Ultimate Top Chef Tour of Colorado

 Food & Wine has shared the Ultimate Top Chef tour of Colorado and we didn't want you to miss it!  For information on great places to stay give us a call at 772-888-1563.  After all .... this is Culinary Latitudes stompin' grounds!

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Everywhere the chefs and judges visited on season 15, from Denver to Aspen.

ADAM CAMPBELL-SCHMITT

March 07, 2018

In between the intense Quickfires, game-changing elimination challenges, and, of course, delicious dishes featured in season 15 of Top Chef, your eye was probably drawn more than a few times to the stunning vistas of the Colorado landscape. From downtown Denver to the elevated splendor of Aspen, home to the Food & Wine Classic, the chefs and judges traversed the state hitting restaurants, national parks, and other landmarks that define The Centennial State’s rugged and refined character. If you’d like to live out your ultimate Top Chef fantasy vacation in Rocky Mountain country, here’s a comprehensive itinerary of every location the reality series visited this season, plus a few spots run by alums and guest judges worth putting on your list.

Denver

The hub of any trip to Colorado, Denver has a bustling food scene, an array of neighborhoods and districts to shop, dine in, and explore, and is a gateway to the state’s vast recreational destinations. Here’s how to recreate and enhance your Top Chef-themed visit to the Mile High City:

Courtesy of The Maven

Stay at The Maven Hotel(1850 Wazee St, Denver, CO 80202) where the judges and chefs lodged while in town.

Jerry Cleveland / Getty Images

Wander Larimer Square, the site of the first challenge of season 15, where you’ll find guest judge and Top Chef Masters contestant Jen Jasinski’s Rioja(1431 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80202), guest judge Troy Guard’s Tag Restaurant (1441 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80202), and three of guest judge Frank Bonanno’s ten eateries, including Russell’s Smokehouse and Wednesday’s Pie (1422 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80202).

Courtesy of McCall Burau

In the surrounding area you’ll be able to visit Alex Seidel’s Mercantile Dining & Provision (1701 Wynkoop St #155, Denver, CO 80202), where the chefs sourced their cheese and cooked in on challenge or get some tailgating in at Sports Authority Fieldduring football season where they cooked up bites for Broncos fans, Mile High Station—the site of this season’s Restaurant Wars—and Rhein Haus (1706, 1415 Market St, Denver, CO 80202) where Keegan Gerhard brought the chefs to inspire their German Festival bites.

Further out you’ll find the home turf of season 15 contestant Carrie Baird at Bar Dough (2227 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211), as well as guest judge Keegan Gerhard’s D Bar (494 E 19th Ave, Denver, CO 80203) and guest judge Alex Seidel’s Fruition (1313 E 6th Ave, Denver, CO 80218) to round out your Top Chef-adjacent dining options. Wander the Capitol Hill neighborhood and you might even spot the Top Chefcontestants house or pass by the Governor's Residence at the Boettcher Mansionwhere the John Hickenlooper hosted a challenge.

Courtesy of Departure

In the Cherry Creek area you can reconnect with the most recent and past seasons as you dine in season 12 finalist Gregory Gourdet’s Departure Restaurant + Lounge at the Halcyon Hotel (249 Columbine St, Denver, CO 80206) which hosted the elimination challenge in episode four of this season, and if you’d like to Quickfire your own picnic lunch, try stopping by Savory Spice Shop and the Whole Foods where the contestants actually shopped to pick up your ingredients.

Courtesy of Comal

Expand your reach up to RiNo (River North Arts District) where you’ll find the Comal Heritage Food Incubator(3455 Ringsby Ct #105, Denver, CO 80216), an ideal lunch spot for Mexican, Salvadoran, and Syrian fare (as highlighted in the heritage challenge), the Denver Central Market food hall, Western Daughters Butcher Shop and the Great Divide Barrel Bar(1812 35th St, Denver, CO 80216), whose beers were featured on the show.

Courtesy of Great Divide Brewing Co.

Round out your Colorado-made tasting tour with a stop at Golden, Colorado-based Grateful Bread and Colorado Cider Company, or if shopping for cheese in town wasn’t enough, make the trek southward to Fruition Farms Creamery and pick up some fresh ricotta, shepherd’s halo, and sheep’s milk feta like the contestants used in episode two.

Courtesy of Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park

For a bit of old-fashioned fun, hit up Elitch Gardens, an in-city amusement park that hosted the German Festival challenge.

