Our Story - Hill's Kitchen

Hill’s Kitchen

Brooks Kirchheimer, Park City restaurateur, has had the restaurant bug ever since Santa answered his wish as a youngster of a cash register for his pretend diner, with his sisters as guests. Nothing like siblings to teach the art of customer service!

Fast forward, and following a Restaurant Management degree at the University of Denver and a decade managing at the renowned Montage in Beverly Hills and Deer Valley, Zoom in Park City, and Merriman’s in Maui, Brooks was eager to open his own restaurant.

Partnering with his parents, Brooks opened Hearth and Hill in 2018. Designed from scratch, the upscale-casual, family friendly eatery instantly became a popular local gathering spot and perennial award winner.

Key to this success is a commitment to “Inspire our associates, thrill our guests, and enrich our community.” Associates come first, to ensure the other two. Delivering on this commitment was never more important nor more fulfilling than during the pandemic.

Expansion beckoned. Hearth and Hill serves lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, without capacity for large off-site catered events. A catering kitchen was a natural next step. Also needing more space was the pastry operation, led by Jessie Rae Nakoneczny. Thus was born Hill’s Kitchen.

Just like Hearth and Hill, Hill’s Kitchen was built from scratch, to ensure the best environment for associates and guests, with a Dream Team of café and catering talent. Together, the two Park City eateries offer guests myriad choices to create their own special gathering spot, while broadening the impact of the Kirchheimers’ commitment to associates, guests and community.

Join Our Team

Become part of the exciting new Hill’s Kitchen team! Our commitment: “To inspire our associates, thrill our guests, and enrich our community.” How do we inspire our associates? Competitive compensation, excellent benefits, opportunities for professional development, work/life balance, a mentoring environment and a convenient location with ample free parking and public transit access. Most of all is a fun, collegial, winning team environment. Check out our open positions and begin your journey to being inspired today!

Jessie Rae Nakoneczny

Executive Pastry Chef

Jessie Rae is the founding Pastry Chef at Hearth and Hill, and was promoted to her Leave Room for Dessert Eateries role upon its formation in 2021. She is based at Hill’s Kitchen, where you can watch her create irresistible pastries, desserts and other goodies. Jessie Rae, a Canadian, honed her skills at Montage Deer Valley, Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley Resort and Sundance Resorts, as well as Alaska’s The Saltry.

Chris Straughan

Pastry Sous Chef

Chris reunites with Jessie Rae, to pursue his passion in pastry, baking and all things chocolate. His culinary career started at the age of 18, at the world-famous Banff Springs Hotel in his native Canada, before moving to Utah in 1992. Since then Chris has worked in many notable kitchens, including Montage Deer Valley, St. Regis and Talisker. A shout-out to his daughter Phoebe, a combat veteran with the Utah National Guard.

Alvaro Cisneros

Banquet Chef

Alvaro, one of the area’s foremost catering chefs, joined Hill’s Kitchen from Sundance Resort, where he served as Banquet Chef for 12 years, following seven years as a line cook. A native of Guanajuato, Mexico, at the age of 17 Alvaro moved to Chicago, where he worked at a BBQ spot. A year later Alvaro moved to Provo, to be closer to family, starting at Thanksgiving Point for a year, before moving to renowned Sundance Resorts.

Stef Ruch

Event & Catering Manager

Stef's energy, experience, passion, and attention to detail make her a natural for producing successful events. A 10-year veteran of the service industry, Stef completed her education on the East Coast and moved to Park City in 2015 from Pennsylvania. After working at a few of the town's top restaurants, in 2021, she joined Hearth and Hill, the first restaurant of Leave Room for Dessert Eateries. When catering expanded in 2022 with the opening of Hill's Kitchen, she was promoted to be the group's Event & Catering Manager. Stef enjoys her role's fast pace, the detailed planning and curating of an event, and the client's resulting joy. She likes trail running, soccer, and traveling in her free time.

Local Partnerships

Our region is fortunate to have farmers, ranchers, fisheries, creameries and other purveyors of fresh, high-quality meat, seafood, produce, cheese and other ingredients for our locally sourced dishes. We’re proud of our relationships with many of them.

In The News

We’ve curated the best of our print and social media.

The 8 Best Friendsgiving Wines Under $20, According to Sommeliers

Hearth and Hill Restaurant in Utah Seeks Major Expansion

Mencia: “This has the body and fruit profile of a malbec with the structure and punch of a syrah,” says Mike Fayad, general manager and wine expert at Hearth and Hill in Park City, Utah. It’s an ideal Friendsgiving wine to surprise your dining companions who prefer red wines.

The family owners of Hearth and Hill restaurant, Park City’s popular “gathering spot” in the Kimball Junction neighborhood, are embarking on a major expansion, building on the eatery’s successful first three years and the area’s appetite for locally sourced, regional cuisine. Coming in 2022 will be a nearby catering kitchen with a grab and go retail counter named Hill’s Kitchen, as well as two restaurants in Salt Lake City: Urban Hill, a high-end concept in the rejuvenated Post District west of downtown, and a second Hearth and Hill in the Sugar House neighborhood east of downtown.

The Best Brews You Need To Try This Fall, Say Beer Experts

Restaurants Spend Big for Upgraded Outdoor Dining With Quicker Service, Elaborate Decor for Winter

Calling all PSL fans: It may be tough to find this seasonal ale from Kiittos Brewing, but Daisy Clark—bar manager of the Park City, Utah hotspot Hearth and Hill—insists it’s worth the hunt.

At Hearth & Hill, an upscale restaurant in Park City, Utah, staff will now have a uniform to keep warm and spend more time outside on the heated patio to be visible to guests. New electronic tablets send orders back to the kitchen to speed up plates. Another thing that has caught on: selling branded knit hats for diners whose ears get chilly.