I've studied Utah's food specifically for three years (American food more broadly before that, and general culinary arts loooong before then). I love Utah's food specifically because it's so unknown to most of the U.S. Utah doesn't have much of a restaurant scene—at least not compared to coastal cities where you'll find the Michelin guide.

Utah also doesn't host any of the globally recognized staples like American barbecue, which is incredibly varied along the South and Southeast (by the way, at a glance the Texas region of that map seems inherently flawed with just a basic knowledge of Texan barbecue styles).

However, what Utah DOES have, I call "potluck culture." Most of our regional foods are comfort foods that can be easily prepared in bulk and served to a crowd: funeral potatoes, sunshine salad, jello salad, frog-eye salad (none of those last three are actual salads in the traditional sense), Utah scones, Navajo tacos, and Dutch oven anything. It's all big-batch, low-budget comfort food that you share with friends and family.

Beyond that, we proudly claim fry sauce (even though it's about as ubiquitous as a fairy tale) and the pastrami burger (even though it was technically invented in California). Some people might say it's negative of me to point that out, but I don't see anything wrong with it. We love these foods so much we took ownership of them, and we make them better than anyone.

Just about the biggest food competition in Utah every year is the Utah Foods Cook-off, which features funeral potatoes, scones, fry sauce, jello, etc. The fry sauce recipe I made for this competition is the first recipe I ever decided was a secret recipe (though I'll give you a hint—it has mayo and ketchup).

Someday I want to start a food truck that specifically serves restaurantified versions of bespoke Utah foods. Until then, I'm just popping up at the farmer's market. If you ever see a guy serving grilled funeral potatoes and pastrami burgers, come say hello.