THEY’VE GOT
THE CHOPS

Kent Hall

A Michigan native, Chef Kent Hall made the unlikely shift to cooking after many successful years in the construction industry. Following his true passion, Hall began experimenting and researching flavors found in Hispanic surfer communities along the Baja peninsula, and those self-taught brilliant flavor combinations eventually became Taco Cabo, a well known fast-casual hot spot along the river in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Tacos, burritos, flan and other offerings are all made in-house, including a line of hot sauces. In early mornings, before Hall’s prep team arrives, he can be found in his kitchen baking bread, continuing his experimental style, blending organic and heritage grains to add even more robust offerings to this down-home Baja taco shack.

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Jennifer Jasinski

Fresh, local ingredients and simple flavor combinations.
Bright, balanced preparations.
Perfectionism in culinary execution.
Dedication to her staff.
Resounding critical acclaim.

Cooking started at a young age out of necessity for Jasinski. Growing up in a single-parent household with two siblings who all took turns cooking, Jasinski developed a knack for following recipes and creating her own, until eventually, it was always her turn to cook. In a high school occupational program for aspiring chefs, Jasinski made the decision to leave her other passion – music – behind, and dedicate her studies to cooking, permanently trading the melodic sounds of her clarinet, oboe and flute for the cacophony of clanging pots and pans. At the time, the best cooking school in the state of California was right in her own backyard, Santa Barbara City College, where she not only refined her cooking skills, but got a taste of restaurant management and front-of-the-house experience.

Ever the over-achiever, Jasinski then took her training to the next level at the Culinary Institute of America, making the dean’s list and unsettling more than a few teachers by challenging their principals or techniques. “I believe you get out of things what you put into them,” she explains. “I always want to get the most out of everything I do.” And she does. Working her way through school waiting tables on campus during the week and apprenticing in the famed Rainbow Room kitchen in New York City on weekends, Jasinski completed her formal education before she was 21-years-old.

After graduation, Jasinski worked at the Rainbow Room under renowned restaurateur Joe Baum and Chef André Rene, which gave her the real foundation of her training. The turning point in her career came from a chance meeting with a guest at the restaurant – Wolfgang Puck. In polite, casual conversation, he mentioned she should “look him up” when she was in Los Angeles. So she did.

Weary of the crazy, fast paced lifestyle in New York City, Jasinski was drawn back to sunny Southern California with a bold strategy: to apply for a job at the top ten restaurants in Los Angeles, one of which was Puck’s Spago. She landed a job at the prestigious Hotel Bel Air, where she had the opportunity to re-acquaint herself with Puck, a consultant at the time for the hotel’s restaurant.

When their paths crossed this time, Puck took more than a passing interest, referring her to Jody Denton, of Mansion on Turtle Creek fame, who was in the process of training a kitchen team for a new restaurant opening. Jasinski started as lead line cook at Eureka, a Los Angeles brewery restaurant, and within one year was promoted to sous chef. From there, Jasinski’s fate was inexorably linked to Puck’s.

Their creative and fruitful 10-year relationship took Jasinski around the country, with her helping to develop and open restaurants, create menus, train and manage staff, and, of course, wear her chef’s hat for restaurant concepts ranging from fine dining to café cuisine. Her impressive restaurant credits include sous chef at Postrio, San Francisco; café chef at Spago, Las Vegas; executive sous chef at Granita, Malibu; executive sous chef at Spago, Chicago; and corporate chef at Wolfgang Puck Food Company. With Puck’s support and encouragement, she even did a stint in Paris at Ledoyan, a Michelin two-star restaurant.
“Wolfgang was my mentor and my culinary role model,” Jasinski says. “His philosophy that it’s not necessarily what you do, but how you do it, is my mantra…You can make mashed potatoes, or you can make great potato puree.”

In 2000, Jasinski decided to simplify her life and settle down in Denver, one of the stops she fell in love with on the Wolfgang Puck tour. She became Executive Chef at Panzano, where profiles and reviews in local and national publications put Jasinski at the head of her class. Not only was she wildly successful, but she had the opportunity to work with future business partner Beth Gruitch.

In 2003, Jasinski and Gruitch decided to leave their posts to begin their first venture into restaurant ownership. The following year they opened Rioja, a restaurant in Denver’s Larimer Square with a contemporary design and Mediterranean menu influenced by local and seasonal Rocky Mountain ingredients. Having designed over 10 kitchen models during her tenure with Puck, Jasinski had no qualms about doing the same for her own.

2013 was a very good year for Chef Jen. She became the first Denver chef to win The James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest award in a ceremony in New York City on May 6th. She was a finalist on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters Season 5 with other notable chefs Brian Voltaggio, David Burke, Douglas Keane and Sang Yoon and won the Princess of Porc title at the Denver tour stop of Cochon 555 in 2014. In 2016 she was named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef award. 2020 brought another semi-finalist nod from the Beard Foundation as Crafted Concepts joined some of the nation’s best operators in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. She was also named one of Nation’s Restaurant News’ 50 Most Influential Women in Foodservice in 2020.

Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Euclid Hall and Stoic & Genuine are consistently listed among the top restaurants in Denver by 5280 Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, Zagat and the Gabby Gourmet Restaurant Guide and Rioja has been annually awarded four stars by AAA since 2008. Jasinski has been named Chef of the Year, Best New Chef, Rising Star and more in Denver Magazine, Restaurant Hospitality, Nation’s Restaurant News, The Denver Post, eater.com and 5280 Magazine. In 2007, she was the Jean Yancey award winner in the National Association of Women Business Owners Outstanding Women in Business awards presented by the Denver Business Journal. Jasinski was named 2004 Colorado Chef of the Year and 2005 Western Regional Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation, and also appeared on The Food Network’s “Thanksgiving Challenge” the same year.

In April 2006, Jasinski and Gruitch made the decision to purchase Bistro Vendôme, a classic French bistro located across the street from Rioja. The pair opened Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen on 8/9/10 at 11:12:13 a.m., their third restaurant just around the corner from Rioja. Euclid Hall was one of 5280 magazine’s top 10 new restaurants in 2010. 2011 brought the release of Jasinski’s new cookbook, The Perfect Bite, 76 recipes from the Rioja kitchen. Stoic & Genuine, their fish house in Denver’s historic Union Station, opened in July of 2014. Ultreia opened in Denver Union Station in December 2017 showcasing food from the Iberian Peninsula countries of Spain and Portugal.

A tireless worker, Jasinski appears as a guest chef at numerous fundraisers throughout the country. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, mountain biking and skiing with her family and friends.

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Beth Gruitch

When people say the restaurant business is in your blood, Beth Gruitch is a believer. Her great grandparents, three generations before her, must have passed down the gene. They owned and ran a diner, setting the standards that have led to Beth’s record of critical acclaim. “It doesn’t matter if you’re running a gastropub or a five-star restaurant,” she explains, “it’s all about being proud of the product you put out, and to that end, I have no tolerance for shortcuts – no matter what the restaurant concept.”

While Gruitch claims she simply “fell into” the restaurant business, destiny probably played more of a hand. After high school, the Colorado native learned the business from the ground-up, bussing and waiting tables, washing dishes, bartending and managing a restaurant office. The long hours and backbreaking work temporarily dissuaded her from pursuing a restaurant career, so she moved on to explore other options. She tried retail sales (drawing on her penchant for shopping) and taught pre-school (testing her infinite patience), until she was finally drawn back to the restaurant business.

Gruitch decided to supplement her hands-on experience with academic training before she seriously entered the competitive restaurant world. She earned a four-year business degree in Restaurant Hospitality from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and graduated with several offers on the table. She first took a job managing Boogie’s in Las Vegas, a fun and wild upscale diner, then managed DIVE!, the kitschy submarine-themed restaurant partnership between Steven Spielberg and Levy Restaurants.

Deciding it was time to expand her culinary horizons beyond diner food, Gruitch officially joined the ranks of Levy Restaurants in Chicago, managing some of the group’s high-end concepts like Bistro 110 and Voila. This was the turning point in her career where she realized she only wanted to work with people who shared her passion for food and wine and took pride in the product and service they offered.

Gruitch found herself back in Colorado and accepted the general manager position at Panzano in the Kimpton Monaco Hotel in February 1999, where she met chef Jennifer Jasinski. During their tenure at Panzano, the duo led the restaurant to the top of Denver’s culinary mountain – consistently named one of the top 5 Denver restaurants for food and service.

In 2003, Gruitch and Jasinski decided to leave their posts at Panzano to begin their first venture into restaurant ownership. The following year they opened Rioja, a restaurant in Denver’s Larimer Square with a contemporary design and Mediterranean menu influenced by local and seasonal Rocky Mountain ingredients.

Perhaps her business partner, Jasinski says it best. “Beth assures that all the best happens for the guests in all our restaurants. She makes sure we hire the best service staff, give them complete and thorough training and coaches them to perform. She’s the reason people rave about our service.”

In April 2006, Jasinski and Gruitch purchased Bistro Vendôme, a classic French bistro directly across the street from Rioja. The pair opened Euclid Hall Bar and Kitchen in 2010, their third restaurant, focused on international pub food and craft beer. Euclid Hall was one of 5280 magazine’s top 10 new restaurants in 2010. In addition, Gruitch completed her level-one sommelier certification in 2007, continuing to keep her at the top of her game overseeing the beverage programs for all five restaurants. In 2014, the pair opened Stoic & Genuine, their fish house in Denver’s Historic Union Station, named to the Best New Restaurants and Best Restaurants lists at 5280 magazine. Their newest restaurant, Ultreia, features the foods of Portugal and Spain and opened to raves late 2017 in historic Denver Union Station including Westword’s Best Iberian Restaurant.

Over the years, Rioja, Bistro Vendôme, Euclid Hall, Stoic & Genuine and now Ultreia have been listed among the top restaurants in Denver by the Rocky Mountain News, 5280 Magazine and the Gabby Gourmet Restaurant Guide and Rioja has been annually awarded four stars by AAA since 2008 and Wine Spectator Awards. 2011 brought the release of Rioja’s cookbook, The Perfect Bite, 76 recipes from the Rioja kitchen.

Busy with staffing, wine lists, cocktail menus, accounting and logistics for five active restaurants, Beth still finds time to be involved in the myriad charitable events in which her restaurants participate and serves on the executive board of Denver Civic Ventures at the Downtown Denver Partnership and EatDenver. She lives in Sunnyside with her partner David and boss-of-the-house bulldog, Winnie.