Stemilt Growers hosted its “spokeschef” in an event for company employees.

Seattle-based chef Ethan Stowell visited Wenatchee, Washington-based fruit grower-shipper Stemilt’s Fresh Center headquarters and, while there, whipped up a winter salad starring the company’s signature apple variety, Pinata. The salad incorporated Belgium endive, frisee, goat cheese, walnuts and the sweet-tart Pinata, with a simple vinaigrette dressing.

“Bringing chef Ethan to Stemilt was a fun treat for our team members, who work together every day to produce world famous fruit and uphold our mission of cultivating people and delighting consumers,” says Brianna Shales, Stemilt’s communications manager. “It was exciting to share Pinata apples, a variety that everyone at Stemilt is familiar with, in a new way. And chef Ethan was a big hit with our team.”

Stowell is self-taught with over 20 years of experience and 14 restaurants that span Seattle. He’s made a mark on everything from the menu at Seattle Mariner baseball games to charitable causes that support nutrition, women’s rights and leadership, and the homeless.

Along with sharing his Pinata salad, Stowell toured Stemilt and witnessed apple packing for the first time. Pinata was the chosen variety and Stowell says he was impressed with the freshness, quality and care that went into packing each box.

“It’s always interesting to see how the ingredients I’m using in my restaurants are produced. I was amazed at the precision technology used to pack apples and the extreme care that the smiling Stemilt team takes to ensure only the best apples make it to the market.”