Christine Keff launched her culinary career with a two-year apprenticeship in New York's renowned Four Seasons in 1978. Following her Four Seasons training, Keff worked in New York City for 10 years, developing the concepts, menus and assisting in the full design and development for 3 restaurants. While there, she was cited by New York Magazine for her innovative approach to regional cuisine and was featured in Bryan Miller's New York Times column and in the New York Daily News.

From 1987 to 1988, Keff traveled extensively throughout the United States and Asia, spending time in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia before relocating to Seattle where she had a vision to combine her culinary travels with a passion for the fantastic products of Pacific Northwest. In 1988, Keff was appointed Executive Chef at McCormick and Schmick's, Seattle's classic steak and seafood house, where she oversaw their seafood grill and designed their wine and food dinners. From 1992 to 1995, Keff served as Executive Chef of the prestigious Hunt Club restaurant located in Seattle's renowned Sorrento Hotel.

Achieving a lifelong ambition, Chef Christine Keff opened Flying Fish in July of 1995. Located in the burgeoning Belltown neighborhood, Keff's seafood bistro appeared in major publications across the country including the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Wine Spectator, Decanter and Food & Wine. In March of 1999, Flying Fish received a 4-Star rating by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, sharing this award with only one other restaurant in the city. Two months later, the James Beard Foundation recognized Keff as the Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest/Hawaii. In 2003, Keff was featured in a lengthy interview with National Public Radio, in addition to features on CNN's On the Menu and the Food Network's Dining Around. Her powerful relationships with regional fishermen, as well as her use of global spices and local and sustainable ingredients to create signature dishes, continue to bring her national attention as Seattle's seafood expert.

In 2005, Flying Fish marked it's 10th anniversary with celebratory events and monumental undertakings that include Keff's subsidizing of an 18-acre farm in the Kent Valley, south of Seattle, which provides the certified naturally grown produce for the restaurant and converting 100% of the restaurant's raw ingredients to being 100% organic or harvested in the wild.

When Keff is not attending meetings, speaking on organics or seafood sustainability or representing the Pacific Northwest at national conferences as the area's premier seafood expert, she is teaching cooking classes at Flying Fish. In addition, she regularly offers her time and talent to numerous fundraising groups that include support of Seattle's Neighborhood Farmer's Market Alliance, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Share Our Strength and the Women's Funding Alliance. Keff's professional memberships include a national board position with Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, membership in the International Association of Culinary Professionals, The James Beard Foundation and Chef's Collaborative.

"Alaska seafood takes the guesswork out of buying sustainably. They do such a great job of regulating their fisheries that you can be confident you're buying a sustainably harvested fish."

~ Chef Christine Keff

2 oz. butter
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small leek, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (canned is fine)
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups fish stock or clam juice
8 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups Alaska whitefish, cut in 1" cubes, chopped (Alaska pollock, sole, cod, or rockfish)
4 cups cream
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in the oil and sweat the chopped vegetables, bay leaf and thyme slowly until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook on low for about 10 minutes, or until the floury taste is gone.
4. Add the wine and simmer until the alcohol is cooked out.
5. Add the stock or clam juice and the potatoes and season to taste.
6. Simmer until the potatoes are almost soft. Add the whitefish and cream, simmer for 10 minutes more.
7. Add the parsley, correct the seasoning and serve.

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