Meet Our Talent

Name: Steamboat Food and Wine Festival
Start: 2025-10-02
End: 2025-10-05
Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Rooted in collaboration, the Festival pairs admired talent with each other. Guests are fully engaged in the energy that emerges from this culinary fusion and become captivated by the surprise of each great moment.

Chef

Collin Kelley

Chef Collin Kelly grew up in the restaurant business in Kansas before attending Johnson & Wales University. After graduating, Collin dove head first into hospitality, wearing just about every hat in the industry he could, working at Epicurean Hospitality Group and becoming Food and Beverage Director at El Faro in Mexico. He came back to Denver to serve as chef at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s, before becoming the youngest restaurant owners in Steamboat at Carl’s Tavern in 2011. Now Collin continues to wear just as many hats at Primrose, where his official title is “The Guy in the Coat.”

Chef

Dana Rodriguez

For Dana Rodriguez, her journey has defined who she is today. She grew up on a farm without any running water or electricity, helping her mother grind corn down to masa to make tortillas for meals in her native city, Chihuahua. Today, in addition to being a James Beard nominated chef, Dana is known for her spirited and strong personality, her passion to serve and her generous motherly care of her employees. She’s also a bad ass and pretty fu**ing crazy (loca). But in the very best way possible.

She opened Cantina Loca in Denver as a culmination of over two decades of experience in all areas of hospitality, as well as creating the Doña Loca brand of premium agave spirits.

Chef

Matt Vawter

2024 James Beard Award Winner, Matt Vawter, was born and raised in Summit County, Colorado. After graduating Summit High School he attended the Colorado Mountain College Culinary Apprenticeship Program in Keystone, Colorado. After completing the program at CMC he was encouraged by his mentor to leave Summit County and gain more experience in the burgeoning culinary scene in Denver.

Matt joined the culinary team at Fruition restaurant led by Chef Alex Seidel. During their time together Alex and Matt proved to be a powerful duo leading Fruition to nationwide prominence and eventually partnering to open Mercantile dining & provision in Union Station at the heart of Denver. Despite the collective success of Mercantile and Fruition, Chef Vawter felt the urge to return home to his mountain roots and raise his children in Summit County.

In December of 2020 he opened Rootstalk in Breckenridge with the intention to provide approachable, technique and ingredient driven food to the local community. Rootstalk is built to feel like coming home, channeling Matt’s own experience of returning back to the place that he loves so dearly. Eighteen months after Rootstalk’s opening Matt and his partners opened Radicato in the center of Breckenridge. Radicato speaks to the feeling of being deeply rooted in a place and a desire to devote your energy there. Radicato is a gathering place for both the Summit County Community and visitors to this special place.

Chef

Paul C. Reilly

Chef Paul C Reilly grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley and has been working in kitchens since he was fourteen. Paul is the culinary director and proprietor of beast + bottle group managing award winning concepts in Denver, Colorado.

beast + bottle group began in 2013, and has since become Denver’s premier farm to table restaurant experience serving relentlessly local seasonal cuisine in downtown Denver. Coperta, opened in 2016, and celebrates the food and wine of Rome and southern Italy. His restaurants are no strangers to local and national accolades and have been featured in numerous top of the city lists. Paul also works as the consulting chef for the New Belgium Brewery sports pub at Denver International Airport.

Most recently, Paul was named a Best Chef: Mountain Region Semi-finalist by the James Beard Foundation in 2025.

Paul is an ambassador of the good food movement working closely with Boulder County Farmers Markets, Good Food 100, Slow Food Denver, and JBF Smart Catch. Paul cooked at the James Beard House in 2015 and was a featured chef at the James Beard Gala for Good in 2019. He was a James Beard Foundation Scholarship Winner in 2012 and an alumnus of the James Beard Boot Camp for Policy and Change, three times over. .

When not in the kitchen, Paul loves music and baseball. He will most certainly beat you at NHL 94 for Sega Genesis and Saved By The Bell Trivia.

Chef

Jose Salazar

Chef Jose Salazar was born in Colombia South America and was raised in Queens NY. Jose got his start in restaurants as a bartender and server at some of New York’s hottest establishments. Although the front of the house is where he started, it was the kitchen that gripped his attention. This prompted him to enroll into the culinary program at the New York Restaurant School. After graduating in 2001, he landed an internship with famed Chef Jean George Vongerichten at his name’s sake restaurant, Jean George. After completing the internship, he went on to work with some of New York’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs, including Geoffrey Zacharian of Town, Josh De’ Chellis of Sumile, and Eric and Bruce Bromberg of Blue Ribbon. In 2003 Jose was hired as chef de partie for the opening of the highly anticipated Per-Se restaurant. Then in 2006 he was instrumental in the opening of another of Chef Keller’s projects, Bouchon Bakery, where he became the Executive Sous-Chef.