Speaking of festivals, consider timing your visit around one of the city’s food festivals including Denver Restaurant Week, Slow Food Nations, A Taste of Colorado, and the Denver Food + Wine Festival.

Side Trips: Colorado Springs and Fort Collins

70 miles due south of Denver is Colorado Springs, where you'll find season 15 contestant Brother Luck's Four by Brother Luck (321 N Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903). Head about as far due north and you'll end up in Fort Collins, home to Odell Brewing Company whose beers were featured on the show.

Boulder

For your next stop, head northwest toward the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to Boulder, where the Top Chef crew moved on to their second official city on the roadmap. Home to both alumni like Hosea Rosenberg and a University of Colorado campus, you’ll find a mix of cheaper options among more refined dishes, along with plenty of hiking trails and scenic drives through farm country.

Courtesy of St Julien Hotel & Spa

Stay at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa(900 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80302) where cast and crew bunked and you’ll have hiking trails in the Flatirons nearly at your backdoor with easy access via Chautauqua Park.

Speaking of parks, consider dining al fresco (via a picnic lunch) at East Boulder Community Park where the chefs competed in episode three’s food truck challenge.

Courtesy of Megan Swann

Plan your dinners at guest judge Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson’s Frasca Food and Wine(1738 Pearl St, Boulder, CO 80302), or season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg’s Santo(1265 Alpine Ave, Boulder, CO 80304) and Blackbelly(1606 Conestoga St #3, Boulder, CO 80301).

Courtesy of Lauren Feder

Grab lunch at the Rayback Collective(2775 Valmont Rd, Boulder, CO 80304), the city’s nexus of food trucks, or just mosey down Pearl Street, one of the best foodie streets in America.

Courtesy of Oskar Blues Brewery

Get your beer fix, as the chefs did in the German Festival challenge, with Longmont's Oskar Blues Tap Room(1800 Pike Rd, Longmont, CO 80501) and Avery Brewing Co. (4910 Nautilus Ct N, Boulder, CO 80301).

Courtesy of Kirsten Boyer

For a look at how the sausage is (literally) made, make a stop on the outskirts of town at Black Cat Farms, where chefs sourced some of their proteins.

On her day off, Gail Simmons took a bike ride on the Boulder Creek Path. Rent a bike at one of many local shops or just hop on a shared ride from B-Cycle for a couple hours.

If you happen to be in town on a Saturday, pick up fresh, local ingredients from the Boulder Farmers Market, or you can go the farmers yourself with the Boulder’s visitors bureau’s Farm Trail map that takes you on a drive to discover the county’s local producers.

If your visit falls during autumn, you’ll find the First Bite Boulder festival, bringing all the of the city's best bites to one place.

Side Trip: Estes Park

Helen H. Richardson / Getty Images

About 35 miles northwest of Boulder, you'll find Estes Park, site of the camping and cooking challenge that tested the ingenuity and survival skills of the cheftestants. Stay overnight, if you dare, at the haunted Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining,” and the site of a spooky season 15 Quickfire. Or if you're feeling as adventurous as the chefs, have your own campfire cook-off at the East Portal Campground after spending the day hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Courtesy of The Stanley Hotel

Telluride

While it's a bit out of the way from the Denver-Boulder-Aspen loop, Telluride, despite the high elevation (just take a breather if you need to) is still well worth the trip to hang out in the skiing and hiking town where Top Chef spent two episodes before heading to Aspen.

Courtesy of The Madeline Hotel & Residences

Check into the Hotel Madeline(568 Mountain Village Blvd, Telluride, CO 81435) where the cast and crew stayed.

Courtesy of New Sheridan Hotel

Drinks at Telluride’s Historic New Sheridan Bar(231 W Colorado Ave, Telluride, CO 81435) where one challenge was held and the Voltaggio brothers fell in love with Bison Ribeye from the New Sheridan Chop House.

Dinner at 221 South Oak(221 S Oak St, Telluride, CO 81435) by season 10’s Eliza Gavin, which also hosted the family meal challenge.

Courtesy of Telluride Ski Resort

In the winter, you can dine at the highest elevation restaurant in North America, Alpino Vino(12100 Camels' Garden Rd, Colorado 81320), where the chefs had to contend with baking at altitude.

Ride in horse-drawn style as you take a dining excursion with Telluride Sleighs and Wagons (Rocky Mountain Oysters not included).

