PAIRED®

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, James honed his technique and palate in some of the country’s most respected kitchens—including Michelin starred Plumed Horse in Saratoga, CA. Since relocating to Iowa, he’s opened two restaurants—most notably Lua Brewing, which earned national acclaim including Best Brewpub in the U.S. in 2025.

Known for his seasonal, ingredient-driven approach and passion for garden-grown produce and caviar, James brings both precision and warmth to his cooking. Off the line, he’s a golf enthusiast, Philadelphia Eagles loyalist, and an avid gardener and forager.

Chef Carrie Baird has made a name for herself over the last two decades leading kitchens in some of the most highly-regarded restaurants in Denver, Colorado. Baird’s signature style fuses locally-sourced ingredients with healthy twists on classic and innovative, new dishes.

Baird competed on Season 15 of Bravo’s “Top Chef” where she quickly became a fan favorite and was a top 4 finalist. In the spring of 2019, Baird was a contestant on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and beat him handily with her Pork Green Chili Huevos Rancheros. She was an All-Star judge on “Top Chef” Season 18, judging 8 episodes of the season.

Baird has earned numerous accolades for her work as Executive Chef of Bar Dough including being a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award, Best Chef Mountain in 2019. Bar Dough was named one of the 25 Best Restaurants in Denver in 2017, 2018 and 2019 while Baird was the executive chef. 

Baird is currently the Culinary Director for The Culinary Creative Group’s Americana division in Denver where she oversees four Tap & Burger concepts and is a Partner and Chef for Fox and the Hen.

For a chef who got into the restaurant business on a whim, Adam Branz has certainly made a name for himself.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Branz was raised in Breese, Illinois and has spent most of his life in the Midwest and Mountain West. He attended Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois before moving to Le Cordon Bleu St. Louis and graduating at the top of his class.

Branz and his wife Lauren moved to Denver so she could attend law school at The University of Denver. He has worked in all restaurants owned by James Beard Best Chef Southwest Jennifer Jasinski and her business partner Beth Gruitch settling in at Bistro Vendôme where he was named chef de cuisine in 2014. Late 2017 found Branz in the kitchen at the new Ultreia in Denver’s Historic Union Station featuring the foods of Spain and Portugal. He left to create Split Lip Kitchen after testing it as a pop-up at Ultreia. Branz returned to Ultreia in 2024 as Operating Partner.

Branz’s culinary inspirations come from those he has worked with such as Chef Jen and Jorel Pierce, Gabriel Rucker and Corey Lee and those he would love to someday cook with – Daniel Boulud, Michael Ruhlman and Joël Robuchon. Branz cites Rucker’s Le Pigeon as a favorite cookbook demonstrating playful interpretations of French cuisine.

After shift, you’ll find Branz at Nallens, a local Irish pub. On his days off, you might try Watercourse where he loves the BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich. He lives in south Denver with his wife Lauren, their two children Belle and Arlo and their two pups.

Colorado locals and long time food enthusiasts Melinda and Amando Carbajal acquired Simply Pizza Truck in 2019 along with their partners Mary and Bronson Rose. Since then they have been named best food truck in Denver, served over $100,000 in free meals to those in need, competed in the Caputo Cup in Naples, expanded to two new sites (including the Denver Zoo), and have more on the way! As pizzaiolos they strive to bring high quality, clean ingredients, to fast service settings. Keeping community and local businesses and their products in the forefront!

Brad is the chef and owner of Tresini Bar & Cucina outside of Philadelphia, PA. Brad started his journey as a pasta cook for James Beard Award winning chef Marc Vetri. As the Vetri family grew so did Brad’s role. It was only a matter of time before the fire that started in his youth would drive him to open his own restaurant.

