Boulder chef takes home “Chopped” title.
Colorado’s culinary scene picked up more bragging rights when Flagstaff House’s chef de cuisine Chris Royster won during an episode of the television cooking competition “Chopped” on Food Network.
The competition pits four chefs against each other to create three dishes made with a basket of mystery ingredients; one of them is crowned Chopped Champion.
Royster’s winning dishes were a chicken liver rillette with kale mostarda, pickled kale and toasted sevkac; spicy goat ragout with white chocolate curry cashews, butternut squash puree and yogurt raita; and roasted pork-and-maple ice cream with rolled-up apple pie, candied bacon, caramel and macerated figs.
Royster’s winning dessert will make its way onto the menu at Flagstaff House, and plans for a dinner featuring his “Chopped” dinner are in the works.
Hearth & Dram adds rustic touch to LoDo’s
dining scene: Downtown’s dining scene will get a little more rustic when Hearth & Dram opens at 1801 Wewatta St. in January next year. The concept focuses on wood-fired American fare accompanied by an extensive whiskey selection of more than 350 bottles.
Executive chef Jeffrey Wall will man the burners, bringing his experience from Atlanta’s lauded Kimball House. Wall’s kitchen philosophy is centered on
using scratch-made foods and sourcing practices to share with cooks who work with him.
El Chingon celebrates three years on Tennyson Street: El Chingon made a name for itself five years ago in Arvada and has since carried it to a cozy spot at 4326 Tennyson St., where the Mexican restaurant is celebrating its third anniversary since moving to the Berkeley neighborhood. The anniversary marks a milestone not only for the restaurant, but for the neighborhood that has grown into its own main drag of dining in Denver.
Owner Lorenzo Nunez Jr. said part of the restaurant’s continued success is attributed more than just great Mexican food; it’s maintaining the family values that El Chingon is founded on.
Infinite Monkey Theorem released its first-ever batch of bubbles: A glass of bubbly is nice, but a locally made bottle of bubbly is better.
Infinite Monkey Theorem released its first batch of The Bubble Universe last week at its RiNo winery and taproom with Marczyk Fine Foods.
Bubble Universe is a 2013 vintage sourced from the Grand Valley, using Albariño grapes that have a naturally high acidity, which winemaker and Infinite Monkey Theorem founder Ben Parsons said is perfect for sparkling wine production. It’s a labor-intensive process: The Albariño spends nine months in neutral French oak barrels, then
two years en tirage — adding fermentable sugar and yeast to induce secondary fermentation — before it is hand-riddled, disgorged and bottled. The final product is 1,200 bottles of sparkling wine with a bright citrus flavor and minerality. Carbon Knife Co. opens in RiNo: Chefs and home cooks alike have a new, locally owned cutlery outlet to shop for kitchen essentials. Carbon Knife Company opened at 3264 Larimer St. under ownership of chefs Craig Field and Tina Chon — two chefs who cut their teeth in restaurants including Rioja, Stoic & Genuine, Telegraph and Table 6.
“Most chefs know the hassle of online shopping for knives and tools and not being able to really feel and compare differences in person to find what really suits them individually,” Field said. “So naturally as food and knife geeks, we have been dreaming big and working towards building Carbon for the past couple years.”
In addition to kitchen knives, Carbon offers Japanese whetstone sharpening and restoration — a service that is not limited to just kitchen knives.
Chon and Field plan to offer classes on handmade knives, sharpening techniques and proper care in the coming year.