Hello,
This is Ki, and I wanted to share this on behalf of our team.
This post comes a little late, but we are deeply honored to be named a finalist for Best New Restaurant by the @beardfoundation
When I first moved to the U.S. as a teenager, I had a strong desire to eat delicious food, because it was the greatest form of happiness I could experience within the limited resources I had at the time. But it wasn’t easy to find information the way it is today. There were no smartphones, and access to reliable recommendations was limited. At best, I knew about Yelp, but I often felt it lacked objectivity.
Somewhere along the way, I came across the James Beard Foundation. Even in Denver, where I grew up, I remember seeing restaurants with that recognition on their doors, and whenever I visited, it felt like stepping into a different level of dining.
After deciding to become a chef, dining at restaurants that were nominated for or awarded by the James Beard Foundation felt like entering a world far beyond my reach. I saw them as places that had achieved something I could never attain, stories that had nothing to do with me.
And yet, somehow, today, we find ourselves here.
All of us on the team, including myself, started from small beginnings. None of us ever imagined that we would receive this kind of recognition.
This moment does not belong to me alone. It belongs to the team who shows up every day with care and discipline, and to our guests who take the time to listen to our small story.
We are deeply grateful to our guests, and to the James Beard Foundation for this recognition.
We still have a lot to learn, but we will continue to strive to grow and improve.
Thank you.
#JBFA #GoodFoodforGood
This past week was my last week at Vespertine/Meteora. I’ve worked for Chef Jordan for almost 5 years and consider him my mentor. He trusted me to be his sous chef barely 2 years into my career; I remember when he promoted me I asked him “are you sure?” This has become this turning point in my career that afforded me so much opportunity. He taught me compassion, creativity, patience, he showed me flavors and product I never knew existed , but most importantly he allowed me to cultivate the culture at his restaurants.
I started at Vespertine, helped open Meteora (which became the hardest and most rewarding challenge of my professional career), then helped reopen Vespertine. Going through my old photos for this has solidified the most important thing was the people I worked with. The chefs I worked under, the cooks I worked with, the team during Covid who helped us serve hundreds of people a day, the FOH who stuck it out with us, but most endearing to me, the sous chefs I spent countless hours working alongside. Without these people none of this would have been possible and I’ll be forever grateful to them and everything they’ve given me.
Got to enjoy a guest dinner from my old chef at @commisrestaurant . Was an incredible meal and just awesome to watch him cook in a kitchen of that caliber.
Kedar and I cooked some dinner. There were some doubts in my peach galette, which became a cobbler honestly. But I have it on good authority the crust was great.
Got a break from the line today to help Monica make pasta, just like when I use to work prep last summer. Hundreds of fresh caramelle hand rolled and filled with taleggio cheese.