In 2008, Chef Salazar took his knowledge and experience to Cincinnati Ohio, where he was tapped to be the Executive Chef of The Cincinnatian Hotel. It’s there that Jose was able to hone his own style of cooking, incorporating the ingredients and techniques of the Americas, Europe and Japan. Since landing in the Queen City, Jose has received many favorable reviews, including 5 stars (the highest rating) from The Cincinnati Enquirer. He’s also garnered national attention-such as his 2011 Food and Wine magazine award for “Peoples Best New Chef”.

In December of 2013 Chef Salazar and his wife Ann opened Salazar, their first restaurant in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. They recently closed it after a successful 10 year run with plans to expand it to a larger space.

In 2015 Jose and Ann opened Mita’s, located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Mita’s features the foods and beverages of Spain and Latin America with a formal yet laid-back design. Mita’s has received many local and national accolades, including seven nominations from the James Beard Foundation. In 2013 they received a finalist nod for outstanding restaurant.

In 2019 Jose and Ann opened their third restaurant called Goose & Elder located near historic Findlay Market in Cincinnati. Their latest venture, Daylily is a partnership with Deeper Roots Coffee. It’s a modern take on the classic NYC bodega. This unique concept opened in late summer of 2022 and has already proven to be a hit.

Chef

Linda Hampsten Fox

Linda Hampsten Fox is the chef/owner of The Bindery, an all-day bakery, market and restaurant, in Denver’s historic Lower Highlands (LoHi) neighborhood. In 2024, she will open The Bindery in Concourse A of Denver International Airport.

Linda was named Chef of the Year in 2018 by the Colorado Restaurant Association and in 2023, she was chosen by the James Beard Foundation as one of the TasteTwenty Chefs for her work championing the Foundation’s mission of Good Food for Good.

A native of New Jersey and daughter of Polish and Czech immigrants, Linda’s menu at The Bindery is a direct reflection of her heritage and culinary inspirations from regions where she has lived and spent extended periods of time, including Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, France and the island of Elba.

Linda perfected her craft while apprenticing with chefs in hotel kitchens on the Cote d’Azur to precious vineyards in Tuscany and mountain chalets in Switzerland. While her culinary passion is Mediterranean cuisine, her extensive travels have given her an intimate knowledge of food trends and cultures from all over the world. Through all this, the simple beauty and importance of gathering around the table has become undeniable to her.

Linda dedicates a lot of her cooking skills to national and local nonprofits, including The National Kidney Foundation, Great Chefs of the West, No Child Hungry, Blue Sky Bridge, The Excelsior Foundation, Girls Up, The National Leukemia and Lymphoma Association, ALS, The Parkinson’s Association of The Rockies, Denver Safe House, Fill A Plate For Hunger – We Don’t Waste, Colorado Restaurant Association’s annual Denver Food + Wine Festival and more.

During the pandemic-related restaurant closures, Linda kept her staff employed by turning her restaurant into a large greenhouse. Linda and the staff seeded and raised hundreds of herbs, tomatoes, strawberries and greens. In the meantime, Linda worked with Frontline Foods and World Central Kitchen to help feed thousands of hospital workers and first responders.

In addition to the accolades earned at The Bindery, Linda has an impressive portfolio of references, including celebrities spanning the likes of Dr. Jane Goodall, Michael York, Nancy Pelosi, Dave Matthews, Melissa Etheridge, Amos Lee and Nic & Helen Foster (from the live radio show E-Town in Boulder, Colorado). Her charisma and talents in the kitchen made her a sought-after asset by a cooking school in San Jose Del Cabo, Baja Mexico, and also as a menu developer for a host of restaurants in Denver.

In her free time, you can find Linda mountain biking, surfing or enjoying meals together with her family (husband Steve, daughter Emma and stepsons Jake, Matthew, and Ben).

“I was born during a time of eating innocence. TV dinners and fast foods were just emerging. My mother took us to farms to dig in the dirt and we spent hours on our knees picking strawberries. The air smelled like jam. My father brought home melons bigger than our heads from roadside stands. I am a blue collar tomboy who loved every morsel of Jersey pork roll, clams casino and buttery corn I could eat between running cross country and playing kickball. But I was also a math whiz and an English literature lover. How did I end up on the Cote d’Azur in my late 20’s in a regal hotel with a bunch of French pastry chef’s with puffy hats? It started with a giant leap of faith and a love of cooking, “ says Chef Linda.

