Mactoberfest makes return in aim to ‘cheese’; officials look toward future festival versions

It ain’t easy being cheesy, unless, of course, you’re at Aspen’s very own Mactoberfest.

Nearly a thousand people spilled onto “Restaurant Row” on East Hopkins Avenue on Saturday to watch some of the valley’s finest culinary artists go head-to-head in the fiercest-of-the-fierce competition to see who could create the most innovative mac-and-cheese dishes.

Competitors had two hours to showcase their dish in hopes of winning the approval of VIP judge and James Beard award-winning author Laura “Cheese Lady” Werlin. Her expertise is highly regarded because, as the saying goes, she wrote the book on cheeses. In fact, she wrote six, to be exact.

Participants in this year’s competition were Hominy Southern Kitchen, Cache Cache, Meat & Cheese, Red Mountain Grill, Home Team BBQ, Steakhouse no. 316, Aspen Middle School (with a little guidance from Chef Matt Zubrod), Pepperjacks @ The Gant, Elk Camp, and PARC Aspen.

The original Mac and Cheese Festival was started by long-time local and City of Aspen Recreation employee, the late Keith Bulicz, back in 2010. It’s been seven years since the last festival, and as Aspen’s Marketing Coordinator Andy Curtis explained, reviving the popular festival had been on the city’s plate for quite some time.

“Bringing back the Mac and Cheese festival was something that the City of Aspen Special Events’ teams had been discussing since last fall, and when we were approached by Sam Hayes from Meat and Cheese with an idea for some kind of Oktoberfest celebration, we jumped on the opportunity to bring back the mac,” he said.  

This year’s 2023 Mactoberfest winner was Hominy Southern Kitchen’s head chef, Jake Burkhardt, while Crowd Favorite went to Executive Chef Mark Connell with PARC Aspen.

Aspen’s Special Events Assistant Manager Wesy Armour-Cook said there was some uncertainty coming back after a seven-year hiatus, with so many new restaurants that were unfamiliar with the festival.

But for some of the older restaurants that were familiar, she said it was their eagerness and enthusiasm that ultimately led the way.

“We were very pleased with the turnout and proud of the overall event,” Armour-Cook said. “We were excited to make our own additions with our special events stamp. We will make some tweaks from the feedback we received, but overall, it was a pleasure to host this event for the community, and we are excited to continue to create more fun local events. It’s obviously the way to the community’s heart is through their stomach.”

In addition to mac and cheese, the local non-profit women’s hockey team, The Mother Puckers, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this season, also participated by assisting in distributing beer for publicity and proceeds.

Curtis and Armour-Cook said, given the fact that they’ve now seen firsthand what a “crowd cheeser” the festival can be, they definitely intend on bringing the festival back next year. The only question is in what form will it return, and it’s a question they’re looking for the public’s help with answering.

“We hope that this festival can grow in future years and would love to know if the community wants to change up the food offerings in the coming years,” Curtis said. “Is it a meatball-toberfest? Tacoberfest? We are open to feedback and suggestions, but we do hope to continue some sort of festival offering at the end of summer for our community in the coming years.”  

So, if you’ve “ricotta” suggestion and you think you know how to make next year’s festival even “cheddar,” email wesy.armour-cook@aspen.gov or andy.curtis@aspen.gov and let them know what your “gouda” ideas might “brie.”

To reach Jonson Kuhn, email him at jkuhn@aspentimes.com.