to know her new neighbors in the expansive Kachemak Bay.  In keeping with the other lodges, she will have a culinary focus on cooking everything from fresh and buying locally, as each lodge reflects its unique region of Alaska.   She plans to incorporate this into visits to the local Homer farmers markets, with her guests, and returning to prepare the day's bounty.  She is hoping to do the same with the area shellfish farms and hopefully other production sites and businesses.  Kirsten has a passion for cuisine and the Kachemak Bay opens up a sort of "natures market" of the finest in salmon, halibut, oysters, wines and brews, berries, produce and meats.  

The International Culinary Tourism Association defines this as "the pursuit of unique and memorable culinary experiences of all kinds, often while traveling".    The phrase "unique and memorable" is key to understanding culinary tourism. Many times people hear "culinary tourism" and they think it means restaurants that have earned 5 stars or better, or high-end wineries. That is not the case, as culinary tourism is not exclusively what is pretentious or exclusive. Culinary Tourism includes a local pastry shop, an interesting bar on a nameless street that only locals know about, the pretzel vendor on the streets of New York City, or a gelato vendor on a historic street in Italy. Higher-end experiences fall into a subset of culinary tourism called "Gourmet Tourism". In fact, wine tourism, beer tourism and spa cuisine are also subsets of culinary tourism. Culinary Tourism is not agritourism. While the seeds of cuisine are in agriculture, and agriculture and cuisine are inextricably linked, the two are very different. Agritourism is a subset of rural tourism, while cuisine is a subset of cultural tourism, as cuisine is a manifestation of culture. --- International Culinary Tourism Website

Kirsten explains, "Food is all part of understanding why and how we live and we embed this education into our lodge experience."   Culinary chef's often try to define what exactly is the Alaska Culinary Fare.   "I've believed for a long time that we truly have an Alaskan cuisine", suggests Kirsten.    "We might not have had one 20 years ago, but it has evolved as we have become confident in our natural resources and young, creative people have maximized this bounty in a culinary environment".   Kirsten believes that cuisine is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean and Russian, Scandinavian and Asian cultures.   She concludes, "We can now cook with a sense of place."

The Tutka Bay Lodge opens soon and Kirsten and family look forward to meeting and collaborating with their new neighbors and offering their clients, yet another one-of-a-kind experience.      As we stated at the beginning of this story, it is best to hear and experience it directly from the source - Kirsten Dixon.

Kirsten Dixon
P.O. Box 91419
Anchorage, Alaska 99509
Phone: (907) 274-2710

Tutka Bay Lodge

Kirsten's Cuisine

Media Highlights Of Accomplishments

Editors Note:   An International Tourism/Agri-Tourism meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 11th, immediately following Global Food Alaska 2009's showcase.    For more information, contact us at show (at) globalfoodcollaborative.com