By This past weekend, I was invited to an incredible event that combined all of my favorite things: outdoor adventure, delicious gourmet food, and the finest wines and spirits. All of my favorite things in the beautiful setting of a luxurious ski resort, Beaver Creek Winter Culinary Weekend was an unforgettable event.
The entire 4 day event was thoughtfully curated to heighten the senses of all of its guests. Imagine spending the day skiing, riding or snowshoeing then joining a celebrity chef for an intimate experience, and topping off the night with fine food, drinks, and music. By the end of the night, I had never felt so content. My body was moved, my soul was nourished and I felt like every part of me had been energized. If I was climbing Maslow’s hierachy of needs, I had reached self-actualization, and it felt so good to be at the top.
In addition to being an event for the senses, this culinary weekend was also an opportunity to give back to the community. A portion of the proceeds went to the Community Market, the local food bank in Vail, and Andrew Zimmern, who is not only a famous TV chef, but also a social justice advocate, made it clear that helping our local community was very important to him. It was refreshing to hear his awareness of the income disparities, not only in our community, but around the world.
Most people come to Vail and Beaver Creek with the assumption that everyone here is privileged when the reality is, there is a significant imbalance between the haves and the have nots. The standard of living in the Vail Valley can sometimes feel unsustainable for the working class who are imperative to keeping these resort towns running, and the local food bank helps alleviate the stress of living in an expensive area. I was grateful that this event highlighted the needs of our community.
Culinary Kickoff: Colorado Flavors
I had the pleasure of enjoying the first event of the weekend, the Culinary Kickoff which highlighted the best flavors of our beautiful state. The event took place in the intimate setting of the Alpine and Antlers restaurant, and although tickets were sold out, there was still enough room to roam freely around the restaurant to grab small plates from local and celebrity chefs, and drinks from various bar stations around the room. Below were some of my favorites:
Hamachi Tostada by Chef Katsuji Tanabe known from Top Chef
Restaurants: Barrio, Chicago and High Horse, Raleigh NC
Yellow Potato Bisque-Fingerling Chips, Trout Roe, Fennel Oil, Nduja by Chef Josh Niernberg
Restaurant: Bin 707 Foodbar, Grand Junction CO
Tempura Jalapeno Popper by Chef Brother Luck known from Top Chef
Restaurants: Four by Brother Luck and Lucky Dumpling, Colorado Springs
Laws Whiskey House, Denver
Fever- Tree, London
Haykin Cider, Aurora CO (not pictured)
Synesthesia: Culinary Showcase and Concert with St. Paul & the Broken Bones, hosted by Andrew Zimmern
Synesthesia, a phenomenon where senses overlap, was the given name for the Culinary Weekend’s main event. The event was held in the beautiful Vilar Performing Arts Center where multiple rooms held the best chefs from around the country dishing out delectable bites of food. As I moved from table to table and savored the flavors of everything I ate, at every corner we found premier wines and spirits that overflowed with delicious drinks and genuine conversation. There was only 2 hours to enjoy the food and beverages, and as we roamed both floors, we realized there wasn’t enough time to enjoy everything.
When the 2 hours were up, the lights flashed and that was our cue to wrap up the tasting and enjoy the intimate concert by St. Paul & the Broken Bones. Vail Brewing Company continued serving beer throughout the night as the band from Birmingham, Alabama played music that had us dancing, swaying, and closing our eyes to their soulful sound. This was my first time experiencing Synesthesia… I had given the best food, drinks and music to all of my senses and the feeling was elation.
By far, one of the best experiences of my life. If you have a passion for the outdoors, good food, fine drinks, and the opportunity to mingle with locals and celebrity chefs, I highly recommend adding Beaver Creek Culinary Weekend to your calendar for 2021. I cannot wait for next year!!
thevaliantlife.com 
Oh that looks like such a fun time you had there!
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It was so much fun!
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This event sounds like a real experience with a much deeper underlying message.
The food looks amazing as well.
I’m glad you had a great time, thank you for sharing x
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Aw, thanks! Yes, a great experience and a good cause as well.
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Must’ve been an awesome event! Food and wine tasting capped by a concert! How I wish I could attend something like that. Maybe when we are well enough to travel, we’ll check out similar events in our area.
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I hope you find something similar! I’m going to look for more events like these from now on!
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WOW that looks like such an awesome time was had and definitely a great idea for a weekend away!
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Yes, definitely! I think it’s the perfect weekend getaway!
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Wow the food there looks incredible! Looks as though you had a great time, think I better make some lunch now!
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LOL I know! Just thinking about the event makes me hungry!
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A culinary event like this sounds like perfection for myself as I am a foodie at heart and anything pertaining to tasting and trying new delicious foods is just right for me 🙂 Love the pics and looks like you had an amazing time too 😉
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Thanks! I’m a foodie too. This was heaven for every foodie!
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What a fabulous event! Sounds like it was great to recharge the batteries and also to give back to the community, I like that! The food looks amazing too! Sim x SimsLife
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The Beaver Creek Winter Culinary Weekend sounds blissful and the sort of great retreat my folks could do with!
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What a great event, I have not heard of this before, but it sounds amazing and like you full of my favurite things
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This weekend sounds like such an amazing and unique experience! The food all looks absolutely divine and how fab you had an intimate concert too!
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The Beaver Creek Winter Culinary Weekend sounds like something I would really enjoy! I love networking and events that are centered on food 🙂
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This looks so fun. Dry January is almost over for me! YAY!
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This looks like a good weekend filled with good food and networking with people.
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What an amazing 4-days you had, being that content is something that many only dream of. What an incredible experience too and sounds like they prepared very well.
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This sounds like it was really good fun. I’m really into my food so would love to go this sort of thing myself.
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Anything that is around food I like! The Beaver Creek Winter Culinary Weekend sounds like an event I would definitely attend.
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I never knew Beaver Creek had this event! I wish I knew about it ahead of time, but I plan on being there next year.
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Wow event sounds like a real treat! I think I would enjoy this.
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I would have loved to go to this event. I am a big foodie and I love discovering new flavors. The dishes you’ve tried all sound fabulous.
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What an amazing experience, it certainly looks like you had a wonderful time – so many beautiful dishes
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Wow ! It looks like you had an incredible time . The food and drink looks absolutely delicious
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What a fantastic weekend you had! I’m a big foodie and drinkie (!) too, so this would have been my kind of event!
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This is totally something that I would LOVE to do. All that food and drink! Sounds like such a fun and interesting weekend!
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wow so cool with the celebrity chef there! also good to have local chefs too! sounds like a wonderful time that you had! 🙂
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Sounds like such a fun event! The food looks great too!
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