A new kitchen team aims to transform Valley Kitchen by giving purpose to an exquisite menu.

Valley Kitchen at Carmel Valley Ranch has a lot of advantages. Not only does the restaurant bask in an enviable – and well deserved – reputation, the luxury resort is also a working farm, producing honey, eggs, cheese, vegetables and more.

So for a chef new to the kitchen, all of this must bring a sense of relief. No need to shake up the seasonal, farm-to-table ethic – unless that chef is Ty Thaxton.

“What aren’t my plans?” he asks, rhetorically. “We’re going to overhaul the culinary program for the entire property.”

The “we” includes new Carmel Valley Ranch Pastry Chef Molly Coen, who is equally restless. “I want to bring it into the now,” she says of the dessert menu. “This is just the beginning.”

Local, organic, seasonal have become taglines, applied even at modest restaurants. In their bold outlook is a shared notion: A menu should reflect all of those concepts, but it should also be rooted.

Take Thaxton’s buttermilk fried chicken, which certainly challenges for the finest in Monterey County. A sous vide treatment in addition to the buttermilk bath ensures a juicy savor, but it’s an otherwise humble presentation – a crackling crust, its delicate toasted nut calm sparked by pops of pepper. One can imagine a tray of this golden brown chicken as the centerpiece of a farmhouse dinner.

And that’s the point. Thaxton calls it California ranch cuisine, an elevated approach to dishes that makes sense, in terms of location, lifestyle, the people, the past and so on. It gives a reference point to local, seasonal and organic.

Ranch + Sea is Thaxton’s version of surf and turf. A portion of pork belly, plush and cushy under a crisped skin, with a gentle nuttiness that fares well with the buttery sweet scallop and the earthy foundation of celeriac puree.

The dish is composed, with the haze of roasted sunchoke wafting over the palate, taunting the earth and surf profile of the other ingredients. A basquaise sauce brings the plate together. It’s simple elegance, all speaking to the ranch and sea.

Thaxton will add to the menu and adapt it according to what is available, noting that the climate allows for fresh ingredients over an extended period, in some cases, while other items might come available sporadically. “I hate to use the word seasonal,” he adds.

“It’s like a chef’s paradise,” Coen says, echoing the possibilities offered by the Central Coast.

One of her desserts – a cheesecake reimagined by presentation – provides further insight into their style. Plated invitingly, with a dark chocolate-hued crust on a white plate, with a drizzle of golden honey and tuft of cream, the cheesecake falls into the too-pretty-to-eat category, until you do so.

This is artistry applied to a simple, fulfilling dessert – a chef’s understanding of quality ingredients and technique, set to the comforting memories of treats brought to a family gathering. And one would be pressed to find better.

“It’s fun to look at, fun to eat,” Coen observes. “But it’s still just a cheesecake.”

Coen arrived at Carmel Valley Ranch just before Thanksgiving from the Four Seasons in Denver. Thaxton beat her to Monterey County, but only by a couple of months. The veteran chef has international experience, which includes time at the Ritz-Carlton in both Washington, D.C. and Cancun.

Thaxton claims he was unfamiliar with the area before the interview process. “I wanted to get back to hotels,” he explains. “After I came here – what chef wouldn’t want to come here?”

And what dinner guest wouldn’t appreciate the homey comfort of ethereal cornbread bites, far more delicate than the Southern staple? The honey butter accompaniment – all from the ranch – teases your palate with natural sweetness and bursts of salinity, without distracting from the rich cream.

But Thaxton can provide heft, in the form of a double-bone pork chop, its triple-thick sides draped in pistachio, giving depth to the hazelnut tinge of the meat.

It’s a reminder that ranch hands enjoy a hearty, filling meal.

VALLEY KITCHEN, Carmel Valley Ranch, 1 Old Ranch Road, Carmel. (831) 574-1850, carmelvalleyranch.com