When they said "I do," they gained more than just a spouse. They got a restaurant manager, sous chef and business partner.

And when they vowed to stick together "for better or worse," that promise included dicing onions, writing menus, hiring staff and taking reservations.

Now, as Valentine's Day approaches, three Utah couples explain how two is better than one when it comes to owning and operating a restaurant.

Cafe Terigo

PARK CITY -- Ed and Debbie Axtell say they are not romantics. But the walls of Cafe Terigo, the restaurant they have owned for 16 years, radiates love.

Several years ago, Debbie stenciled passages from famous love letters onto the antique yellow walls. The romantic prose of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Ludwig von Beethoven and even Napoleon encircle customers as they dine on Ed Axtell's Northern Italian fare.

But even without the words, the atmosphere at Cafe Terigo feels like home.

"We work well together -- we probably haven't had five fights in all these years," said Debbie, who runs the dining room. "It's really comfortable when I'm up here and I know he's in the kitchen."

The couple met more than 30 years ago while attending Brigham Young University. They both worked in food service at Park City ski resorts and long planned on owning a restaurant.

"We always talked about it, even before we got married," said Debbie. "We both love to cook."

Ed is the executive chef, planning the menu and running the kitchen while Debbie hires and trains the staff, does the books, advertising and reservations.

"I'm also the head taster," she said.

The Axtells opened the restaurant when the youngest of their four children was just 4 years old. Through the years the children have gone from coloring pictures in the restaurant booths to washing dishes and waiting tables. Their friends came to work with them, making the staff feel like one big happy family.

"We figured one day we would get sick of it," said Debbie, "but we never do."

Cafe Terigo, 424 Main St., Park City, 435-645-9555.

The Blind Dog Grill

PARK CITY -- Derrick and Penny Kinsey had no choice but to let their restaurant go to the dogs.

In 1998, when the couple was thinking of names for their new eatery, they asked friends to help pick a moniker.

The unanimous winner was The Blind Dog Grill -- named after Rigger, the Kinseys' black labrador who lost his sight after being hit by a car.

While canine paintings, photographs and glass etchings of Rigger -- and their now-deceased golden retriever, Bear -- adorn the restaurant, it is the Kinseys' East Coast fishing roots that fill the menu.

Penny, 33, grew up in the seafood business, learning early how to clean lobster and shuck oysters for her family's restaurant in Delaware Bay. She even spent time on a competitive fishing team. Meanwhile, Derrick, 34, grew up in North Carolina and worked as a longshoreman. On weekends he chartered fishing expeditions and eventually began fishing competitively.

The two soon found themselves on opposing fishing teams.

"So, of course, we hated each other," said Penny. Until a hurricane rolled in and canceled a contest.

"We went out in this big group and hit it off," said Penny, whose family has vacationed in Park City for almost 20 years. It was on one of those Park City vacations that Derrick proposed -- on Valentine's Day, right in the middle of Main Street.

During another trip, about six months after they were married, they found the vacant building in Prospector Square and decided it was perfect for a seafood restaurant.

Today, Penny, a graduate of L'Academie Du Cuisines in Maryland, sets The Blind Dog menu while Derrick buys seafood and builds the award-winning wine list. Penny's father, Chappie Lehman, is the third partner in the business.

Derrick and Penny said the restaurant would be impossible to run alone -- especially as the couple raises a family. (They have a 3-year-old daughter and a baby on the way.) Each spouse, they said, has a strength that complements the other's.

"She has the eye for detail that I'll never have," said Derrick. "And," added his wife, "he has better people skills."

The Blind Dog Grill, 1781 Sidewinder Drive, Park City, 435-655-0800.

Snake Creek Grill

HEBER CITY -- Barbara Hill has proven herself at some of Utah's finest restaurants, including Deer Valley's Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City's Riverhorse Cafe and Robert Redford's Zoom.

But Barbara and husband, Michael, -- a general contractor -- left that glamour six years ago, opting instead to open their own restaurant in laid-back Heber City.

Snake Creek Grill, named after the nearby creek, feels like a grandmother's living room complete with squeaky wood floors, floral prints and black-and-white photographs on the wall. The food that Barb prepares is just as comforting. It's American fare with a gourmet twist -- corn cakes with sweet pepper cream, barbecued ribs, blue cornmeal crusted trout.