Chef Scott Drewno was raised in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes wine region, a rural area known for its vineyards and its family-owned farms. Watching his mother turn fresh, seasonal produce from local farm stands into bubbling pies and cobblers first piqued his interest in cooking and planted the seed for Drewno’s culinary ambition. Drewno joined the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group in 1998. At Chinois, he learned to meld French cooking techniques with vibrant Asian flavors. At Spago, he came to understand the importance of beginning with only the finest ingredients. Drewno furthered his knowledge and solidified his passion for Asian cuisines at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong and Stephen Hansen’s Ruby Foo’s.

In 2007, Wolfgang Puck tapped Drewno as the opening Executive Chef of The Source. The restaurant was honored with numerous accolades including three-star reviews from both The Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) awarded The Source “New Restaurant of the Year” in 2008 and “Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year” in 2011. Drewno received the coveted “Chef of the Year” prize in 2010 and again in 2016. In 2012 and 2013, Drewno was a semifinalist for the “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” James Beard Award.

Michael Dunning is the Executive Chef at Mizuna, one of Denver’s most iconic fine-dining destinations, where he’s been at the helm of the kitchen for over two years. With more than 13 years of experience under his apron, Michael has cooked in some of Colorado’s most respected kitchens—including Guard and Grace, Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, and Restaurant Olivia—honing his craft alongside James Beard Award winners and Michelin-starred chefs. His journey has shaped a deep respect for technique, seasonality, and thoughtful, ingredient-driven cuisine.
At Mizuna, Michael leads the creation of monthly tasting menus that celebrate local farms, sustainable sourcing, and the ever-changing bounty of the Rocky Mountain region. His style is rooted in curiosity and creativity—he’s passionate about reimagining familiar flavors with refined, approachable twists.

Blake Edmunds is a Colorado native who continues to elevate the Colorado food scene with his passion, creativity, and dedication. Throughout his career, Blake has worked beside Colorado’s best chefs and in “acclaimed restaurants” such as Michelin-starred restaurants including La Cabro d’Or (France), Le Bernardin (New York), and the Restaurant at Meadowood (California). Blake spent more than four years working with award-winning chef Alex Seidel at his small farm-driven restaurant, Fruition. During this time, Blake advanced from line cook to sous chef, honing his skills as a creative, committed chef and as a mentor and leader in the kitchen.

Gavin Fine developed a passion for the culinary world as a young boy growing up in Chicago. After working for Richard Melman’s restaurant group, Lettuce Entertain You, in his home town, he followed his passion to Cornell University’s Hotel and Restaurant Management School and then to Jackson Hole. While his visions of becoming a ski bum never fully materialized, Fine worked nearly every job between the front- and back-of-house, where he met his soon-to-be business partner Roger Freedman, working side-by-side in one of the area’s top restaurant kitchens. Fine and Freedman forged a friendship and decided to open Rendezvous Bistro in 2001, when Fine was just 26-years-old. After a number of years, Fine opened his second business in 2003 (Bistro Catering). Many years later, several restaurants (Il Villaggio Osteria, The Kitchen, Bin22, Bar Enoteca, Roadhouse Pub & Eatery, The Bistro), a specialty grocer (Bodega) and retail brands (Cream + Sugar artisan ice cream and Bovine + Swine craft meats) added to what is now Fine Dining Restaurant Group, Fine continues to be considered a premier restaurateur of the Rocky Mountain region. In addition to FDRG, Gavin is also the co-owner and founder of Roadhouse Brewing Co.

Westfield, New Jersey native Michael Friedman’s professional cooking career began as a prep cook with Mon Ami Gabi. Friedman spent three years with Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You group, rising to sous chef in just eight months before enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

After graduating at the top of his CIA class, Friedman began working for Jose Andres at Zaytinya. After two years, he left his mentor to travel the world. Eating through Italy, Greece, Turkey and Northern Africa, Friedman picked up the interesting and exciting nuances of each country. Back in the US, Friedman spent time staging in some influential kitchens, including San Francisco’s Incanto, Los Angeles’ Lucques, Philadelphia’s Vetri and New York’s Scarpetta. Friedman returned to D.C. as Executive Sous Chef of Proof, and under the tutelage of Executive Chef Haidar Karoum, he learned to hone his craft and simplify his style to let seasonal ingredients shine.

