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Glitz, Glamour, and Gourmet

Every June, the population of Aspen, Colorado, nearly doubles, thanks to the annual influx of famous and infamous who share the belief that little in life is as important as what we put in our mouths. At the most prestigious foodie event in the world, the
By Nancy Nichols |

I am standing in front of Carl’s Pharmacy in Aspen, Colorado, watching Kevin Costner, hand in hand with a beautiful blonde, cross Main Street. The happy couple’s laminated “All Access” badges hang “local style”—down their backs—for they are two of the 6,000 people who call this Gucci Western village home.

But today, Aspen’s population has nearly doubled, thanks to the annual influx of famous and infamous, experts and connoisseurs, rising and falling culinary stars, who share the belief that very little in life is as important as what we put in our mouths.

More than 5,000 distinguished visitors have shelled out $950 each to attend the most prestigious foodie event in the world: the 21st Annual Food & Wine Classic. Here, at the base of Ajax Mountain, the international elite meet to eat, drink, and make money. Only a few puffs of white clouds dot the Tiffany-blue sky; the lilacs and poppies are in full bloom; and, under the 80,000-square-foot Grand Pavilion, 45,000 bottles of wine are waiting for their close-ups.

Costner isn’t the only star taking in the scene. More than 40 of the world’s top culinary stars and wine experts are here, too—Charlie Trotter, Bobby Flay, Danny Meyer, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Patricia Wells, and the ubiquitous chef in orange high-tops, Mario Batali, to name a few.

This is one glitzy party not to be missed, and Dallas foodies are here in full force. I don’t have to walk more than three blocks before I bump into the unofficial ambassador of Dallas dining, Paula “Mozzarella Company” Lambert, and Texas winemakers Susan and Ed Auler, who own Fall Creek Vineyards, near Llano. They can’t chat because they’re rushing off to Aspen extremist Hunter S. Thompson’s famous hangout, The Woody Creek Tavern, along with their Dallas dining buddies Terry and Steve Casey.

I enter the Grand Pavilion, and before I can say, “Reserve Chardonnay, please,” Liberty Noodle owner Jeffrey Yarbrough and his wife Tara sweep me away to greet the rest of their Dallas contingent, which includes Glen Agritelley, Tim Harle, and Tim Leamy, the cool dudes who run Mercy Wine Bar in North Dallas, as well as Michael “Buzzy” Zeze from Sevy’s.

The next three days are a blur of seminars, cooking demos, and dinners, each with its own wine tasting. Between events, everyone retires to the Grand Pavilion for more wine tastings. Oh, and “invitation only” parties. The hottest bash of the weekend is the “Hats off to Texas’ Best Chefs,” held at the oh-so-chic Japanese eatery Kenichi, which is owned by Austinites Bill Rieger and Scott Brasington.

Before they can get the corks off the Texas wine—Fall Creek, Becker Vineyards, and Spicewood Vineyards—Kenichi’s patio is packed with Texas food heavyweights air-kissing world heavyweights like Jacques Pépin and his daughter Claudine, Drew Nieporent, and Bobby Flay. Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema hunkers down in the back room with two of America’s 10 Best New Chefs for 2003—David Bull, from Austin’s Driskill Hotel, and Scott Tycer, of Aries Restaurant in Houston.

Waiters pass “all Texas” hors d’oeuvres made from Tom Perini’s pepper-crusted beef tenderloin, rare slices of Kobe beef from Jennifer and Joel Van Pelt’s Ranchers Choice in Grand Prairie, and killer white wings (chicken stuffed with jalapeños and Monterey Jack, wrapped in bacon and deep fried) from Ralph and Debbie Sheffield’s Las Casas Restaurante in Temple. (Ralph is the president of the Texas Restaurant Association.) And, of course, Paula’s cheese. After the event, the gang of Texans and chefs headed up the mountain for more wine and food.

Texas accents rise above the din of the elbow-to-elbow crowd swirling, sniffing, and sampling wines in the Grand Pavilion. Local wine guy Daryl Beeson sips Rioja in the Spanish wine tent designed by Janet Kafka, while Kevin Williamson, of Ranch 616 in Austin, struts his fashionably Texas stuff in Lucchese stingray boots.

Sunday morning, Andrea Immer, an SMU grad and one of the world’s few female master sommeliers, leads a wine-tasting class she refers to as “the world’s best 9 a.m. happy hour.” By now, I am nauseated by the thought of another sip.

But it’s my job, and I hate to whine.

Photos by Nancy Nichols

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