Little Nell Culinary Fest launches Thursday in Food & Wine Classic’s absence

The inaugural Little Nell Culinary Fest will take place on the very weekend that would normally see the Aspen Food & Wine Classic roll into town June 17-20. It’s a big void to fill. But if anybody has the chops to do it, it’s the culinary and wine teams at the Nell.

For more than 35 years, Aspen’s summer season officially began with the Classic. Last year, as we all know, it was a casualty of the pandemic. While the Classic will return Sept. 10-12 in what’s planned as a truncated form, the folks at the Nell did not want the third weekend in June to pass unnoticed.

“We haven’t thrown a party in a while and it’s my favorite thing to do,” said Matt Zubrod, culinary director at The Little Nell, who initiated the concept of gathering chefs in Aspen for a Fest this summer. “Everybody is hungry to do something.”

“June has always been the time we kick off summer with Food & Wine” said Chris Dunaway, wine director at the Nell. “This year, with the Culinary Fest in lieu of the Classic, it feels like we are getting back to where we were.”

The four-day Fest will feature a series of food and wine focused breakfasts, lunches and dinners over four days at the Nell — all paired with the appropriate wines, of course. The event will also pay homage to United Nations World Oceans Day (celebrated this year on June 8) with a menu rich in sustainable seafood and shellfish.

To help celebrate, the Nell has invited an all-star trio of visiting chefs from sister properties within the Relais & Châteaux family to prepare meals at the events. Wines will be paired and poured under the guidance of Dunaway and his crackerjack team, which includes sommeliers Oscar Fernandez, Jacob Johnson and Jessie Libby. The team enters their third season together and they are coming off their best summer yet in 2020, despite the pandemic.

RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX

In 1954, Marcel and Nelly Tilloy, who owned a hotel and restaurant on the right bank of the Rhône called La Cardinale, came up with the idea of branding related properties under the slogan “La Route du Bonheur” (the Road of Happiness). The different houses, or hotels, each with their own distinct character, lined the road from Paris to Nice, united in shared goals of offering the finest amenities, outstanding dining and wine service and individual interpretations of the Art of Living.

Thus began the Relais & Châteaux mission, long before the trend of what are now called “boutique hotels.” Today Relais & Châteaux is a confederation of 580 member hotel and restaurant properties, including The Little Nell, that remain known for providing unique wine and gastronomy experiences along with a taste of local culture.

“Four times a year the chefs from Relais & Châteaux get together on a call to share notes,” Zubrod said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to invite some of these great chefs to Aspen to cook and create some camaraderie?’ I love going to events and cooking with other chefs and I just thought it would be great for our kitchen to get some other chefs in here for a weekend.”

An idea was quickly launched to host the Fest on what would normally be the opening weekend of the Classic (and Father’s Day).

Joining the Nell team for the four-day celebration will be Adriano Venturini, culinary director, Eden Roc Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, Josh Holt, executive chef at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa outside of San Diego and Zachary Ladwig, executive chef of the Inn at Dos Brisas in Washington, Texas — all of which are Relais & Châteaux properties.

The lineup brings heavy kitchen cred, a love of seafood and a wealth of talent to the Fest.

THE LINEUP

The Fest opens with a Thursday night reception on the Element 47 patio, where champagne and canapés will be passed and registered hotel guests will meet and mingle with the chefs and sommeliers.

Friday features a “Sommelier Lunch” with a three-course tasting menu by Zachary Ladwig, executive chef at The Inn at Dos Brisas. Dom Perignon will flow at the signature event Friday evening in the elegance of the Element 47 dining room. The “Relais & Châteaux Gourmet Dinner,” with a multi-course tasting menu will be prepared by the chefs from the four properties while wine service will be overseen by the team at the Nell.

“It’s a fun challenge to pair wines with so many chefs,” said Dunaway. “Each chef has his own personality and his own cuisine. They send us menus and we isolate individual ingredients and styles. If a dish has an item that is charred we may look for something with tannin, if it’s a spicy dish we might find a wine with perhaps a little higher acid.”

Saturday, too, will start with Champagne for breakfast (sounds like an old Peter Frampton song) in the Nell’s gardens. A luncheon prepared by Chef Adriano Venturini, of Eden Roc Cap Cana, will follow and that evening will see an “An Ode To Shellfish Dinner: A Taste Of The Sea”.

Set on the Ajax Tavern patio, this event will feature dishes from all of the chefs, each utilizing sustainable shellfish from producers affected by the pandemic, with shellfish purveyors on site. In addition to the hand-chosen wines by the team of sommeliers, craft cocktails featuring Duke Bourbon, Woodinville Bourbon, Volcan Tequila and La Adelita Tequila will be served.

Father’s Day falls on Sunday so Zubrod, a father of three, will team with Chef Josh Holt from the Hotel Rancho Valencia, to prepare a savory send-off menu for a “Father’s Day Brunch” with the Provencal rosé wine Whispering Angel from Chateau Chateau d’Esclans.

“Anytime you get chefs together it’s special. The timing is just so great,” said Zubrod. “We are really looking forward to having all of our guests and just hanging out with the chefs. “

Same as it ever was.