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Bryan Woolley's recipe for becoming a successful television chef calls for natural talent mixed with hard work and just a pinch of luck.
"Basically, I was in the right place at the right time," said the chef for KUTV Ch. 2.
Twenty years ago, Woolley was teaching breadmaking classes at a Logan culinary shop when a Salt Lake City news station (not KUTV) called, looking for a chef who could do a regular on-air cooking segment.
"My boss literally passed the phone to me," said Woolley, who ultimately accepted the job and did the Tuesday cooking show on Fox-13 for eight years.
Since then he has consistently hosted a cooking show, making him the king of culinary television in Utah and one of America's longest-running TV chefs.
"I'm honored that people would let me in their houses and trust me and watch me for this amount of time," said Woolley, who moved to KUTV in 2002, when Fred Wix — aka the Gabby Gourmet — retired. Viewers quickly adapted to the animated young chef who offered his original easy-to-make recipes using everyday ingredients.
"My main goal has always been to teach people to make things at home," said Woolley, a 47-year-old Idaho native and Utah State University graduate. "If it's not something you're going to make, then really I've failed."
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Woolley — a classically trained opera singer — graduated from USU with a degree in music and spent several years acting and performing. The experience made him confident on air and soon brought him a dedicated following, said KUTV news director Jennifer Dahl.
"Bryan's food segments have always been well received," she said. "And his recipes continue to be among the most popular on our website."
She compared Woolley to Alton Brown, the Food Network's geeky food scientist.
"Bryan always tries to educate the viewers and comes up with practical solutions for home cooks," she said. "If you don't have buttermilk, he will tell you what to substitute. Or if he's cooking filet mignon, he lets you know you can get the same flavor with flank steak. That really resonates with viewers."
Woolley also does a weekly show on KUTV called "Cooking with Chef Bryan," which airs Sundays at 6:30 a.m. And he is the national spokesman for Klondike Brand potatoes, which allows him to travel the country and teach classes in person and through online videos.
For the past three years, Woolley's show has been part of KUTV's 4 p.m. newscast. "We had a few folks upset when we moved him from noon to 4 p.m.," Dahl admitted.
But two weeks ago, Woolley moved back to the noon newscast when the "Ellen" talk show moved into the 4 p.m. time slot.
"I'm telling everyone they've moved me back home," he said, clearly delighted to be back at midday.
The noon news team is happy about the return, too.
"Every day I learn something from Bryan," said co-anchor Ron Bird. "I'm not that great of a cook. But I'll try the recipes that Bryan makes. Last week we did his pear pie at my house."
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Woolley said he learned to cook from his mother. He had a much older brother who was always out golfing with their dad. "My mom always felt bad and would say, 'Come in the kitchen and let's make something.' "
Years later, Woolley worked for a Logan production company when he hired Culinary Concepts Catering to provide food for an event.
Chef/owner John Simpson said the gig — a Renaissance dinner with Old World food like turkey legs — helped launch Woolley on his culinary path.
"I'm getting things ready and the next thing I know Bryan Woolley is in my kitchen asking if he could help," Simpson said. "He was really drawn to cooking and wanted to learn more."
Energetic and personable, Woolley would stop by the Culinary Concepts kitchen regularly at lunch or after work to learn and ask questions.
"I remember that he was a really good baker, and a really horrible cook," Simpson said, with a laugh. "But he was a quick learner and would pick my brain about everything. Soon he knew how to work his way around the kitchen."
Not long after, Woolley began teaching breadmaking classes. And then a local TV station called.
Editor's note • The Salt Lake Tribune maintains a news-gathering partnership with KUTV-Ch. 2. —
Bryan Woolley stats
KUTV Channel 2 chef Bryan Woolley has been cooking on television consistently for more than 20 years, making him the king of culinary television in Utah and one of America's longest-running TV chefs. Here are his stats:
Age • 47
Born • Idaho Falls
Education • Bachelor's degree in music from Utah State University
TV • KUTV-Ch. 2, Monday-Friday at noon and Sunday at 6:30 a.m.
Website • chefbryanwoolley.com
Fun fact • Woolley, a tenor, is a classically trained opera singer. —
Caramelized onion jam
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs parsley
1 large rosemary sprig
1 cup sugar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
Salt
Olive oil
Heat a large pan on the stove and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add sliced onions and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add bay leaves, being careful not to crush them. Mince the parsley and rosemary and add to onion mixture.
Sprinkle onions with sugar and let the sugar melt down. Do not stir the mixture at this point as it may crystallize the sugar.
After 5-6 minutes, when the sugar has caramelized, add apple cider vinegar. Let the mixture boil, stirring a couple of times until you have a thick jam.
Remove from the heat. Take out the bay leaf. Cool. Serve with crusty artisan bread. Use as a condiment on hamburgers and hot dogs or as a topping for meats.
Source: Chef Bryan Woolley —
Fresh pear crusted pie
Pie dough
1 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
½ cup ice cold water
Filling
¾ to 1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoons freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup cream
4-5 medium-sized pears, peeled, cored and sliced
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust, place shortening, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse ingredients to cut shortening into flour. The mixture should resemble coarse meal when finished. Pour dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add just enough of the water and gently stir to pull the dry ingredients into a soft dough. It should be tacky to the touch.
Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the fruit.
For the filling, place sugar, flour, nutmeg, salt and cream in a medium-size bowl. Mix together. Pour mixture over the pears and gently mix together.
Roll out half of the dough and place it in an 8- to 9-inch pie pan. Pour pear mixture into prepared pie shell.
Roll out remaining pie dough, place top crust over pears in the pan. Trim crust and seal edges.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden and pear filling is boiling.
Servings • 8
Source: Chef Bryan Woolley