Chef
Joseph Raney
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Custer, South Dakota, United States
Made By record
Awards & recognition
1 total
verified records
i. Biography
Joseph Raney runs Skogen Kitchen in Custer, United States with a kitchen standard built on plain terms: cook what the team actually wants to cook, then serve guests with the same care they would expect on the other side of the table. The point is not pose or polish for its own sake. It is a working rule for service, stated by Raney in his own words: "We just began cooking what we love to cook and serving guests the way we know how."
Coming Up
At Skogen Kitchen in Custer, United States, the owner/chef role asks for both line-level discipline and control of the room. Raney’s path to that position reads as a steady alignment between the restaurant’s identity and his own approach: straightforward food, direct standards, and a clear idea of the dining room he wants to run. The result is a place shaped less by affectation than by consistency, with its rhythm set by the people eating there and the service model he chose to build around them.
Where They Are Now
The kitchen standard at Skogen Kitchen is stated without softening. Raney makes the expectation clear for the room and the line alike: "If people aren’t showing up for work or working hard, and the cooks aren’t putting everything they have into the dishes, then who am I?" That is a management line, but it is also a craft position. The emphasis is on commitment, on showing up with full effort, and on making each service count through discipline rather than spectacle. In that sense, the restaurant’s backbone is not just the menu but the work ethic behind it.
Career - Owner/Chef — Skogen Kitchen, Custer, South Dakota
Signature
Joseph Raney’s signature dishes include sweet corn ravioli and Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs. Both point to a kitchen that favors clarity over ornament. One reads as comfort rendered with care; the other takes a familiar format and sharpens it. Taken together, they reflect the same approach Raney describes at Skogen Kitchen: food that is direct, grounded, and made to hold together cleanly on the plate.
In Their Words “We just began cooking what we love to cook and serving guests the way we know how.”
Honors
Joseph's honors include James Beard Award semifinalist, Best Chef: Midwest (2023).
FAQ What is Joseph Raney's current role? As of 2026, Joseph Raney is Executive Chef. What recognition has Joseph Raney received? James Beard Award semifinalist, Best Chef: Midwest (2023).