The season’s most emotional episode, a reunion with the top four chefs’ families, took place at backcountry cabin The Observatory at Alta Lakes. Nearby you’ll find the Alta Lakes Ghost Town to get a sense of the area’s past and where hiking and biking trails await.

Aspen

The perfect finale for Top Chef or for your visit to Colorado, Aspen is the luxurious-yet-rambling mountain town designed for everything from hitting the slopes to browsing the shops. It's also where the food world's elite meet every year at the Food & Wine Classic, so you know it's a must-see destination.

Courtesy of Viceroy Snowmass

Stay overnight at the recently renovated Viceroy Snomass(130 Wood Rd, Snomass Village, CO 81615) where the cast and crew stayed, or opt for The Little Nell(675 E Durant Ave, Aspen, CO 81611) where filming took place at the Aspen Mountain Club.

Courtesy of The Little Nell

Have dinner at Element 47 at The Little Nell run by Executive Chef Matt Zubrod along with wine pairings by Master Sommelier and Wine Director Carlton McCoy both of whom appeared on the show.

Courtesy of Gibeon Photography

McCoy can also provide a tour of the wine cellar—the Red Light Lounge—and host a Burgundy tasting.

Courtesy of Jamie Jaye Fletcher

Or catch your own dinner while fly fishing at T-Lazy-7 (which can be booked through The Little Nell) and if you’re paired up with guide Brady Bleu, you’ll have the same teacher as the top three chefs did for their trout-based challenge.

Courtesy of Cassie Madden Photography

Grab a lift to the top of Aspen Mountain mostly for the views, but also because, well, the chefs competed there, too.

And no trip would be complete without attending the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen(June 15-17, 2018), where the final three chefs cooked for the who’s who of the food industry and where Top Chef winners and contestants, past and present, will be on hand to cook, teach, and party all weekend long.

Please contact Culinary Latitudes Travel for any of your lodging needs ... we are happy to help!  772-888-1563 or info@culinarylatitudes.com.

The Culinary Heart of Hanukkah

Article:  Peggy Wolff, Chicago TribunePublished 12:01 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2017

At the culinary heart of Hanukkah (which began at sundown Tuesday) are foods fried in oil to commemorate the triumph of the Maccabees, who won back their sacred temple, and the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.

But there’s another Hanukkah story, not as well-known, that shifts the culinary narrative to a brave woman and her killer cheese. This story from the Book of Judith explains why dairy makes it onto the holiday table.

According to “The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible,” the Assyrian leader Nebuchadnezzar sent one of his generals, Holofernes, to destroy the Jews of Bethulia, a town that commanded access to the road to Jerusalem. The plan was to seize the spring at the foot of the mountain, so the Jews would be deprived of their water supply.

When the cisterns in the town were empty, the people began to lose heart. It seemed better to live as slaves than to die in vain. One woman in town, a beautiful widow named Judith, had another plan.

She left Bethulia, dressed in festival garments to entice any man she might meet, and equipped with wine and food. The Assyrian guards — entranced by Judith’s looks — opened the gates of the city and escorted her up the hill to the enemy camp.

Pleased by her appearance, her beauty and her wit, Holofernes invited Judith to a banquet in his tent. When his officers left him alone with her, the general was so charmed by her that he ate the salty cheese cakes she had prepared, then quenched his thirst with her wine. More cheese cakes, much more wine. Until he fell drunkenly asleep.

And then, Judith pulled out his sword, and cut off his head.

She left the camp without arousing suspicion, her maid carrying the head in a bag. When the threatening army saw their general’s head, they panicked and fled.

Because Judith saved the Jews from a death order, many Jews honor her by eating cheese and dairy dishes: rugelach, blintzes, cheesecake, cheese latkes, even sour cream on potato latkes.

“We used to have a cake that was made out of cheese, like a fried-cheese-type thing,” says chef Laura Frankel, culinary director for Kosher Media International. Until the fried cheese tradition made it to northern and eastern Europe where they fried things in schmaltz (animal fat).

“Obviously, with kosher rules,” Frankel explained, “you can’t fry anything with cheese in schmaltz.” Mixing dairy and meat is banned in Jewish dietary laws. “So they changed the cheese out for potatoes. It was something people ate a lot of, they were filling, they were plentiful.”

This brings us to a shocking revelation. Though the original latkes were cheese latkes, the Ashkenazic Jews (who brought the latke to America) subbed potatoes.

