Top Chefs

Pasta from Panzano

What does it take to become a top chef?  Certainly lots of training, years of experience and a passion for creating a memorable dining experience.  The desire to make people happy seems to be the driving force behind the success of most culinary whizzes, professional and amateur alike.  (Just think of your grandma baking you your favorite cake.  My grandmother’s was a special boiled raisin cake with thick butter cream frosting that neither my mother nor I have been able to duplicate.)  This notion of people-pleasing became abundantly clear to me recently when I interviewed two notable chefs on Travel Fun.

Chef Kenny from Capella

Chef Kenny Gilbert, Executive Chef at Capella in Telluride, told me that he became interested in food when he’d watch his father barbecuing as a child.  Growing up in the South, there was always lots of barbecuing and Kenny had many opportunities to see how people enjoyed it so much.  

Chef Elise Wiggins, Executive Chef at Panzano in Denver, talked to me about a similar experience.  She explained that in her native Louisiana, much of life revolves around eating.  “It’s about good times with family and friends.  I learned at a young age that you can make a lot of people happy by cooking.”

Both went on to pursue their love of cooking at culinary school and began to rack up experience at home and abroad in the kitchens of some of the best known restaurants in the world.  Chef Kenny draws largely upon basic French techniques that emphasize such fundamental practices as kitchen organization and garde manger (pantry) management.  Chef Elise has been greatly influenced by her mother who spent summers in northern Italy, preparing regional dishes for her family and also by many Italian chefs with whom she studied over the years.  Her regular travels to Italy have helped her to hone her knowledge of largely northern Italian cuisine, the emphasis at Panzano.   Chef Elise pays particular attention to how flavors change according to the terroir in Italy, especially in products such as cheese and salumi.

Chef Elise from Panzano

So it comes as no surprise that at Capella in Telluride you might find a barbecued pulled pork sandwich on the menu at Suede, the hotel’s swanky informal bistrot, and a superior cut of meat served up at Onyx, this tony establishment’s more high-end restaurant.  Chef Kenny’s whimsical note is rolled out in the form of a multi-tiered candy cart that showcases everything from puckery lemonheads and swirl pops to luscious truffles and pâte de fruits.  “I like to serve up childhood favorites,” Chef Kenny says.  “I’ve seen a diner moved to tears over Swedish fish.”  Creating and conjuring up memories is after all an essential part of the dining experience.

At Panzano, gorgeous plates of food composed of the freshest ingredients and many house made specialties such as hand cured meats delight discriminating diners in Denver, a city that is quickly becoming one of the food capitals of the country.  If you haven’t tried one yet, this is where you’ll find the best grilled Caesar salad on the planet.  Who would ever think grilled romaine could taste this good?  “It’s a simple technique with simple ingredients,”  Chef Elise says.

Lighting Up Mountain Village with Telluride Festival of the Arts

Chef Kenny and Chef Elise will have the opportunity to meet up and create some culinary magic together at the Telluride Festival of the Arts, a celebration of the visual and culinary arts that’s taking place this year August 14 through 16.  They’re both participating in a gastronomic extravaganza with Hosea Rosenberg, winner of Bravo’s 2009 Top Chef.  “It’s a well-organized, flawless event that features a great mix of people,” Chef Elise told me.    This will be her second year at the festival and my first.  I’m really looking forward to it, too, not only since one of this year’s highlights will be a free concert by Joan Osborne but also because it has become abundantly clear to me that foodie events big and small are about making people happy.

One of Chef Kenny's Creations

Kitchen Tip from Chef Kenny Gilbert

“Time management is key.  It’s really about the mise en place,” Chef Kenny emphasizes.  “Have everything in place, write your list out, check inventory and have everything right in front of you.”  I’m hoping this will up my chances of having everything ready at once and served at the desired temperature!

Culinary Advice from Chef Elise Wiggins

Memorize flavors.  “Act like a three year-old and put everything in your mouth in its raw state and then you will remember its flavor,” Chef Elise says.  “This also helps you to realize that you can overdue it with certain herbs.”

Onyx and Suede are the two signature restaurants of Capella, Telluride, 970-369-0880, www.capellatelluride.com

Panzano, located in the Hotel Monaco, 909 17th Street at Champa, Denver, 303-296-3525, www.panzano-denver.com

Note that Chef Elise gives cooking classes once a month specializing in everything from pickling and preserving to the preparation of turduckin, a classic Cajun dish served at Christmas.

Type Capella or Panzano into the search in the upper right hand corner of my Web site to read more about my dining experiences at Onyx and Panzano.  You can also read my story on Hotel Monaco by typing Hotel Monaco into the search.  You’ll notice that I put a quirky spin on it.

Book Picks

Chef Kenny recommends “Developing the Leaders Around You,” by John C. Maxwell.  This book has helped him to look at his employees as potential leaders, not just employees.  “In the kitchen, I feel everyone is a struggling artist, so it’s important to understand people’s skill sets in order to help them create goals and to achieve them,” Kenny says.  “If I can give to the employee and they give to me, then they’ll give back to the guests and the guests will feel their passion.”

Chef Elise loves “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert and so do I.  The food scenes in particular are extraordinary!

Bon Appétit!