Food & Wine Classic in Aspen

June 18, 2019

Food and wine festivals are an excellent way to gather celebrity chefs, renowned winemakers, vendors, and enthusiasts so they could meet, exchange ideas and learn from some of the best in the industry.

Last week, I flew to beautiful Colorado for the 2019 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen - a three-day culinary event held every year at the base of the spectacular Aspen Mountain. I conducted a book signing to promote my newest publication, “Martha Stewart’s Grilling: 125+ Recipes for Gatherings Large and Small” and hosted a summer entertaining demo featuring recipes from the June 2019 issue of our magazine "Living". More than 5000-visitors from across the country attended the spring affair. Among the other celebrities there - distinguished chefs, including Jacques Pepin, Alex Guarnaschelli, Geoff Zakarian, Andrew Zimmern, and more. It was an excellent time.

Enjoy these photos.

: As we approached Aspen, we saw some gorgeous views from the airplane. Here, you can still see snowcapped mountains. The weather was still a bit chilly – temperatures ranged from 45-degrees Fahrenheit in the early morning to 70-degrees Fahrenheit midday. Go to my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see more of my photos.

: Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains’ Sawatch Range and the Elk Mountains, along the Roaring Fork River. It was founded as a mining camp during the Colorado Silver Boom and later named “Aspen” because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area.

: Thousands of visitors come to Aspen every year for this event. There are cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and panel discussions with so many acclaimed chefs and wine experts.

: On the first night, we attended the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen welcome reception at the St. Regis Hotel. Here I am posing for some press pictures. (Photo by Galdones Photography)

: The next day, we took an early morning gondola ride to the top of Aspen Mountain, or Ajax, to see more of the breathtaking views. The gondola is one of two lifts, which ascend from Gondola Plaza in the heart of downtown Aspen.

: I stopped for this photo at the top. It was a little cold, but luckily I was prepared with my Quilted Down Short Sleeve Puffer Jacket from my collection at QVC. https://www.qvc.com/Martha-Stewart-Quilted-Down-Short-Sleeve-Puffer-Jacket.product.A342397.html?sc=SRCH

: After breakfast at Little Nell, we headed back to the St. Regis to kick-off the three-day festival with my “Summer Entertaining Demo”. It was held inside the Ballroom in front of more than 250-visitors. Here I am making our Stovetop Clambake – made with lobsters, clams, corn, mussels, shrimp, onions, garlic, seaweed, chorizo, and beer.

: This clambake is mouthwatering – and so easy to make. It’s great for large outdoor family parties.

: I also made the most delectable Strawberry Biscuit Sheet Cake from our current issue of “Living”. Here I am spooning the lightly sweetened cream onto the tender biscuits and juicy strawberries.

: It is the best strawberry shortcake you will ever have! The fruit is tossed with sugar, lemon juice and a generous pinch of salt to bring out the perfectly ripe strawberry flavors.

: Our own food editor, Sarah Carey, joined me for the demo. We also made three great cocktails – Aperol jasmine spritz, lemon margarita, and a sparkling rose sangria – all delicious drinks also from our June 2019 issue of “Living”. And while some may say otherwise, an Aperol spritz is a great drink. (Photo by Galdones Photography)

: I hope you have your copy – there are so many great summer entertaining ideas in this issue! It’s on newsstands until June 21st!

: In this photo – David Anzini and Kris Klank from Kitchen Aid, Diella Allen, event marketing director for Food & Wine, senior PR manager for Meredith Corporation, Liz Malone, and Food & Wine event producer, Devin Padgett.

: Chef Andrew Zimmern was also doing a demo nearby – he was cooking noodles on a wok – it smelled wonderful. (Photo by Galdones Photography)

: I just had to try it – it was delicious.

: Later at lunch, we sat with distinguished Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, author, and executive chef at New York City’s Butter restaurant.

: We also saw chef, author, restaurateur and television personality, Geoffrey Zakarian.

: Here I am with Andrew and “Top Chef: All-Stars” winner, Richard Blais. (Photo by Galdones Photography)

: Here’s the Food & Wine team that works on the event all year long – Diella, Hannah Soltyz, Luis Zepeda, and Allie Perry.

: We also walked around the festival to see some of the participating vendors such as Two Roots Farm, a small market farm growing local fresh, organic vegetables. https://www.tworootsfarm.com/

: We saw lots of artisanal bread and other baked goods.

: Kerrygold was also there with several of their natural Irish cheese. https://www.kerrygoldusa.com/

: It was nice to meet Alexandra Vinci and Amanda Welsh from the Kerrygold team.

: Look at the great shirts on these two who visited me during my book signing! It was so fun to meet them. Snoop – we need to make our own t-shirts!

: This is Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Peroni, Michael Hart, with Paul Verdu, VP Sales and Marketing for Tenth and Blake Beer Company at MillerCoors. Peroni was a major sponsor for this event.

: And here I am with my book “Grilling”. If you don’t already have a copy, pick one up today. It’s filled with great tips and recipes! (Photo by Galdones Photography)