FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen

The mack daddy of gastronomic gatherings returns to Aspen for its 37th year with another impressive lineup of luminaries from the culinary world

For three days in mid-June, Colorado will, once again, host the culinary olympics that is the 2019 FOOD & WINE Classic. Aspen, the impossibly beautiful and postcard-perfect mountain town, will provide the backdrop for the celebration of gastronomic greatness.

This year, the festival will see esteemed epicureans such as Martha Stewart, Ruth Reichl, Jacques Pépin, Hugh Acheson, Richard Blais, Alex Guarnaschelli, Carla Hall, Marcus Samuelsson, Gail Simmons, and Andrew Zimmern, among others, host more than 80 seminars, talks and tastings on topics such as “Summer Herbs Maximizing Flavor with Alex Guarnaschelli,” “Mad Genius Tips: Weeknight Entertaining with Justin Chapple,” “Red Wines of Bordeaux with Kevin Zraly, Wines for Quadrillionaires with Mark Oldman,” “Burger Bonanza with Ray Isle,” and “World’s Greatest Craft Beers with Andy Chabot and Roy Milner.”

Photo: Marc Fiorito

New this year, are three collaboration dinners on Saturday, June 15th. Rick Bayless and Jason Vincent will come together for the first time for the FOOD & WINE Mentorship Dinner. The St. Regis Aspen will play host to two of Chicago’s most celebrated chefs. There will also be a cocktail reception with drinks from Death & Co. as well as hors d’oeuvres from the St. Regis Executive Chef Laurent Pillard. The seated dinner will feature wine pairings from Vineyard Brands.

The second of the three dinners will see Andrew Carmelini of Locanda Verde (among others) and Kate Williams, chef of Detroit’s Lady of the House, collaborate at the Hotel Jerome. Once again, there will be a cocktail reception from Death & Co. and hors d’oeuvres from Hotel Jerome Executive Chef Rob Zack. Dinner will be accompanied by wines from Total Wine & More.

Finally, Jonathan Waxman will recreate his soon-to-close restaurant Barbuto at The Little Nell. The team from the iconic West Village eatery will resurrect the restaurant in the mountains of Colorado for one night only. Death & Co. will once again provide cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will come from Executive Chef at The Little Nell Matt Zubrod. Kosta Browne will take charge of wine pairings.

Photo: Marc Fiorito

Other events include Last Call, a late-night party featuring Geoffrey Zakarian; a cooking demo and book signing from Martha Stewart; and a discussion with Ruth Reichl about her career and new book “Save Me the Plums.”

Then there is the Grand Tasting Pavilion. Located downtown, the pavilion takes center stage throughout the three-day festival with five consumer Grand Tastings that offer attendees the opportunity to taste wines and dishes from around the world.

The Farewell Feast on Sunday wraps up the festival and offers the chance to sample dishes from the FOOD & WINE 2019 Best New Restaurants (to be announced in the July issue).

To see the full schedule click here.

Want to feel good about indulging? Click here to read about how the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen raises money and awareness for two nonprofits that support a range of culinary-connected initiatives through ticket sales and additional events like the Celebrity Chef Charity 5K. This year the race along the Rio Grande River is on the morning of Friday, June 14th and offers the chance to get up close with the chefs. The race is open to the general public whether you are attending the rest of the festival or not. Sign up here.

The 2019 FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen takes place from June 14 – 16. Tickets for the weekend’s various offerings typically disappear pretty quickly, but at the time of writing there are still weekend passes available as well as tickets for the chef collaboration dinners and Sunday’s Farewell Feast. For more information, visit classic.foodandwine.com.