Linda Hampsten Fox is the chef/owner of The Bindery, an all-day bakery, market and restaurant, in Denver’s historic Lower Highlands (LoHi) neighborhood. In 2024, she will open The Bindery in Concourse A of Denver International Airport.

Linda was named Chef of the Year in 2018 by the Colorado Restaurant Association and in 2023, she was chosen by the James Beard Foundation as one of the TasteTwenty Chefs for her work championing the Foundation’s mission of Good Food for Good.

In addition to the accolades earned at The Bindery, Linda has an impressive portfolio of references, including celebrities spanning the likes of Dr. Jane Goodall, Michael York, Nancy Pelosi, Dave Matthews, Melissa Etheridge, Amos Lee and Nic & Helen Foster (from the live radio show E-Town in Boulder, Colorado). Her charisma and talents in the kitchen made her a sought-after asset by a cooking school in San Jose Del Cabo, Baja Mexico, and also as a menu developer for a host of restaurants in Denver.

In her free time, you can find Linda mountain biking, surfing or enjoying meals together with her family (husband Steve, daughter Emma and stepsons Jake, Matthew, and Ben).

Denver is lucky to be the last stop for Tim Kuklinski. A peripatetic childhood took him back and forth across the country. Stops in Rome, New York; Pottstown, Pennsylvania; Norman, Oklahoma; Tucson, Arizona and Omaha, Nebraska preceded finally settling in Denver for his culinary school education at Johnson & Wales University.

Tim’s foray into a civil engineering degree path at University of Nebraska proved disappointing when he realized he couldn’t bring passion to the craft. Culinary school beckoned and it was on Denver’s Johnson & Wales campus that Tim found his life’s work. He met and befriended chef Jorel Pierce, another JWU undergrad, and together they advanced through the job progression at Rioja to form the backbone of the award-winning kitchen.

Others characterize Tim’s food as feminine, a description that vexed him until he stepped back and realized that his culinary influences have been predominantly women beginning with his mom who worked full time but still found time to cook “from scratch” meals every night for Tim and his family. Working alongside James Beard award-winning Chef/Owner Jennifer Jasinski and now Work + Class Chef/Owner Dana Rodriguez gave Tim the basis for his style. Constant reading of menus, cookbooks, trade publications and simply scouring the web allow Tim to continue his education, learn new ingredients and acquire innovative techniques he employs on the Crafted Concepts menus.

Tim took 6 months away from the Rioja kitchen to round out his skills at Euclid Hall, a sister restaurant serving hand cranked sausages, poutines, schnitzels and upgraded international pub food. He has also staged at Michelin-starred Grace and Graham Elliott in Chicago, then returned to Rioja as Executive Chef with a newfound sense of creativity and energy. He assumed the role of Culinary Director over all five Crafted Concepts restaurants where he manages, cajoles, encourages and monitors the chefs and cooks that create Denver’s best food.

In 2006, Danny and his mother, Yesoon, decided to open their own restaurant, one that played to their strengths and represented their culinary traditions and culture. They opened Mandu, DC’s first full service Korean restaurant, near Dupont Circle. Five years later, the family opened a second location in DC’s Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.

In 2017, Lee started a new restaurant group with Chef Scott Drewno called The Fried Rice Collective. The group’s first restaurant, CHIKO, opened in July of 2017 on Barrack’s Row in Washington, DC. CHIKO serves modern Chinese and Korean cuisine in a fun and casual environment. CHIKO has since expanded with additional locations in DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Encinitas, CA.

CHIKO has been awarded three-star ratings from both the Washington Post and Washingtonian, and was also nominated as a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in the country in 2018. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awarded CHIKO Best New Restaurant at the 2018 RAMMY Awards as well as Best Casual Restaurant in 2020.

