The Corn Maiden Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa is located on the Santa Ana Pueblo Native American Indian reservation between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM. It is a fitting place for Executive Chef Mark Ching to seek out a new culinary oasis. Since arriving there three years ago, the 38-year restaurant veteran has pushed the culinary envelope to new levels.

"It's all about combining indigenous ingredients with global flavors," said Chef Ching. "I've been with Hyatt Hotels for about 30 years, previously in Atlanta, San Francisco and Phoenix. By the time I arrived here, my knowledge of regional foods was pretty diverse. In the past three years, I have immersed myself in New Mexico's tri-culture community of Native Americans, Hispanics and Anglos."

The spicy mix resulting from Chef Ching's diverse background and local community gets spicier when Executive Sous Chef Michael Perseo and Chef Tournant Bruno Gras are added to the mix. Chef Perseo is a Hawaiian native, and Chef Gras is from France.

"You can imagine the conversations that go on in our kitchen," said Chef Ching. "Chef Perseo is into a contrast of flavors with balance. Chef Gras was traditionally schooled and classically trained. I like simplifying the plate. Ideas that bounce around the kitchen are free flowing, but with one commonality - - our mutual commitment to using fresh and seasonal ingredients."

The mix gets even thicker. The restaurant opened as a European-themed establishment, so Chef Ching wanted to remain true to it. But it also has a Brazilian rotisserie, where a segment of the menu, including seafood, beef, pork and game such as buffalo, elk, venison and antelope are prepared. But there is even more influence in the Corn Maiden's kitchen.

"I have always been driven by finding ways to make a recipe or dish a little different," said Chef Ching. "The spirit and philosophy I apply regardless of where I am is to be guided by the foods produced in the area. New Mexico has a distinct cuisine, not exactly like Mexican food. The subtle differences are in the uses of blue corn, sweet corn, onions, citrus, chilis, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans and numerous other products. We also realized the similarities between Asian and Mexican cuisine, such as peppers, fruits, nuts and savories. With the addition of some inspiration from other famous chefs and at food shows, we began combining flavors using this mix of elements."

The resulting menu is what Chef Ching calls a quad-cultural mix of dishes with Hispanic, Native American, European and New Mexican influences. But there is no flying blindly in Corn Maiden's kitchen or in any of the resort's other six food and beverage outlets, all of which are overseen by Chef Ching. Dishes are tested and refined repeatedly. The result was a dynamic menu at Corn Maiden that merges traditional New Mexican food with Pacific Rim and classic European techniques.

"We have incorporated local Native American art displays in the restaurants and trained staff to exude the Santa Ana Pueblo's hospitality," said Chef Ching. "Some of the most popular dishes are the green chile strips, flat iron veal with blue corn lobster tempura and pueblo fry bread burger.

Sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables for seven eateries, the flurry of flavors and combination of themes that Chef Ching oversees sounds overwhelming, but there is no blind flying in this regard either. Because Hyatt Hotels is a major international corporation, contractual obligations must be fulfilled, primarily on conventional items.

"Most of the standard fruits and vegetables come from major foodservice distributors and from suppliers at wholesale produce markets in Los Angeles," said Chef Ching. "For specialty items, I turn to The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio. It publishes a monthly listing of products that are currently available, and it creates weekly market lists."

For local products, Chef Ching utilizes the Santa Fe Farmers Market, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in season, and on Saturdays throughout the year. He claims it is one of the best in the country, drawing about 40,000 people every Saturday. If he can't personally attend, he sends the sous chef or purchasing director to search out specific products and to discover new and particularly interesting items. At the market, and at other local venues, he reaches out to individual growers in an attempt to book produce for the future. Farms in nearby Corrales and Los Ranchos are currently on his radar screen.

"The locally grown movement has really hit home in our restaurants," said Chef Ching. "There is much more autonomy and license today to source within a 150-mile radius, and we are highly cognizant of how many food miles products must travel to reach us. Our menu must comply with the Hyatt's criteria, and our library of 80 items was verified by a committee to ensure they meet the criteria, which includes accessing locally grown products."

Chef Ching is the co-chairman of Hyatt's Stay Fit Gym program, which caters to fitness-conscious business and leisure travelers. By the end of 2008, all 112 Hyatt properties in North America and the Caribbean will have renovated fitness centers with the latest cardio and weight machines and 24-hour access.

"I am one of two people who control the Stay Fit program for the entire company, and it bleeds over into my restaurant operations," he said. "I have to set the example for chefs at other Hyatt hotels, and when they call me for advice, I explain to them that even here in New Mexico, which people think of as a wasteland where only chilis are produced, a wide and diverse list of fresh foods is actually available. You just have to go after them."

Hyatt's Tamaya Resort & Spa was recognized by Cond? Nast Traveler's 2008 Gold List as being "Among the World's Best Places to Stay," and is a 2007 Gold Key Award winner of Meetings & Conventions magazine.