MEET THE CHEF: Cory Oppold of COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
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5 Reasons to Visit® sat down with Executive Chef Cory Oppold of COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
Where did you grow up, and where have you traveled to that has helped inspire and shape your cooking philosophy?
Growing up on a farm in Pearl City, Illinois has aided in molding me in my career. Already having a big respect for food prior to being in culinary, I grew up knowing where food came from, the hard work it takes to get it, and the patience needed to make it. I left Illinois in 1998 and moved to Arizona to pursue architecture. I had a huge fascination with art, math, and the way things were built. However, a year later, I ate at my first fine dining restaurant. I was hooked immediately. After several years of buying cookbooks and immersing myself in the food, a friend of mine suggested I should pursue culinary school. I later went to culinary school and graduated with honors from Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2002.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
Tell our readers an interesting fact or two about yourself.
My style of cuisine is modern American, and I enhance the ingredients. I do not typically combine many ingredients together to make a product. However, that is not to say that I will not put many products on a plate to build complexity, alternating different levels of acidity and textures, so I would say my style is to use multiple simplistic items to build complexity. Presentation is a key factor in the dining experience. It is our job as chefs to produce tasty food, but if we do not make the food beautiful or at least use our abilities to make it look amazing, then we are just cooks and not culinary artists. As chefs, we should strive to be both.
Tell us about your absolute favorite food and why readers should try it if they haven’t already.
My favorite foods to eat and work with are vegetables. Each one has an amazing purpose, but what I love the most about vegetables is you know exactly what time of year you are in as they are like the “culinary calendar.” In the fall I love all the pumpkins and squash. Then during the spring, I gravitate towards all the English peas, ramps, and morels. As a chef, I can apply more techniques to a carrot than to an expensive protein such as a lobster tail. Vegetables are what drive our menu at COURSE. If young chefs try to focus on developing a vegetable dish first and then insert protein, the creative process of dish development will be easier for them.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
What are three ingredients that you simply couldn’t live without?
Salt, eggs and flour—as they are all the base for so many amazing creations.
We love the art behind plating. What do you love about designing the perfect dish?
As a chef, of course I love to cook; it is therapeutic for me. However, what drives me the most is designing a dish. Being able to work with seasonal products and develop a dish that has the right balance of acid to mouthfeel to crunch versus creamy textures is what is fascinating about our art. COURSE, being a multi-course restaurant, allows us more creative freedom to apply this philosophy as not only do we try to balance each dish, but we also balance one course to the next in a single tasting menu.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
Tell us about one of the most creative dishes you’ve created?
The most creative dish I have come up with was when I made a “truffle” from huitlacoche. The dish was aired on an Emmy award-winning, Arizona PBS segment called “PLATE & POUR” back in 2020. A truffle is a fungus or mushroom that grows naturally underground. Huitlacoche, a natural corn fungus, made the most sense to try to make our own version of a truffle. I made the so-called truffle from huitlacoche, maseca, and burnt corn husk ash. I made the dough, steamed it, and air-dried it in the walk in to mimic the underground temperatures that a truffle thrives in. After the “truffle” dried, we then sliced it on a truffle slicer tableside on Latin inspired dishes.
What is one of your greatest accomplishments and/or recent awards you've earned?
My biggest accomplishment has been opening my own restaurant. It has been a dream since 2016 when I first started writing the proforma. From 2020–2022 I have been doing in- home dining to test this concept and have met many incredible clients along the way. One dinner in particular, I met my amazing business partners of the restaurant, and their pursuit of perfection took the vision well beyond what I had hoped for and envisioned. My greatest award is winning CHOPPED on the Food Network back in 2019. It was a mentally exhausting accomplishment, but it was a true honor to be on the show and see what I was capable of doing.
What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in top restaurants across the globe?
I see tasting menus making a strong comeback to our industry, which is extremely exciting as a chef that focuses on a 5 and 10 course menu within our restaurant COURSE. I also see brunch being elevated throughout our industry. At COURSE, we offer a multi-course brunch known as “MORNING WOULD.” For Morning Would, which is only offered on Sundays, we focus on a 6-course brunch made up of elevated brunch classics with a twist.
What’s your favorite cocktail or beverage of choice?
My favorite cocktail is a Paloma. Combining good tequila with amazing grapefruit juice yields such a nice balance of flavors.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
What do you love about being the Executive Chef and Owner of COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona?
What I love most about being executive chef at COURSE is the people I cook for, the individuals I work with, and the amazing people that helped make this incredible restaurant a reality that was the dream of a kid from a farm in Illinois. Everyone within our walls is dedicated to producing and providing the best food and guest experience possible. It has been a true honor to work with and get to know all these people and seeing everyday how everyone grows closer as a team as the COURSE family.
Source: COURSE Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona
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