In contrast to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Ian Muntzert grew up, San Francisco is a verdant paradise. The chef de cuisine of Commonwealth, a progressive American restaurant in the city’s Mission District, spent summers exploring the Alaskan bush with his father, a geologist, and comments, “The growing season there is so short. It’s almost over before it starts.”

At Commonwealth, Muntzert takes full advantage of the Bay Area’s bounty, applying a mixture of fundamentals and modern techniques to top-rate farmers’ market finds. But at the end of a long shift, Muntzert isn’t messing with liquid nitrogen or hydrocolloids. Instead, he prepares a textbook omelet, teaching us an important, awesome trick for making it as fluffy as possible.

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