Chef

Russell Goodman

Chef Russell was born on eastern Long Island, New York, a historically agricultural area. Gardening and local food were an important part of Russell’s life from a young age, and he developed an early affinity for cooking and food science. While attending Emory University, he also worked in a local bakery learning the basics of baking and pastry. Russell later earned a graduate degree in epidemiology and spent more than a decade working in medical science before returning to cooking. For many years he worked in restaurants and hotels, eventually arriving in Vail, Colorado where he lived and worked before making Steamboat his home.

These days, cooking on the farm is an exhilarating experience for Chef Russell, one in which seasons truly inform his daily work. The farm’s kitchen overlooks the pond garden where he can see fruit developing and ripening. Whether it’s red currants right outside the window or apples and cherries just a few feet away, for a chef to touch the produce as it grows and choose the perfect moment for harvest is truly a rare experience that Russell relishes.

Building equitable and sustainable local food systems is an especially important aspect of Chef Russell’s broader work. After experiencing food insecurity as an adult, his eyes were opened to the issue of hunger in our society. Now, Russell interacts with our community’s food systems to reduce waste and rescue some of the billions of pounds of food discarded every year. Chef Russell is an avid culinary gardener who spends most of his free time in the garden with his wife.

Chef

Justin Fulton

Chef Justin Fulton was raised in Keystone Colorado and found his way into restaurants at the age of 14 when he started working at the Edge Water Cafe on Keystone Lake. He still finds time to forage through the mountains he grew up in for spruce tips and wild chamomile. After high school, he moved to the east coast to attend culinary school in North Carolina. Working his way through some of the best restaurants in the country, such as The Fearrington House (North Carolina), Natalie’s at The Camden Harbor Inn (Maine) and Daniel (New York City), he ultimately found his way home to Colorado in 2020. Launching his restaurant concept, Margot, as a popup in 2022, he offers a contemporary tasting experience every Monday in Lohi Denver.

Chef

John Courtney

Chef John Courtney has spent the past two decades chasing excellence in finance and food.

His culinary journey began with an apprenticeship at Le Bistro in Walnut Creek, California, and ignited a passion that took him to renowned institutions like CCA San Francisco and La Bouitte (3 Michelin stars!) in France.

Starting his career in banking, the practice gave Courtney the foundation, and the kitchen, the fire. Chef Courtney honed is skills as a Chef, opening as Chef de Cuisine at acclaimed restaurants like DB Brasserie and Yardbird, before taking on the role of Culinary Director at Simon Hospitality. Building Block 16 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas was a highlight for Chef, overseeing a vibrant collection of restaurants, Pok Pok; Hattie B’s, Lardo, Ghost Donkey, Tekka Bar Handroll & Sushi, District Donuts Sliders & Brews.

Currently, Chef Courtney is the owner and operator of Chop Shop Park City and The Bake Shop Park City, where he proudly brings award-winning flavors to the community.

You can find Chef John Courtney on TV: Chopped Champion (Season 43), and Late Night Chef Fight competitor. Beyond the accolades, his greatest reward is creating memorable meals and experiences for his guests.

Chef

Cameron Baker

Cameron Baker was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, where he spent the first twelve years of his life. In 2002 he moved to Summit County. In 2006 at the age of 15 his culinary Journey began working at Food Hedz World Café under chef David Welch. After spending 6 years in David Welches kitchen, he left to continue his culinary education and started attending Colorado Mountain College studying culinary arts, and hospitality management under Kevin Clarke.

After graduating in 2014, Cameron moved to Denver. He joined Alex Seidel and Matt Vawter’s team at Mercantile dining & provision. During the 3 ½ years at Mercantile Cameron refined his craft and worked his way up to Sous Chef. After departing Mercantile, Cameron moved to Fruition Restaurant as Sous Chef where he continued to learn and develop as a chef under the guidance of Alex Seidel. In November of 2020, Cameron returned back home to Summit county to help Matt Vawter open Rootstalk as the Chef De Cuisine.

Now Cameron is the Chef De Cuisine of both Rootstalk and Radicato as well as a partner in both businesses. Being a chef is challenging. It takes perseverance and determination. He believes it’s important to create an environment where everyone is passionate, excited, and constantly pushing forward to better their craft and provide a memorable dining experience for guests.

