Monday night’s Chefs’ Circle Dinner was just the first outing for this annual event, and our honorees Scott and Cherie Carlisle, Adam Kelinson, Larissa Warner, Peter Ryan, and Christel Stiver were just the first in a long line of accomplished alums we’ll be celebrating over the years.  As we look back on the culmination of a great tenth anniversary year, here are some Cook Street firsts to savor:

Firsts

Cook Street opened its doors with the most advanced and accelerated cooking programs and classes anywhere!  We’re proud of being…

…the first local cooking school with a wood-burning oven

…the first local school to offer menu-based education

…the first professional program to offer a Sommelier certificate and culinary trips to France and Italy as part of the program

…the first Weber grilling courses in Denver

…the first culinary school in Denver to offer a Personal Chef program and The Business of Cooking program

…the first local school to pair with magazines like Fine Cooking and Saveur

…the first Denver cooking school to win the American Culinary Federation Foundation’s Educational Assurance Award

Notable Guests

Over the years, we’ve played host to world-class chefs and companies, including:

• Kevin Zraly
• Gourmet Magazine
• Lidia Bastianch
• Rose Levy Birnbaum
• James Peterson
• Slowfood Denver
• Chefs 2000
• ACF
• IWG
• Colorado Wine Council
• Food Channel
• Starz Channel
• Saveur Magazine
• Fine Cooking Magazine

You heard about our honored alumni’s ingredient influences yesterday…but what about our honorees’ unique culinary achievements?  Read on for a great sense of the rewards reaped by our professional school graduates and the people and things who have influenced them along the way.

Christel Stiver, Assistant Manager/Sommelier at Aspen Mountain Club and Chefs’ Circle Honoree, enjoys wine and conversation at Monday night’s Chefs’ Circle Dinner.

Scott and Cherie Carlisle:  Having our dream of owning and operating a fine resort and restaurant has been a great culinary achievement.  To cook for our guests and also be their hosts and visit with them while they dine has been an amazing experience….explaining different dishes and seeing others’ excitement in learning about food has brought us satisfaction as chefs.

Adam Kelinson:  I don’t just cook food, I have a relationship with it — respecting where it came from and the food itself.  Once  I had that relationship, it formed the foundation for everything else.  Now I can impart that to my clients and form relationships with appropriate vendors.

Larissa Warner:  Bringing people together with food is a huge reason I’m a chef.  We have to eat to survive and we need to be able to enjoy eating with each other.  Food is the one thing we have to have that can also give us so much joy….cooking is such a caring act and so integral to family, interaction, and living.

Peter Ryan:  I tip my toque to all the chefs who remain committed to elevating the foodie scene in Denver.  I most respect those who are just starting out…maybe going to culinary school, getting their first “real” job in a kitchen, scraping by on a measly wage, working way too many hours and still getting up every morning to return to a hot, cramped, and intimidating environment.

Christel Stiver:  Being a sommelier allows me to continually challenge myself as well as absorb all of the intricacies involved with wine.  It wasn’t until attending Cook Street that I discovered the magical possibilities between food and wine.

Monday evening, Cook Street celebrated a very special milestone — the completion of its tenth anniversary year — with a sumptuous Chefs’ Circle Dinner shared with a select group of honored alumni and guests.  The event was a smashing success, and over the next few days we’ll be sharing the sights and sayings of our honorees in a celebration of culinary influence.

The menu Monday night was nothing short of ravishing.  Guests mingled with a signature cocktail (vodka, maple syrup, apple juice, and thyme), then moved on to an amuse of roasted shallot custard with caviar served in an egg shell.  After scarfing down seared foie gras with brioche points and a lingonberry gastric and apple black-pepper compote, an intermet of champagne hibiscus sorbet cleared the palate.  Then it was time for the plat principal…an impressive NY strip loin with pommes puree, haricot vert, and a smoked tomato demi-glace.  To top it all off?  Honey panna cotta with citrus lace tuille and a lovely plate of petit fours, cheese, and coffee.

This menu wasn’t just luxurious…it reflected the classic cooking techniques that make Cook Street’s professional program and recreational courses tick.  But what about the evening’s honorees?  What flavors and ingredients inspire their work?

For Scott and Cherie Carlisle, owners of the Star Valley Trout Ranch Resort in Afton, Wyoming, it’s all about versatility.  “I love the versatility of onions or garlic,” says Scott.  “Cheese fascinates me, from just four basic ingredients (milk, salt, rennet, and cultures) come thousands of variations, each with their unique qualities.”

Adam Kelinson, professional chef and author of The Athlete’s Plate, prefers ingredients that are fresh, seasonal, local…and grown with love.  He follows seasonal progressions in his kitchen, incorporating seasonal produce and meats and attuning himself to the cycles of what is available at any given time.

Larissa Warner, executive chef at Cafe 36 at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, responds to fresh produce, which inspires a sense of awe.  And she can’t wait for Colorado corn this summer:  “Always seems like it takes the Colorado corn season so long to get here, and then it last such a short time!”

Peter Ryan, executive chef at Z Cuisine and incoming executive chef/instructor at Cook Street, appreciates any ingredient that elevates regular eating into fine dining.

And Christel Stiver, assistant manager/sommelier at Aspen Mountain Club in Aspen, CO, is inspired by Mediterranean flavors and anything associated with autumn.

What ingredients are inspiring you these days?