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Enjoy Montana-Driven Menus at One&Only Moonlight Basin
By Taylor Owens
The dining and bar programs at One&Only Moonlight Basin might carry the polish of a luxury resort, but its philosophy is rooted firmly in Montana. Local ingredients drive the menus, the seasons shape what appears on the plate and in glasses, and the restaurants and bars are open to anyone willing to make the drive up the mountain.
“Number one, we’re not private,” Matthew Dahlkemper, executive chef at One&Only Moonlight Basin, says. “I think a lot of people think that we’re in Moonlight Basin and that we are not open to the public. Come one, come all—fill the dining rooms, come try the food.”
For locals in southwest Montana and visitors traveling through Big Sky, that open invitation is a big deal. The food program unfolding inside the resort isn’t just another luxury hotel dining lineup—it’s a culinary love letter to Montana.
Dahlkemper designed the resort’s culinary philosophy around one simple idea: locality. “I have largely built this place and food program around locality,” he explains. “What we can get from Montana … those products are going to be the focal point. And we build menus around that.”
That sense of place carries beyond the kitchen and into the resort’s bar program. Erica Brown, curator of One&Only Moonlight Basin’s bar programs, says the landscape and local ingredients shape what guests drink just as much as what they eat. “Each bar has its own theme going on, and we try to stay very local,” Brown says. “We are trying to use as many local ingredients as we can.”
Sometimes that collaboration means working with the chef to utilize popular recipe ingredients in signature cocktails, Brown says, noting that the team is experimenting with techniques like a buffalo-fat-washed Old Fashioned for upcoming menus.
The surrounding wilderness doesn’t just inspire the view from the dining room, it dictates what lands on the plate. During summer months, the kitchens lean heavily on nearby producers like Chance Farms for produce and Native Fish Keepers for trout and whitefish from Flathead Lake. Nearly every ingredient that can come from Montana does. “All of our grains, our flours, our honey, our eggs, produce when available—basically every land animal that’s served in this hotel comes from Montana,” Dahlkemper says.
The result is a menu that evolves with the seasons and tells a distinctly local story. For Dahlkemper, authenticity means resisting the urge to turn a mountain resort into something it isn’t. “If people are coming to Montana, are you really expecting to have something that’s Michelin-star Italian?” he says with a laugh. Instead, the food aims to capture the feeling of Montana—comforting, bold and a little wild. “People are coming here largely to have something that’s fun, that’s approachable,” he says. “That’s Montana.”
The same philosophy appears in the resort’s cocktails. Brown says many drinks are designed to introduce visitors to flavors they’ll only find in the region. “In Montana, huckleberries are kind of the main staple berry here,” she says. “So we created a non-alcoholic cocktail that’s really visually beautiful—but you come in and you taste Montana the second you get here.”
The resort’s welcome drink—a huckleberry and spruce tip mocktail—captures that first impression.
The resort’s dining venues each interpret that philosophy in their own way:
- Wildwood—what Chef Matt calls “Montana Modern,” showcasing local ingredients in refined presentations.
- The Landing—an “American Alpine” concept designed for sharing and comfort.
- Akira Back—a Japanese-inspired dining experience.
- Dear Josephine—a prohibition-style cocktail bar with snacks.
- Moon Shack—an intimate hideaway in the woods where guests can stargaze through a telescope.
Each space has its own personality. “The Landing is really approachable,” Brown says. “You get off the gondola and you want your après-ski cocktail, so we do fun twists on things like Bloody Marys and Aperol spritzes.”
For first-time visitors—locals included—Dahlkemper has a few must-order recommendations. At The Landing, start with two house legends: the chicken schnitzel and the beignet.
While the ingredients are rooted in Montana, the presentation sometimes leans toward the theatrical. Chef Matt enjoys a little shock value at the table—case in point, the now-famous schnitzel served at The Landing. “It’s a chicken schnitzel that’s about the size of two regulation NFL footballs—with this claw coming out of it,” he says. “It’s one of the most metal things you’ve ever seen.”
Wildwood, meanwhile, focuses heavily on regional spirits. “We really try to work with local distilleries and bring in all the different local flavors,” Brown says. “There are so many variations on huckleberry liqueur, vodka and whiskey made here.”
The menu at Wildwood changes monthly and dishes lean Western with playful touches—like beef tartare mixed tableside with an antler, or s’mores torched in the dining room. “You think about being in this cold-weather environment in the Rocky Mountains—Americana, s’mores,” he says.
At Wildwood, he suggests starting with foie gras croissants or a trout dip served with barley crackers made from Montana grains. Large-format dishes are another highlight—built to share across the table. Think mixed grills featuring lamb, short rib, and pork ribs sourced from Montana ranches. “It’s built for three or four people,” Dahlkemper says. “It’s just a fun experience … a fun way to eat, especially if you’re dining here with a group.”
Dear Josephine is the resort’s most mixology-forward bar. “That’s where you’ll see a little more magic happening,” Brown says. Drinks like the Josephine cocktail, featuring beets, surprise guests with bright, unexpected flavors.
At Akira Back, the beverage menu pairs artfully with the food. “We try to capture a little bit more of the Japanese flavor there,” she says, noting ingredients like yuzu and cherry blossom alongside a large sake selection.
And then there is the Moon Shack, tucked quietly in the woods. “My favorite place is the Moon Shack,” Brown says. “Everything at the resort is really modern, but we brought this shack in from Idaho and rebuilt it in the woods. You walk in there and you really feel like a cowboy.”
Inside, the focus is on whiskey-forward cocktails and inventive techniques like clarification. “If you’re not a whiskey fan,” Brown adds with a laugh, “I’ve got a guy out there who will make you a whiskey fan.”
As the resort settles into its rhythm, Dahlkemper’s focus remains on one challenge: consistency. “One of the hardest things about this industry is creating consistency,” he says. “Before we go and do something new, we want to make sure we’re executing at the highest level.”
But the future is already taking shape—especially with summer cookouts planned around custom chuckwagon-style grills outside The Landing. The bar team is preparing for the warmer months, including expanded outdoor spaces and seasonal menus open to both locals and travelers. “Our whiskey shack used to be for guests and homeowners only, but we’ve opened it up to the public,” Brown says. “I think everyone needs to come up here and check it out —especially in the summer when the sun is up until 10 p.m.”
For now, though, the message is simple: The doors are open.
“Come here, share things, try things,” Dahlkemper says. “We want to have fun—and we want to see people coming back.”
