Local chefs prepare for the return of Heritage Fire to Snowmass on Saturday

There is something primal and seductive about cooking over an open fire.

Both ancient and modern, live-fire cookery has seen a resurgence in the past decade with professional chefs and home cooks alike, creating a demand and market for restaurants, products and events that revolve around wood-burning fire pits, smoking and grilling.

“It’s the original way of cooking, right? This is what our ancestors did. This is something that we had forgotten about, but now people are really engaging in it just because it’s a natural way of life, and they’re wanting to see more of it,” said Cody Rydin, executive chef of fine dining and catering for Aspen Skiing Co.

And this weekend, the people of the Roaring Fork Valley will get what they want.

Dubbed the “Food & Wine for locals,” live-fire, open-air culinary experience, Heritage Fire returns to Snowmass on Saturday with an impressive list of 20 Colorado-based participating chefs. Established in 2010 in Napa Valley, Heritage Fire celebrates pasture diversity and local family farms that are raising heritage-breed animals and sustainable produce. Guests will also get to to vote for “Best Bite of the Day,” and the winner will be crowned the title of Heritage Hero. 

Chef Rydin, who will be participating in his third Heritage Fire, said it’s no surprise that live-fire cooking would be so popular in the region.

“You’re getting natural smoke flavor, that little bit of funk on your meat, and you’re getting a lot more attitude in the flavor profile then you would just with propane or electric stove or whatever anyone might be using at home. You’re actually getting that taste of real wilderness into the food where it was living,” he said.

Originally from Breckenridge, Rydin is proud of being born and raised in the Colorado mountains, noting growing up here has influenced his cooking style. He made his way to Aspen a couple years ago after stints in Alaska and Telluride, where he honed his skills before joining Skico.

“I really like putting on a show,” he said. “Big cuts of meat, Tomahawk steaks, cooking them in the most natural way possible. That’s something that I pride myself on. I love local veggies. I do this giant roasted carving station where I put massive pieces of vegetables on hibachi grills and carve them off with big swords and you know that kind of a style — that’s super primal.”

On Saturday, he will be showcasing his talent with Yucatán-style barbecued pork, cochinita pibil in which he will breakdown three whole pigs, wrap them in banana leaf, braise “nice and slow” and smoke over a mixture of oak and musky charcoal. He’ll serve the pork with a traditional red onion and habanero slaw with homemade tortillas and a tequila cocktail.

For classically French trained Chef Chris Lanter, who will be representing Cache Cache and Home Team BBQ Aspen on Saturday, this type of large animal, live-fire cooking is something he came to a bit later in his career.

“For me, personally, I had never done large scale barbecue until 2016 when I became involved with Home Team. So, I like that it’s a new, very American technique,” he said. “If you’re smoking foods low and slow it’s kind of the opposite of French. Just to be able to do it outdoors and use smokers is just a unique way of cooking.”

He said he enjoys participating in this event because it allows him to work alongside old friends from the industry in a fun, outdoor setting.

“It’s so much fun to work alongside all these local Colorado chefs,” he said. “We’re all doing our own thing, but we get to it next to each other. It’s a community thing. We’ve tried to participate as much as we can. I’ve been at Cache Cache for 23 years and then Home Team opened in December of 2016, so we are incorporating something from both, using Home Team techniques with our fine dining, Cache Cache style.”

On Saturday, attendees of the event can look forward to Lanter’s Kvarøy salmon smoked over white scrub oak out of Utah, served with cream of local corn, local heirloom tomatoes, local arugula and cilantro on top with a mango yuzu vinaigrette.

“There’s something cool about getting back to the really basic nature of cooking,” he said. “There’s something appealing about that. I think maybe there’s a reason why it’s gotten more popular. And the visual, too. It’s more exciting being outside and then being back in the kitchen where there’s no sunlight.”

Participating chefs include: Megan Thomas of Aspen Dreamery; Cody Rydin of Aspen Skiing Co. Mountain Dining; Bill Sauer of Aurum Food & Wine Aspen/Snowmass; Will Nolan of Black Salt Hospitality; Robbie Reyes of Breckenridge Distillery Restaurant; Michael Waters, Carina; Ashley Jenkin of Charlee’s Comfort Kitchen; Mark Burrows of Cocoa Club by Pollinator Chocolate; Ethan Powell, Eat: An Oyster Bar; Matt Kennedy of Foraged and Farmed Catering; Troy Guard and Adam Vero of Guard and Grace; Johnny Curiel of La Molina; Michael Dunning of Mizuna; Jonah and Owen Foust, Smok’n Gingers BBQ; Erin Shepherd of Sugarland Farm and Provisions; Archna Becker, Tandoori Pizza & Wing Co.; Julio Gaspar of Teocalli Cocina; Oscar Padilla of The Gaucho Parrilla; Eddie Chimal of Venga Venga; Jason DeBacker of The Edge Restaurant/Timberline; Chris Lanter, Cache Cache/Home Team BBQ Aspen; and Christopher Lapointe, Air Culinaire Worldwide.