And thus was born the latke that we all love today.

Judith’s Cheese Pastries

Adapted from “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” by Marcy Goldman, these pastries symbolize the cheese cakes that Judith served to Holofernes. Farmer cheese is a form of cottage cheese with most of the liquid pressed out, giving it a solid, crumbly texture. For best results, refrigerate the dough 8 hours or overnight.

Cheese Pastries

Adapted from “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” by Marcy Goldman, these pastries symbolize the cheese cakes that Judith served to Holofernes. Farmer cheese is a form of cottage cheese with most of the liquid pressed out, giving it a solid, crumbly texture. For best results, refrigerate the dough 8 hours or overnight.

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 sticks (one cup) unsalter butter (cut into 16 pieces)
• 1 cup farmers cheese
• 2 tsp finely minced lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

• 1/2 lb cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp finely minced lemon zest
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt

Topping

• 4 Tbsp melted butter
• powdered sugar

1. For the dough: Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl; cut in the butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Blend in the farmer cheese to make a soft dough; then the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. (For a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients together until combined. Add the butter; pulse until mixture resembles small crumbs. Add remaining ingredients; pulse until dough comes together. Knead on a lightly floured board to form a smooth ball.) Wrap the dough in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.

   For the filling: Cream the cream cheese, farmer cheese and sugar together in a bowl until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients to make a thick filling. Refrigerate until ready to use.

   Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

   On a lightly floured surface, divide the chilled dough in half and roll each half into a 9-by-12-inch rectangle. Lightly brush each rectangle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

   Spread half of the cheese filling on each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch plain border all around. Fold in the 2 shorter ends on each rectangle. Beginning with the longer side, roll each piece into a log, but stop halfway. Cut off the remaining half of each piece and repeat, making another log. Each portion of dough will make 2 narrow logs.

   Brush the tops of the 4 logs with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Chill, 10 to 15 minutes.

   Remove logs from the fridge; cut them into 2-inch pastries. Place the pastries on the baking sheets. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly, then dust with powdered sugar. Makes 24 to 30 pieces.

How This Food Tour Startup Is Revitalizing Puerto Rico's Tourism Industry

In 2016 a visit to Puerto Rico we were in search of the classic relleno and a quintessentail rum drink while walking the streets of old town.  This was an experience we a Culinary Latitudes will not soon forget.  Thanks to the caribbean cuisine and Leslie Padro, founder of Global Flavors, she is now revitalizing the island's tourism industry after being hit by a hurricane a short time ago.  Below is her story and why you should hop on a plane to San Juan for a visit!

Story credit to:  Alana Matos ,  WOMEN@FORBES

Credit: Leslie Padró.

The month of September represented a trying time for many islands in the Caribbean. With the passage of Hurricanes Irma and María, many islands were left partially or completely destroyed. One of the biggest questions many had after the passage of the storms is what would happen to the tourism industry in these places – a question many are still grappling with.

Puerto Rico-based Flavors of San Juan is not only working to bounce back after the hurricanes but is also working to help revitalize the island’s economy after the hurricane. The Food and Culture Tours company was founded in 2009 and was the first food tour in the Caribbean. Five years later its founder, Leslie Padró, realized this concept was scalable and launched Global Flavors, which is responsible for the creation, management and operations of culinary tours throughout the Caribbean. She has since expanded to other islands in the Caribbean such as Sint Maarten/St. Martin and St. Thomas.

Flavors food tours focus on connecting people – residents or visitors – to local restaurant owners, which provides a complete snapshot of a place’s history and culture through food. The concept has been massively successful – they have been awarded various contracts with cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruises. They have also been rated the #1 food tour on TripAdvisor in each location they operate in and have been covered by major media outlets such as CNN, BBC and USA Today.

Flavors food tours focus on connecting people – residents or visitors – to local restaurant owners, which provides a complete snapshot of a place’s history and culture through food. The concept has been massively successful – they have been awarded various contracts with cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruises. They have also been rated the #1 food tour on TripAdvisor in each location they operate in and have been covered by major media outlets such as CNN, BBC and USA Today.

https://youtu.be/9_UrY5FxEPc

I sat down with the founder of Global Flavors to talk about her journey, and specifically, to speak about their plans after the passage of hurricanes Maria and Irma this past September. Padró explains that she started off her career as a journalist at CNN in Atlanta. After years of working in this industry, she burnt out and decided to take a year off and move to Puerto Rico to learn Spanish and freelance.

