Featured Chefs of the Steamboat Food & Wine Festival

Meet the chefs shaping the Steamboat Food & Wine Festival experience. Each brings a distinct voice, technique, and perspective to the table.

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Cameron Baker

2026 MICHELIN Guide Colorado Young Chef Award winnner and Partner and Chef de Cuisine of Rootstalk and Radicato, Chef Cameron “Cam” Baker helped build the culinary program behind Rootstalk’s James Beard Award-winning success. His cuisine is defined by Colorado’s seasonal ingredients, refined technique, and meaningful relationships with local producers.

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Alberto Collarte Pindar

Chef Alberto Collarte Pindar cooks from a Baja point of view shaped by coastal ingredients, open fire, and the rhythm of shared meals. At Rhythm of the Ranch, his perspective adds smoke, spice, seafood, and a deep sense of place to the evening.

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John Courtney

Chef John Courtney, owner of Chop Shop and The Bake Shop Park City, built his career from finance to fine dining. Former Culinary Director of Block 16 at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and Chef de Cuisine at DB Brasserie and Yardbird, he is also a Chopped Champion.

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Erasmo Casiano

Denver-based chef and restaurateur Erasmo Casiano brings more than 20 years of experience to culturally grounded Mexican and pan-Latin cuisine, earning consecutive James Beard Award semifinalist honors for Best Chef: Mountain Region.

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Chris Curren

Chef Chris Curren is known for high-energy cooking, sharp technique, and bold seasonal flavor. At Culinary Collective Dinner, he joins Collin Kelley and John Courtney in an open-kitchen collaboration built around personality, timing, and the kind of dinner guests feel as much as taste.

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Taylor Frankel

Slope Room Executive Chef Taylor Frankel became Sweet Basil’s youngest and first female Head Chef after seven years in its kitchen. With Michelin three-star experience and six Food Network appearances, she brings refined technique to bold, seasonal mountain cooking.

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Russell Goodman

Chef Russell Goodman works at the intersection of farm, pastry, and seasonal cooking at Elkstone Farm. Across the chocolate seminar and Terroir to Table Dinner, his perspective connects ingredients, technique, wine, and place with quiet precision.

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Miguel Angel Guerrero

Chef Miguel Ángel Guerrero is the award-winning author of BajaMed Cuisine. His accolades include Gastronomic Forger of the Year, first place at the Sabor a Cabo Gastronomic Festival, the Tijuana Tourism Merit Award, and the Estilo Gourmet Award. He has represented Baja California gastronomy at leading culinary events around the world, from Madrid and Paris to Tokyo and New York.

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Collin Kelley

Chef Collin Kelley leads from the center of Primrose’s open kitchen, where hospitality, pace, and seasonal mountain cooking meet. His role in Culinary Collective Dinner anchors the evening with a local Steamboat perspective and a menu designed for collaboration.

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Jonah Kim

Chef Jonah Kim brings together the bold heritage of Korean cuisine with the disciplined refinement of Japanese technique. Known for precise sushi craft and omakase-style dining, his cooking reflects balance, seasonality, and deep respect for tradition.

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Sean McGaughey

Former Head Chef at the three-Michelin-starred SingleThread, Sean McGaughey is co-founder of Quail & Condor and Troubadour Bread & Bistro, and co-owner of Threefold Bakery in Breckenridge. He is known for thoughtful kitchen design and precision-driven cuisine.

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Melissa McGaughey

Food Network Holiday Baking Championship winner Melissa McGaughey is co-founder of Quail & Condor, Troubadour Bread & Bistro, and Threefold Bakery. Former Hotel Pastry Chef at three-Michelin-starred SingleThread, she blends technical pastry craft with creative brand building.

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David Musham

Chef David Musham is the innovative force behind Hazies, a fine dining restaurant perched atop Steamboat resort. With a passion for local cuisine and the outdoors, he incorporates seasonal ingredients with western hospitality and comfort food

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Kevin Nashan

James Beard Award-winning chef Kevin Nashan brings the perspective of Sidney Street Cafe to Elevated Expressions Dinner. His cooking is polished, generous, and relationship-driven, making him a strong fit for a seven-course collaboration built around trust, timing, and craft.

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Paul C. Reilly

2025 James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef: Mountain & James Beard Foundation scholarship winner Paul C. Reilly is Culinary Director and proprietor of Denver’s beast + bottle group. Known for seasonal, farm-driven cuisine, his restaurants Coperta and Apple Blossom celebrate the connection between farmers, artisans, and the table.

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Martín Rios

Chef Martín Rios is the chef behind Restaurant Martín in Santa Fe and a James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Southwest. In 2026, Restaurant Martín was selected for inclusion in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American Southwest, adding another distinction to Rios’ celebrated career. His cooking balances refinement, seasonality, and global influence with the distinctive character of the Southwest.

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Dana Rodriguez

Chef Dana Rodriguez is one of Denver’s defining culinary voices and the chef behind Casa Bonita’s reimagined menu. A multiple James Beard nominee connected to Work & Class, Super Mega Bien, and Carne RiNo, her cooking is bold, generous, and unmistakably rooted in Mexican hospitality.

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Mutsuko Soma

Chef Mutsuko Soma is a celebrated soba master and founder of Seattle’s Kamonegi and Hannyatou. Trained in traditional soba-making in Japan, her cooking pairs deep technique with Pacific Northwest ingredients and has earned national James Beard recognition.

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Jon-Claude JC Stevens

Chef Jon-Claude “JC” Stevens is a Steamboat talent known for smoke, comfort, and local hospitality. Across Rhythm of the Ranch and Last Call, his cooking moves from fire-driven dinner to the kind of final-morning food that brings a festival weekend back to life.

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Aiden Tibbetts

Aiden Tibbetts, Executive Chef of Wildflower and 2025 MICHELIN Guide Best Young Chef, builds multi-course menus around Colorado seasonality at a restaurant that has held its MICHELIN Recommended designation for two consecutive years. Trained at Johnson & Wales and École Ducasse, he pairs his technical precision with ingredient-driven cooking.

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Matt Vawter

James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Mountain, Matt Vawter is the chef/owner of Rootstalk and Radicato in Breckenridge and co-founder of Threefold Bakery. His cuisine is defined by refined technique, seasonal ingredients, and close relationships with Colorado producers.

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Lee Wolen

2025 James Beard Outstanding Chef semifinalist Lee Wolen is Chef Partner at Michelin-starred Boka in Chicago. A five-time Best Chef: Great Lakes finalist, his broader portfolio includes Alla Vita, GG’s Chicken Shop, Zarella, and Elliott Aster.

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