Chef Ben Thorpe, a home-schooled native of rural Idaho, is the chef at Fort Benton's Grand Union Hotel. From seminary, to an abbreviated career in classical dance, to ministerial work, then a stint as a wine steward, Thorpe came to his culinary career in a roundabout way. "I think the ability to please people, to take ingredients and put them together, and to see people truly feel happiness, is really life-changing. There has to be a motivation to keep you in an industry that works you very long hours without great compensation and that's what it is: it's that ability to touch somebody in a very personal way and change a bad day."
(Broadcast: "Home Ground Radio," 11/11/14. Listen weekly on Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m., or via podcast.)