“I moved to Old San Juan, and I started to do some freelancing and editing for QuePasa, Hotel Intercontinental, Caribbean Business, and I taught creative writing part-time at St. John’s School in Condado," said Padró. "Living in Old San Juan, I fell in love with the people and with the food. I also ended up meeting my now-husband there through a group of friends.”

Padró, a self-proclaimed “Sorta-Rican,” started exploring the restaurant scene with her husband, and because she looks American, tourists would always come up and ask her about which places were best to eat. On one occasion, one of her good friends told her about a food tour company in Seattle and suggested that she should start one in Puerto Rico.

“Food tours in the states were just starting. There was on in Seattle, New York, LA– one in every major city. And I loved the idea because it was like the work I did with journalism: I did a bunch of research, I interviewed historians and architects and learned about the history behind the food. I realized that through food, you could tell the story of a place and connect people.”

Credit: Leslie Padró

The tour features food from restaurants in Old San Juan, pictured during the rebuilding process after Hurricane María.

At first, she started doing food tours part-time, until she eventually quit her day job and took on less freelancing gigs. She still uses her writing skills for marketing material and her company’s websites. Through this work, her team has infused more than a million dollars in the local economy over the last eight years, primarily to local mom and pop shops throughout Old San Juan.

Throughout this journey, Padró’s story has proved itself to be one of resilience and perseverance against adversity. After the passing of Hurricane Irma this past September, over 90% of the restaurants in their network in St. Martin were heavily damaged. Soon after, Hurricane María passed through Puerto Rico, leaving their restaurant owners and tour guides there in dire situations.

“I’ve always said that what we’ve built is Flavors family. So, when this happened, I quickly moved to start a GoFundMe page to help support all my team members. I know that we would all be without income for a while, and this way we could pay something to all our tour guides in all locations despite them not working due to lack of sales. In addition, we’ve applied for an SBA loan to cover some of these expenses, but it’s a process. Right now, I’ve stopped taking a salary to ensure that our tour guides and operations staff are taken care of. We’re all hustling at this point.’’

Credit: Leslie Padró

She explains that one of the trickiest parts of this process is the volatility of the situation, and not knowing what is going to happen. During the storm and in the immediate aftermath, the most challenging part was not being able to reach out to any of the members of the team, particularly in St. Martin and St. Thomas. Padró would watch the news and try to figure out, based on the maps that were shown, whether the restaurants or homes of the people they worked with could have been damaged.

“We love everyone on our team, so it was just hard not to be able to reach out to them, to know that they were okay. So that volatility was difficult. But through this, we realized that community is so crucial. I feel honored and indebted to the people on our team. Often, people go to work for the money, but I have employees telling me 'it's okay if you can't pay me right now, I still want to work with you, the money will come back.' They are the heart of the company.”

It is this charity others have shown Padró that has touched her the most. “Many of my vendors and contractors have put a moratorium on outstanding invoices, which helps a lot. But perhaps the largest charitable surprise was when our ticketing partner, EzTix paid for me to fly to Montreal, Canada and stay four days with my hotel room included so I could attend the annual Global Food Tourism Conference.”

While at the conference, which Padró was also invited to attend for free thanks to its director Shane Kost, Global Flavors was awarded “Brand Champion” for its work in supporting its restaurant partners and staff in the aftermath of a crisis.

Credit: Leslie Padró

Plantain chips are one of the most popular snacks in Puerto Rico and are frequently used for cooking.

Despite the hurdles they face, the Flavors team is hopeful for the future– they don’t plan on giving up and are already starting to run tours again in St. Thomas and San Juan. Despite the lull in sales, Padró and the management team are constantly in contact with their customers and restaurants partners and have reworked their tours to be able to open as soon as possible, working with what they have available. Most of all, Padró wants the world to know that they are ready and open for business.

“Right after both hurricanes passed and took out all three of our islands I was pretty low. But I had to change my attitude. I had to stop saying ‘my company is destroyed,' and instead say it’s not destroyed, it’s in remission, and we will bounce back. I still have a company; a team and we will rise. All of us in the tourism industry will rise. Now, more than ever, we’re ready to work.”

If you’re interested in the work that Global Flavors is doing, help support them after Hurricane María and learn more about their food tours.

@alana_matos811 is an entrepreneur and founder passionate about helping women pursue the startup route.

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