Travel & Food

I love summer.  I love the sun, the heat, the cool nights, the mountains and all the great culinary events that happen in Aspen during the summer.  Some say that the Food & Wine Classic kicks the summer festival season off but I think the Snowmass Chili & Brew Fest really does that as it is the first culinary focused event of the summer, quickly followed by the Classic.  But, those events have come and gone and the food, beer and wine have long been cleared away.

Not to fret, there are many more culinary focused events going on this summer in the Aspen/Snowmass area that will feed your foodie soul and quench your everlasting thirst.

If you couldn’t get enough of celebrity chefs and sommeliers at the Classic, help is around the corner with the Snowmass Culinary Arts Festival, July 22-24.  Internationally acclaimed chef Richard Sandoval along with Food & Wines’ Best New Chef Alex Seidel head up this event with Top Chef winner Hosea Rosenberg and Denver favorite Frank Bonanno.  There will be many cooking demonstrations along with a “Palatte of Pairings” seminar to fill this weekend.  Cost: $45 - $65

Not here that weekend?

Try out a culinary tour from Culinary Connectors.  In full disclosure, this is my company.  It’s true, I am a food and wine lover – so much so I started a company that educates food lovers about the culinary talent we have in Colorado and a good amount of it is here in Aspen.  Tours run every Friday and Saturday from June 24-August 27.  The Friday Savor the Flavors tour celebrates the casual dining establishments in Aspen where guests visit four restaurants and enjoy tastings at each stop from 3 pm – 5 pm, always ending with happy hour.  Saturday’s explore the finer dining side of this old silver mining town from 1 pm – 4 pm.  The Top Restaurant Tour takes you to three of Aspen’s best restaurants where the chefs interact with the group as well as prepare two small courses paired with a beer, wine or cocktail.  Cost for the Savor the Flavors tour is $59 and for the Top Restaurant Tour it is $99.

If you love learning about food and wine you have a unique opportunity to do so with the Kitchen Hotlines bi-monthly Wine in Heels events held on the Dancing Bear rooftop.  Local advanced sommelier Vilma Mazaite of Montagna and recent winner of Food & Wines Iron sommelier competition, will lead these seminars on food and wine pairings. The sessions will review the fundamentals of wine and how and why certain wines pair well with certain foods.  You will taste through three different wines paired with food provided by executive chef Sarah Hesley (formerly of Montagna).  These two hour seminars are every other Friday starting July 1st.  Sorry gentlemen, these events are for women only. Cost: $75

What would summer be without a BBQ? This term can mean a cookout or if you’re from the south a type of food – well, in Aspen, it means both.  Clear your calendar for August 27 & 28 and head into town to get your fill of porcine cuisine at the Big Aspen BBQ.  This event brings nationally acclaimed pit masters from around the country to feed the masses at this festival.   I attended this event last summer and ended up taking a fair amount to go because the many different dishes that were offered (it’s not all ribs and pulled pork) were so good I wanted to enjoy them after the event ended. Cost: $8/plate

You certainly shouldn’t go hungry or thirsty this summer with all of the events that are going on in the Aspen/Snowmass area.  It’s good to educate your palate and to be able to do it in Aspen and Snowmass is deliciously divine.

Becky Creighton is the president of Culinary Connectors, a company that provides behind the scenes restaurant tours in Aspen, Boulder and Denver. She may be reached at foodie@culinaryconnectors.com or 303-495-5487.