Reporters’ Notebook: Day 1 of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
Madison Osberger-Low/The Aspen Times
Medium-Rare Moments: Bobby Flay serves up steak secrets
The 42nd annual Food & Wine Classic opened on a sizzling note with a seminar led by Bobby Flay, who brought his signature heat, confidence and culinary expertise back to Aspen, marking nearly 30 appearances at the event since his debut in 1990.
In his seminar — “Steak-Out: Up Your Steak Game with Recipes and Techniques from Around the World” — Flay worked through three classic cuts. The filet mignon, ribeye and T-bone, guiding the audience through his approach to achieving the perfect sear and ideal doneness, which he prefers just over medium-rare.
Throughout the demonstration, he emphasized instinct as much as technique.
“I touch the steak to know what the story is,” he said, describing how he gauges doneness by feel as much as timing.
“Before you plate, you must taste,” he added, underscoring his focus on seasoning, balance and precision at every step.
As he cooked, Flay called it “the magic of Aspen,” setting the tone for a master class in fire, flavor and finesse.
When asked whether a great steak comes down to the cut or the chef, he pointed back to the foundation: The quality of the meat matters first — what happens next is all about how you handle it.
Excited to channel my inner Bobby Flay at home: Searing steak in avocado oil, using unsalted butter and flipping it right on the stove like a pro.
— Madison Osberger-Low
Luxury wine pairs with luxe fashion
Mark Oldman delivers and ascends — what more can be expected of the 20-year wine expert veteran of the Food & Wine Classic?
His first seminar of the weekend, “Luxury is in the Details,” brought showmanship, outstanding wine quality and humor. Attendees lined up an hour early, sharing he’s their “best of the fest,” and they did not want to miss it.
He paired fashion houses like Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and Christian Dior with top wines. Along with images for understanding and delight, he shared similarities and histories.
The audience participated in the wine tasting, shouting out wine attributes and making a component of the seminar a conversation. Or course, Oldman brought his signature swag — and what swag it was — with a hat raffle, luggage tags, pins and a sleeping mask with a slogan, “Not 100% sober.”
His pours included the world’s best dessert wine — “a golden nectar”; a Champagne; a burgundy — “the most coveted type of wine in the world”; and an exceptional Pinot Noir, my personal highlight. The audience didn’t want it to end.
Just as the smooth-silky taste of the wine lingers, so will Oldman’s witty rapporté and approachable wine knowledge for those who were there.
— Jennika Ingram
Fried at the St. Regis
Midway through the “Gettin’ Crispy With It: The Secrets of Japanese Frying,” Top Chef alumni Shota Nakajima gently placed a battered shrimp into a pot of boiling oil with the care generally reserved for laying a newborn baby in its crib. His meticulous prep, intention and thought involved in the process was truly inspiring.
Motivating in the sense that the next time I have a dinner party, I’m definitely serving Japanese-style tempura.
Can you imagine the sense of “nailing it” by going over to someone’s house for dinner to discover they’re serving tempura? My immediate reaction would be to double-fist-punch the sky with joy.
My deep-fried enthusiasm likely stems from an old high school summer job working at Aspen’s premier Japanese restaurant, “Taka Sushi.” I was wildly fortunate to learn to cook tempura under the stoic, watchful eye of Takah himself. Validating in a sense to say many of the techniques employed by Shota were not necessarily new to me but hauntingly familiar.
The hour-long demonstration in the breezy Regis courtyard included — but was by no means limited to — Pork tonkatsu, tempura carrot, corn fritters, tempura whole shitake mushrooms, with a side of spinach-tofu salad and a sesame-infused Japanese slaw. Shota shared his and knowledge and craft with the grace and confidence of someone who has truly found their area of expertise and place in life.
These Food & Wine Classic in Aspen cooking demonstrations are so entertaining and immaculately produced, I was half-expecting a smiling Guy Fieri to poke his head up from behind the cooking counter right as the food was ready.
