Chef Ann Cooper received a prolonged standing ovation at the Chefs Collaborative conference Tuesday.
And that was before the 350 chefs and other food professionals found out that she had been awarded the group’s National Pathfinder award.
Cooper, director of food services for the Boulder Valley School District, fired up the crowd with a plea to change school lunches all over the country.
“(It should be their) birthright that every child, every day has access to fresh, healthy food in school,” she said.
Cooper put up a slide with a picture of 12 dimes to show chefs her budget per meal per child and asked if they could make a meal for four people that included protein, whole grain, fresh fruit, vegetables and milk for a cost of $5. While she has figured out how to buy fresh food, much of it local, with her budget, she says school programs such as Boulder’s need support.
“Every single person needs to help,” she said. “Who are your next customers going to be if they think chicken nuggets are a food group?”
When she received her award, Cooper thanked the group and left them with some advice that was short and sweet: “When you leave here, do one thing to make this world a better place for our kids,” she said.
The other national award, the National Sustainer Award, went to chef and cookbook author Mary Sue Milliken of the Border Restaurants. The Rocky Mountain Sustainer award was given to Boulder’s Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson of the The Kitchen restaurants and their nonprofit, The Kitchen Community. Anne and Paul Cure, also of Boulder and owners of Cure Organic Farm, received the group’s Food Shed Champion award.
The morning began with breakfast in front of the Boulder Theater supplied by food trucks Comida, Rollin’ Greens, The Tasterie and Blackbelly. Tuesday’s speakers focused on scaling change with a panel that included Musk of The Kitchen, Bobby Stuckey of Frasca Food and Wine, Nate Appleman of Chipotle and Jeff Tripician of Niman Ranch.
They discussed the intricacies of creating a supply chain and growing demand for organic vegetables and meats not treated with antibiotics and hormones. For restaurants, it takes extra effort to source locally from several different farms and ranches, rather than simply receiving food from one or two big restaurant supply firms.
Musk said it’s important to build a relationship with farmers and ranchers, so they have a market for their product. He said it can be helpful to open up more than one restaurant concept in the same city to allow the company to use more product.
The Kitchen buys whole steers and uses the entire animal, for example. If it didn’t have a burger on its menu at The Kitchen Next Door, it would be difficult to use the ground beef that makes up many pounds of the animal.
Restaurants must also gain the trust of local farmers by assuring them the restaurant will buy what they grow.
“You have to commit to local suppliers,” Musk said.
Stuckey talked about creating hospitality in a casual restaurant. He and Frasca co-owner Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson have partnered with Chipotle to offer fast-casual versions of their Pizzeria Locale.
“(Customers) want real food from a real restaurant,” Stuckey said. The only different is that it’s fast.
“They need people to help them feel good, so their precious time (there) will be worth it,” he said.
Stuckey pointed out that many fast-food chains’ sales are flat, while Chipotle, which sources naturally and humanely raised meats, is growing quickly.
However, supply of high-quality food remains a problem.
“We need more farmers,” Musk said.
A lunch at Chautauqua Park ended the conference. Kelly Whitaker of Pizzeria Basta organized the lunch with chefs from both Denver and Boulder. Whitaker, who received a scholarship to the Chefs Collaborative’s conference two years ago, has strongly embraced the group and its values, organizing trash fish dinners in Los Angeles and Denver. Trash fish are species that exist in abundance but aren’t served frequently.
He said Tuesday’s menu written in collaboration with the other chefs was designed to show what it’s like to be a chef in Colorado.
To illustrate sourcing, he chose Daniel Asher of Root Down and Linger in Denver, since he uses 55 purveyors to supply his restaurants. His multiple appetizers included everything from oyster shooters to a steamed bun station with moo shu duck confit to country ham and biscuit with quail eggs and red-eye gravy.
Justin Brunson of Old Major in Denver and Alex Seidel of Fruition and Fruition Farms and Mercantile Dining & Provision provided charcuterie and cheese.
The remainder of the menu was devoted to water, land and fire. Water was represented by sea urchin with hops-smoked pear vinaigrette, a pear gelee and sunchoke crisps by Jen Jasinski and Jorel Pierce, whose most recent venture is Stoic & Genuine in Denver’s Union Station. Whitaker and Hosea Rosenberg of Blackbelly handled the land portion, with Nashville hot-style fried rabbit and tomahawk steak. Fire was Frasca’s Budino butterscotch pudding.
Whitaker, who was given a new award, Heart of the Collaborative, called his menu “a little memoir of Colorado.”
Will the Chefs Collaborative meeting inspire change?
Gene Tang, owner of 1515 restaurant in Denver, said he was going to commit to using grassfed beef at his restaurant. He had tried it a few years ago, but found it too tough. He now believes it has improved as more ranchers are raising beef on all grass.
And for the non-chefs in attendance?
John Lehndorff, former Camera food editor and Rocky Mountain News dining critic, now a freelance writer and blogger, looked around at the sumptuous spread.
“I’m going to miss this tomorrow,” he said.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Cindy Sutter at 303-473-1335 or sutterc@dailycamera.com.