Chef

Hrant Arakelian

Cameron Baker

Hrant was born in Lebanon (his father is Armenian and his mother a native of East Tennessee) and raised in Muscat, Oman. At a young age, Hrant was invited to share in the passion his parents held for cooking, and he considers those early childhood memories of being in the kitchen and at the table with his parents to be the primary driving force behind his culinary pursuit. His family departed the Middle East for Nashville around the time of his eighth birthday and have since made it their permanent home. As a young man, Hrant was inspired to do a fair amount of travel. His backpacking tour through Europe, as well as extended stays back in Oman accompanied by his father, only further spurred his interest in the world’s cuisines. This diverse exposure—both at home and abroad—set the course for his professional life in the kitchen.

Upon his entry into professional kitchens, Hrant found himself working with restaurateur Randy Rayburn at long-time Hillsboro Village staple Sunset Grill. He honed his skills at Flyte World Dining & Wine, and in 2008, Hrant was offered the Sous Chef position at Zola’s. His time spent working under local legend Deb Paquette led him to management and sous chef positions at the Amerigo Company and beyond. Hrant has held Sous and Executive Chef roles at Rumours East, Adele’s, Butchertown Hall, The Holland House Bar & Refuge, and most recently served as Chef de Cuisine at Deb Paquette’s flagship kitchen, Etch.

After almost two decades of honing his skill, Hrant and his wife Liz (an industry veteran and long-standing former Beverage Director of East Nashville’s Lockeland Table) finally set out on their own project. Hrant’s passion for the family traditions and food of his childhood, matched by Liz’s curious spirit for wine and libations, and their shared dream of bringing modern Middle Eastern food to their neighbors, led to the opening of Lyra in East Nashville. Several years after launching Lyra, Liz and Hrant debuted their fast-casual concept Vega Shawarma, with the goal of bringing fresh, handmade shawarmas and vegan fare to Nashville.

Chef

Chris Curren

John Courtney

With nearly two decades of experience in top restaurants in Chicago and Cleveland, Chef Chris Curren has become a fixture in the Midwestern culinary scene. An Ohio native, Curren graduated from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute with an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts in 2002 and went on to hone his professional skills in Cleveland-area kitchens under the influential Chef Bruce Kalman (Spiaggia, UNION, Knead & Co. Pasta Bar + Market), and at top spots including celebrated contemporary American restaurant Three Birds.

After relocating to Chicago in 2006, Curren opened the critically-renowned fine-dining concept Blue 13, which would garner recognition in the prestigious Michelin Guide. While serving as executive chef/owner, he began to truly showcase his unique style of marrying traditional American cuisine with global influences and earned Jean Banchet Award nominations in both the Rising Star Chef and Best Fine Dining categories in 2011.

Curren would go on to lead culinary operations at some of the city’s top hospitality collectives, serving as Corporate Executive Chef at Fifty/50 Restaurant Group (Homestead On The Roof, The Berkshire Room, Steadfast) and later as Executive Chef at acclaimed sommelier Alpana Singh’s Seven Lions in the Loop and at West Loop hotspot Fulton Market Kitchen.

In 2021, Curren debuted The Graceful Ordinary, a convivial upscale American restaurant, alongside his wife Megan in St. Charles, IL, where he utilizes his extensive culinary talents and creativity to present an elevated, yet approachable menu of refined rustic cuisine.

Chef

Jon-Claude “JC” Stevens

Cameron Baker

Jon-Claude “JC” Stevens was made in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa, and born in St. Georges, Quebec, Canada. He and his family, which includes two older sisters and a younger brother, spent the majority of their upbringing overseas attending international schools. After graduating from Colorado Mountain College-Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in 1997, JC continued his education in hospitality by studying at The Culinary Institute of America where he earned a degree in Culinary Arts. After graduation, JC went on to become a baker at Club Med resorts where he earned a #1 worldwide ranking from guests for his creations.

In 2004, JC and his recently retired parents opened JC’s Daily Bread in Port St Lucie, Florida. After several very busy and successful years, they turned their attention to selling breads and pastries exclusively at Farmers’ Markets throughout the state of Florida. In 2015, JC married the woman of his dreams. In October of 2016, JC and Abby welcomed their son Coleman. A year and a half later, the family relocated to Steamboat Springs where they currently live. JC is the Chef at Snow Bowl, a bowling and family entertainment venue.

Chef

Johnny Curiel

John Courtney

Born into a family of chefs, Johnny Curiel grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico with an irresistible allure of a kitchen, beginning his culinary career at age 14 as a dishwasher in his father’s restaurant.

After growing up in his father’s restaurants, Curiel embarked on his lifelong culinary journey. At age 18, Curiel went on a culinary immersion to Mexico with a simple mission: to unearth the heart and soul of his country’s rich and diverse cooking traditions. His journeys took him from bustling restaurants and street food stands to abuelas’ home kitchens, learning age-old techniques and wisdom of generations along the way.