"The area was just ready for this," said Barbara Hill. Indeed, the restaurant has won several local and national dining awards and the trout recipe was recently included in One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook.

"It's really Barb's restaurant," explains Michael, even though he does kitchen prep work, manages the books, greets guests and spent three months remodeling the building in Heber's Old Town before it opened in 1998.

While Barbara creates the menu and decides on the seafood specials -- for which the restaurant has received numerous kudos -- she calls it a 50-50 partnership.

"I can't imagine doing this without him," she said.

The couple met in the mid-1970s while working various jobs at area ski resorts. Later, they moved to Wyoming and operated a catering truck for the oil rigs.

They eventually moved back to Utah and settled in Charleston, just outside Heber City, where they raise llamas and grow an organic garden with "tons" of herbs and flowers, many of which make their way onto diners' plates.

"For years we talked about having a little place that we could do together," said Michael. "You have to do it together, because no one else would be as committed."

Snake Creek Grill, 650 W. 100 South, Heber City, 435-654-2133.

kathys@sltrib.com

Snake Creek Grill's Blue Cornmeal Crusted Red Trout With Tomatillo-Chipotle Sauce

The cornmeal mixture can be made ahead and in larger quantities to use later. It also works well on other fish. Cornmeal Crust:

1 cup blue cornmeal (regular cornmeal works, it's just not as interesting)

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1/2 tablespoon whole mustard seed, lightly toasted, cooled and ground

1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Fillets:

buttermilk

4 (6 to 8 ounce) trout fillets, skin left on

2 tablespoons canola oil

cilantro, for garnish

Tomatillo-Chipotle Sauce:

5 tomatillos

1/2 poblano chili, coarsely chopped, seeds discarded

2 whole garlic cloves

2 cups water

dash of salt and pepper, or to taste

1/2 of one avocado

1/4 bunch cilantro

Chipotle Crema:

1/2 cup sour cream

1 chipotle pepper

heavy cream

salt and pepper

Thoroughly mix all the cornmeal crust ingredients in a bowl. (This makes enough for about 1 dozen fillets.)

Place fillets, with skin on, in a bowl of buttermilk. Remove fillets one at a time and dredge in the crust mixture. Place fillets in the refrigerator, uncovered, to chill.

For sauce, place tomatillos, poblano chili, garlic and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. After ingredients have cooled, strain but save the water. Place tomatillos, garlic, chilies along with avocado and cilantro into a blender. Slowly blend ingredients, adding the reserved water until mixture is smooth.

In a small food processor, mix the sour cream and chipotle pepper. Slowly add a small amount of heavy cream until mixture is smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saute pan (that can be placed in the oven) heat 2 tablespoons canola oil. SautZ fillets, flesh side down until golden brown. Turn so skin side is down. Place pan in oven for about 5 minutes.

Place fish fillet on a plate, skin side down. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of the tomatillo sauce over the top. Drizzle a teaspoon of the chipotle cream over sauce. Garnish with sprig of cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.

-- Barbara Hill,

Snake Creek Grill, Heber City

Black Forest Cheesecake

While this cheesecake has not yet made it onto the Cafe Terigo menu, it is a longtime Axtell family favorite, served on birthdays and other special occasions.

Crust:

8 1/2 ounces chocolate wafer cookies

6 tablespoons well-chilled butter

Filling:

1 1/2 cups cream

12 ounces good quality chocolate, chopped

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

4 tablespoons cherry liqueur (such as Kirsh)

1 teaspoon vanilla

cherry pie filling, for garnish

whipped cream, for garnish

chocolate curls, for garnish

Generously butter 9-inch springform pan. In a food processor, crush wafers until fine crumbs, add butter in pieces until well blended and mixture begins to come together. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom of the pan and 3/4 of the way up the sides. Chill for at least one hour.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat cream with the chocolate until chocolate melts, stir to blend. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time until just combined. Beat in chocolate mixture, cherry liqueur and vanilla.

Pour into the chilled crust. Bake until the outer 2" of cheesecake are firm but center still moves slightly, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool completely on rack. Top the pan with paper towels, and cover with foil. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.

Remove foil and paper towels. Release sides of pan. Spoon cherry pie filling around edges of cake. Fill center with whipped cream, and top with long chocolate curls.

-- Ed and Debbie Axtell, Cafe Terigo