David Comstock grew up in Charlemont and started his career as a chef in that town. He began as a dishwasher at the now defunct Charlemont Inn and took to restaurant life, eventually attending the New England Culinary Institute.

Back in Charlemont cooking at Mohawk Park, he met Alan Dellert, a culinary professional who moved on to work at Mount Snow. Dellert soon brought Comstock to Mount Snow, where the younger man worked first as a sous chef but was soon promoted to executive chef.

A few months ago, Dellert, who had since become food and beverage director at Berkshire East Mountain Resort, hired his friend and former co-worker to return to Charlemont as executive chef at Berkshire East.

When photographer Paul Franz and I visited Berkshire East’s Crazy Horse Bar and Grill last week, the pair served us two tasty dishes and told us how happy they were to be working together again.

David Comstock rejoices in his shortened commute. He lived in Charlemont throughout his time at Mount Snow, with a minimum drive of an hour each way. Today he can get to work in about seven minutes. And he can take time away in the middle of the day to attend his girlfriend’s softball games.

Above all, he enjoys the collegial atmosphere at Berkshire East. Mount Snow is owned by Vail Resorts, a giant resort company headquartered in Colorado. In contrast, “it’s family,” he said of Berkshire East.

Berkshire East is owned by the Schaefer family. David Comstock attended Hawlemont School in Charlemont with current manager Jon Schaefer. Much of the staff at the resort is composed of friends and relatives.

As most local outdoor lovers know, Berkshire East started as Thunder Mountain, a ski resort. It still hosts skiers in the winter, and both Comstock and Dellert expressed pride in the snow making and trail grooming there. Over the years the Schafer family has transformed the resort into a year-round destination that includes whitewater rafting, ziplining, and mountain biking.

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David Comstock’s main domain is the Crazy Horse, which is open Fridays through Sundays from noon to 8 p.m. There the chef whips up a few high-end dishes but also likes to prepare bar food. He is particularly proud of the barbecued meats he produces in the restaurant’s two smokers.

The resort has also just opened its taqueria for the season. This outdoor take-out hub is aimed at mountain bikers, but it will serve anyone. Comstock and Dellert plan to serve light fare there, always cooked to order, Thursdays through Mondays.

They also collaborate on occasional events, including a brew fest scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 13. “We’ll have 13 breweries and live music,” Alan Dellert told me. Paul and I enjoyed tasting both the New York strip (cut in house and served with butter into which cooked pieces of bacon, crumbled Gorgonzola, a smidgeon of salt, and chopped parsley had been mixed) and the chicken piccata, the recipe for which appears below.

Comstock noted that the chicken in the latter dish should not be crispy; he prefers a delicate consistency. “I’m a huge texture guy,” he remarked as he cooked.

He enjoys the pub fare on the restaurant’s menu. He doesn’t shy away from potato skins and the like. Still, he and Dellert both emphasized that they want people to see the food scene at Berkshire East as more than a cafeteria for athletes on the go.

Charlemont now has very few restaurants so their creativity and the quality of their food should find an appeal beyond people using the resort’s other amenities.

I first met David Comstock at least 30 years ago. He is the son of my friends Mick and Linda Comstock. I am impressed with the competence, intelligence, and enthusiasm he has developed growing up.

I also enjoy his humor. I asked him to identify the best thing about cooking at Berkshire East. “It’s always the eating,” he replied with a big smile.

Ingredients:

for the sauce:

a small amount of oil

1/4 cup freshly chopped garlic

1 cup white wine

3 cups chicken stock

freshly squeezed lemon to taste

for the chicken:

a mixture of vegetable oil and olive oil as needed for sautéing

2 4-ounce chicken cutlets, pounded until they are flat

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

parsley for color, plus more parsley for the garnish

2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more cheese for serving

a handful of capers

2 tablespoons butter

lemon slices for garnish

Instructions:

You may make the sauce in advance. Heat a little oil in a pan over low heat.

Stir in the garlic and cook it until it is tender; it should not brown. Add the wine, and raise the heat to medium. Reduce the mixture by 2/3.

Add the chicken stock, and reduce again, by about 1/3. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Start with 1/2 lemon, and add more if needed to taste.

Refrigerate the sauce if you are not using it right away. You will have enough for at least a couple of servings.

To make the chicken, heat a splash or two of the oil in a skillet. While it warms, dredge the chicken in the flour. Combine the eggs, salt, parsley, and the pecorino Romano in a flat bowl. Dip the floured chicken in the egg mixture, and place it in the hot oil.

Cook gently over low to medium heat until the bottom of the chicken pieces turns a light golden brown. Turn the chicken and lightly brown the other side.

Drain off any excess oil in the pan, then ladle sauce in to cover the chicken in the pan. Cook just long enough to warm the sauce. Stir in the capers and the butter.

Place the chicken on a bed of linguine and garnish it with more cheese, parsley, and lemon slices. Serve with your favorite vegetable.

Serves 1 generously.

Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.