Vail Chaîne des Rôtisseurs turns 30

The Vail Valley attracts those who love the finer things in life, from powder-filled ski days in Vail’s Back Bowls to world class entertainment at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Dining experiences are on the list as well and to take the fine dining factor to the next level, the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs welcomes those who want to celebrate delicious food, fine wines and great conversation while supporting the culinary arts to gather at the dinner table.

The Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is the oldest and largest food and wine society in the world.  It was started by a French guild of goose roasters in 1248, this was back during King Louis IX‘s reign, and it has been in the U.S. since 1960. There are now over 80 countries around the world that have chapters, which are called “bailliages.”  

“This chapter got started by the late Jim Kugeler in 1991 and Jim also started the Denver and Aspen bailliages several years ago,” said Rufus Cressend, the chancelier des Etsats-Unis d’ Amérique, who is based out of Louisiana and came into town for the annual induction ceremony for new members., which was held on Aug. 20 at Mirabelle Restaurant in Beaver Creek. “We’re happy to help the Vail bailliage celebrate 30 years.”

Cressend referred to the Chaîne as a sorority and fraternity of those who love good conversation and good food and good wine.

“When we travel we always contact that chapter in the location of our destination whether in Europe or the U.S. or elsewhere to meet with their chapter and learn about the great dining spots or join one of their events,” Cressend said.

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Master chef Daniel Joly, owner of Mirabelle, has been involved with several Chaîne events throughout the years, here and back home in Europe.

“It’s amazing because it is such a well-established organization. In fact, years ago I remember doing an event for the Chaîne back in Brussels where I am from when I was a young chef. It’s a great excuse to get together and to challenge the restaurant to do something different where we can deviate from our normal menu,” Joly said.

Since the symbol of a 30th anniversary is a pearl, that was worked into the theme of the evening, from the attire worn by the guests to the meal prepared by Joly. For the induction cocktail reception Joly served warm fingerling potatoes with cream Ossetra caviar pearl, mini honey goat cheese with pearl sun-dried fruit and mini oysters with citrus pearl.

The pearl theme carried into the rest of the menu, with corn pearl salsa accompanying the sauteed lobster, quinoa pearl confit served with the Colorado lamb and blueberry pearl and peach desert, just to name a few of the items on the multi-course menu.

Great care was taken to pair the wines with each course, with vintages coming from Italy, France, and California. The dining room at Mirabelle was decorated with pearl accents and a special pin was created to mark the milestone of three decades. Every chapter around the world has its own pins and those are placed on special ribbons worn by each member with the color of the ribbon indicating the rank of the member.

In addition to creating an extraordinary dining experience, the mission of the Chaîne is to support chefs and wine professionals, providing scholarship funds and sponsorship to Chaîne culinary and sommelier competitions.

Jim Kugeler started the organization and the first bailli (pronounced “by-yee”) or head of the chapter was Paul Numerof, followed by Jim Frein, Jeri Campisi, Suzanne Hoffman, Carolyn Pope and Doe Browning.

Suzanne Hoffman was the bailli for over a decade and her goal was getting the local chefs to become involved with the bailliage.

“That lead to my most memorable event, the 2010 Southwest Assemblage where we teamed Colorado Mountain College culinary students with local chefs and David Crawford hosted them in his kitchen at Game Creek Club for the gala event to raise money for CMC culinary scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of the chefs, Vail Resorts, Yarden Wines, who donated all the wines and Vintage Magnolia, we raised nearly $16,000,” Hoffman said.

 Carolyn Pope served as the head of the organization from 2016 to 2018.

“The most memorable dinner was the very first induction dinner I created and it was the same night I stepped forward as bailli. The evening was held at Vintage, and I worked with the owner, Brody Broderick and his chef at the time, Remington Fleming and sommelier Johnny Thompson. Chef Fleming came up with the brilliant idea of the “Colonies of France”, and he took us on a culinary adventure from Vietnam to North Africa and the French Caribbean Islands. It remains my favorite evening and favorite dinner with Chaine,” Pope said.

Another memorable moment for Pope was a Christmas feast held at La Tour with a Marie Antoinette ‘Let Them Eat Cake” theme where each course looked like a cake. “One guest showed up in a full bouffant wig and the crowning glory was a towering croquembouche,” Pope said.

Doe Browning took over after Pope and Browning says it is all about lifelong learning. From the members learning about the history of a wine to the special preparation of a meal, to a chef being able to be creative with a menu. Browning also said it was a way to connect people from around the world.

“When I was the bailli, I would get phone calls all the time from members who were traveling here and they’d ask if we had any events during their stay or where they should dine while they were here,” Browning said.

Andrea Eddy is the newest bailli and she’s excited to take this traditional organization into the next decade. She will be setting the calendar for the upcoming year to accommodate year-round residents and second home owners in the group.

“Our next themed event is a ‘A French Harvest’ Burgundy wine tasting on Sept. 25 at Harvest in Edwards led by master sommelier Sean Razee with a French family style dinner prepared by executive chef Carlos Molina,” Eddy said.

Those interested in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs bailliage may contact Eddy at vailchaine@gmail.com and follow the group on Facebook and Instagram.