Beaver Creek FOOD & WINE: Burgers, Skiing, and More

The second annual Beaver Creek FOOD & WINE weekend last weekend. The festivities combined the guests' love for skiing and food through several skiing opportunities that concluded with lunches prepared by celebrity chefs or apres ski events featuring prominent wine personalities. A small group of celebrity chefs including John Besh, Gail Simmons, and Tim Love were present and a group of local chefs hosted several of the events. Eater brought back a gallery of photos and some observations.

The kickoff was a hit with Veuve Cliquot flowing and many dishes from Beaver Creek chefs being passed around. Denver chef Alex Seidel of Fruition was spotted chatting at length with chef Sam Talbot, a former Top Chef contestant.

For the Friday luncheon at Grouse Mountain Grill, chef Alex Seidel of Fruition prepared the first two courses: a roasted beet salad that featured three types of beets and a braised rabbit sauce with carmazliezed cauliflower, clamshell mushrooms and truffled rabbit jus served on handmade pappardelle pasta. The luncheon ended with a dessert by chef Allison Helfer, pastry chef from Grouse Mountain Grill.

At the Burgers and Beer event on Friday afternoon, an event complete with live music and an ice bar, Texas chef Tim Love cooked up a great outside skirt burger with lamb bacon and roasted red pepper hollandaise, but many agreed that Spike Mendelsohn's bison burger was the crowd favorite.

At the ski luncheon with chef John Besh, Andre Boada, the brand manager of Capture wines, shared that although he has been introduced to groups several times by FOOD & WINE publisher Christina Grdovic, this was the first time when she introduced him in slippers. Most participants skied to the luncheon and temporarily changed into slippers for the meal.

During the same luncheon, while describing the menu, New Orleans chef John Besh told the guests that if the cauliflower and lobster bisque with sprinkles of shaved white truffles did not satisfy them, they were probably a lost case.

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The Saturday afternoon Wine Down, an event hosted by sommelier Anthony Giglio, brought many of the attendants, including Gail Simmons and Tim Love, out in their ski gear. The photos will prove that.

At the Grand Tasting, the heavy dishes were aplenty from stews to braised of all sorts of animals. And, of course, there was some tired crowd favorites like bacon-wrapped dates whose saving grace was the use of Tender Belly bacon.

During the same grand tasting, Top Chef judge Gail Simmons asked chef Tim Love's son, a young man who was helping plate Love's posole, if he is ready to take over the family business. Apparently the youngster is faster on the slopes than his dad and he was quite handy with the multiple posole garnishes.

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