Drawing on his experiences in Mexico, Curiel joined Chef Richard Sandoval’s renowned team to cook at restaurants around the U.S. and Mexico, namely Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, and Aspen. He went onto establish himself in Denver’s burgeoning culinary scene, working with Chef Troy Guard in popular kitchens such as Guard + Grace, Los Chingones, and Mr. Tuna. His talent led him into restaurant consulting –– from coast to coast –– where he got the long-awaited approval from his father and gained the courage to start his own concept.

Chef Curiel makes his solo restaurant debut with Alma Fonda Fina, a restaurant dedicated to sharing the integrity, tradition and culturally rich experiences that defined his culinary journey and create a transportive dining experience that embodies the beauty of Mexico. As Chef Curiel continues to push the boundaries of taste and tradition, he pays homage to his roots and uses food as a way to showcase his cultural pride.

Chef

Joe Campbell

Originally from Minneapolis, Chef Joe Campbell’s unwavering interest in making food look as beautiful as it tastes led him to attend Le Cordon Bleu. He then trained under award-winning chefs Tim McKee and Landon Schoenfeld, and a former chef for the royal family of Thailand. Joe came to Steamboat Springs in 2013 to work as Executive Chef for Ragnar’s and then Hazie’s and Hotel Madeline. Joe is currently co-founder of Yampa Valley Kitchen and Bésame in Steamboat Springs alongside Chef Hannah Hopkins, and Executive Chef at Mambo.

In 2016, the Colorado Tourism Board selected Joe to represent Steamboat at a food show in Los Angeles. Bésame has been featured in publications such as Mountain Living, TimeOut, Honest Cooking and Good Taste Denver.

Winemakers and Mixologists

Winemaker

Jon Schlegel

Jon Schlegel’s passion has been hospitality since he can remember. He had two dreams in life– to open a restaurant by 30 years old and to have lived in a foreign country by 40. After founding Snooze an A.M. Eatery and studying wine in Italy for a year and a half, Jon and his family returned to Denver and he began his next project, a winery and tasting room in Denver. Attimo sources its grapes from northern Italy’s finest vineyards and transforms them into incredible bottles of wine from savory Rosso to crisp chardonnay.

Attimo has been featured in Wine & Spirits for their Year’s Best Barolo & Barbaresco. Jon has been featured in City Lifestyle, Westword, 5280 and 303 Magazine.

Sommelier

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas is a wine culturalist, educator, and sommelier with a twenty-year career in the wine industry. He is the founder of Grappolo Wine School, a Denver-based academy offering immersive wine travel, private & corporate wine events, and structured courses, including the Vinitaly International Italian Wine Maestro certification. He is also the wine director at Restaurant Olivia, a pasta-focused concept with an Italian-heavy wine list in Denver’s Wash Park neighborhood.

His passion for Italian wines grew during his two years in Piedmont and Tuscany, where he earned a Master’s in Wine Culture from Slow Food’s University of Gastronomic Sciences and gained practical experience in the vineyards of Chianti Classico. Scott’s professional credentials include Italian Wine Ambassador and Certified Italian Wine educator, Certified Wine Educator, WSET III, Certified Sommelier, and an official Orvieto Ambassador and Langhe Wine Ambassador.

Winemaker

Patrick Houghton

Patrick Houghton is an East Coast transplant who found his way to Steamboat in 2001. After catching the hospitality bug from his parents who were restaurateurs and schoolteachers, he became a devotee of the wine industry passing his Advanced Sommelier level three through the Court of Master Sommeliers and going on to curated programs in Massachusetts and Colorado before finding his happy place as a specialist for Synergy Fine Wines. He loves all things Riesling, Burgundy and Barolo.

Sommelier & Mixologist

Chad Michael George

Patrick Houghton

Chad Michael George is a Denver-based hospitality veteran and the founder of Proof Productions. He is also the President Colorado Bartenders Guild and the Treasurer of EatDenver. Born and raised in St. Louis, he moved to Denver in 2012. Chad is a Certified Sommelier, Certified Sherry Wine Specialist and a graduate of the prestigious B.A.R. 5 Day program. Chad was chosen for 2016 Food & Wine Magazine’s “Top Mixologists” and was long-time member of the team at Williams and Graham, during which time Williams and Graham was named “Best American Cocktail Bar” at Tales of the Cocktail, as well as being in the Drinks International “Top 50 Bars in the World”.

He spends his time training and educating restaurant workers, hoping to further elevate the level of knowledge and service in the hospitality industry. He also enjoys golfing, snow skiing, SCUBA diving and driving too fast.

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