While waiting eagerly in line to enter, I was fortunate to meet and chat with a delightful couple here from Chicago — true Food & Wine Classic groupies. After the seminar, we all agreed we’re definitely going to be cooking tempura at home in the near future.
I left the seminar nourished and knowledgeable. Thanks for the deep-fried secrets, Shota. And thanks to everyone here in Aspen for Food and Wine. I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves — because I sure am.
— Lo Semple
Tiffany Derry and Sheila Johnson with ‘Big Flavor, Deeper Stories’
Tiffany Derry and Sheila Johnson brought laughter to the Food & Wine Classic in their seminar, “At Tiffany’s Table: Big Flavor, Deeper Stories”! Tiffany, a “Top Chef” alum, infused her Southern charm, while Sheila, founder of the Salamander Collection, celebrated culinary diversity. Together, they prepared a meal that matched their spicy banter.
Tiffany created a charred-watermelon salad with brown sugar, quipping, “She be crunchy — it’s the Aspen altitude!” As she urged zesting lemons, Sheila deadpanned, “That’s where all the vitamins are!”
The BBQ shrimp, seared with chili crunch and lager, was a hit. Tiffany showcased her umami skills while exclaiming “worcestershire!” Pairing the BBQ shrimp with bubbly champagne for everyone to taste was sheer bliss.
The vibrant red rice with chili crunch made her beam: “Oh, I’m back at home!” When a guest asked for a taste, she enthusiastically replied, “Of course! My mama always says, ‘You have not because you ask not!'”
Tiffany and Sheila were the perfect pair, leaving us all craving more of their delightful comedic chemistry!
— Laura Lederer
Tyler Florence on beef: ‘Marble makes money!’
Meeting Tyler Florence was an absolute thrill in his seminar, “The Way of Wagyu: Secrets of the World’s Most Coveted Steaks”! His expertise in beef is contagious, especially as he celebrated his 30th year on the Food Network. “Isn’t that crazy?” he asked. His “American Grill Cookbook” is a favorite of mine, and hearing him discuss Wagyu, which comes exclusively from Japan, was enlightening.
Tyler collaborates with the historic Rosewood Beef Ranch in Texas, blending Black Angus with Japanese Wagyu.
“Marble makes money!” he exclaimed.
The smell of beef fat wafting through the air was intoxicating!
As he prepared steak tacos, he quipped, “Beef should be eaten as naked as possible … just a little kiss of flavor.”
I savored every bite of his perfectly prepared taco. Love, love, love — as Tyler likes to say, too!
Tasting beef from Australia, Japan and Texas was a true culinary experience. I studied each slice and relished each flavor. The Australian beef was my favorite! The atmosphere buzzed with excitement, leaving me inspired. Yum!
— Laura Lederer
High altitude wines: A taste of wines created at high altitudes and deep inclines
Wanda Mann is the East Coast Editor of “The SOMM Journal” and “Tasting Panel Magazine” and has more than two decades of wine industry experience including as the past president of Les Dames d’Escoffier. This is her fifth year conducting wine seminars at the Food & Wine Classic; her approach to enjoying wine is all about educated passion and not about the posturing.
The eight wines we sampled at “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” range in price from $25 a bottle to $180; she did not reveal prices until the very end of our session, letting our senses make the decision on these “majestic mountain wines.” Based at different elevations, she took us to vineyards from the base of Mount Etna in Sicily to the appellation of Puente Alto in the Chilean Andes to more modest inclines in the Napa Valley.
We learned why wines produced at higher elevations create grapes with higher acidity levels. Wanda “walked” us through a tasting of four white and four red wines ranging from a mellowed Gewurztraminer from Elena Walch in the Alto Adige region of North East Italy to a smooth Malbec from the Colome winery in Valle Calchaque in Argentina, which boasts the highest altitude vineyards in the world.
— Shalus McAllister
New Aspen Airport terminal design leaves room for gondola
The new Aspen/Pitkin County Airport terminal design is proposing less passenger holding space, less parking and less employee amenities, but is including space for a proposed gondola system from Brush Creek Park and Ride to Aspen.