Bin 707 Foodbar is a Zero Foodprint member, a 2018 and 2019 Good Food 100 restaurant, and a James Beard Smart Catch “Leader” for its ongoing commitment to sustainability within the industry. Chef/Owner Josh Niernberg is a 2022 James Beard Outstanding Chef Semifinalist and a 2020 James Beard Best Chef Mountain Region Semifinalist. Through his ethos and vision, Bin 707 Foodbar has remained a staple in the Western Colorado, Greater Colorado, and Regional Dining Community since its inception in 2011.

Paul C Reilly grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley and has been working in kitchens since he was fourteen. Paul is the executive chef and proprietor of three concepts in Denver, Colorado along with his two business partners, Aileen Reilly and JP Taylor, Jr

beast + bottle opened in 2013 and has since become Denver’s premier farm to table experience serving relentlessly local, American fare. Coperta, celebrating the food and wine of Rome and southern Italy, opened in 2016. Both restaurants are no strangers to accolades and have been featured in numerous top of the city lists. In 2019, Paul opened Pizzeria Coperta serving scratch-made thin-crust pies. Later that year, Paul was the consulting chef for the New Belgium Brewery sports pub at Denver International Airport.

Paul is an ambassador of the good food movement working closely with Boulder County Farmers Markets, Good Food 100, Slow Food USA, and JBF Smart Catch. He is a James Beard Foundation Scholarship Winner and an alumnus of the James Beard Boot Camp for Policy and Change.

Paul lives in Arvada, Colorado with his wife Shannon and their three children. When not cooking at his award-winning restaurants, he enjoys skiing, baseball, travel, and cooking at home.

Originally from San Diego, Ruiz  began  cooking  alongside  his father, a chef for Wolfgang Puck in the 1980s, at the age of 13. Ruiz’ core values – working with fresh, local and sustainable ingredients – were ingrained at an early age as a result of his family background and California lifestyle. A graduate of the San Diego Culinary Institute, Ruiz has traveled from Mexico to Europe, including France and Spain, working in an array of restaurants, including several Michelin-starred venues. He’s also received accolades that include “32 Restaurant Stars on the Rise” from FSR Magazine, and “Denver Chefs Who Are Rising Stars” by The Denver Post.

In 2024, Leah Scurto won 3^rd place at the Caputo Cup in Naples, Italy.  She has competed in pizza culinary competitions across the United States and Italy.  She currently owns and operates PizzaLeah in Sonoma County, Ca. Since opening in March 2020, Pizzaleah has been included multiple times on the San Francisco Chronicle’s list of the 25 Top Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Leah was recently featured in Pizza Today Magazine as one of the Rising Stars of the Pizza Industry.

PizzaLeah features a rotating craft beer list focusing on Sonoma County and California with guest appearances by some of Leah’s favorite breweries across the U.S.  Leah is dedicated to being a small business owner that promotes other small businesses and their crafts whether it be beer, wine or food. 

Coming soon.

Sean Towley is the executive chef for Big Grove Brewery and oversees kitchen operations for our three, soon to be four, taprooms He attended and graduated from Kirkwood Community College with a A.A.S. in culinary arts. He began working for Big Grove in 2016. Sean and his wife, Tracy, live with their six pets in Iowa City.

Jacobs and Van Rite opened DanDan in July 2016, bringing chef-driven Chinese food with a midwestern sensibility to Milwaukee’s dining scene. Shortly after opening DanDan, the duo opened a highly-acclaimed fine dining restaurant and chef’s table concept, EsterEv, inside DanDan. The restaurant, named for Van Rite’s grandmother Evelyn and Jacobs’ great-grandmother Ester, offers a globally influenced 10 course pre-fixe menu that changes weekly.

A native of Summit County, Matt returned to the mountains after making a name for himself as executive chef at Mercantile Dining & Provision in Denver
Rootstalk is Chef Matt Vawter’s first solo restaurant; which opened in December of 2020. Rootstalk is a small, upscale, casual restaurant serving dinner located in the heart of beautiful Breckenridge, CO.

Mara King is a native of Hong Kong, a chef as well as the co-founder and COO of Ozuké, a fermented foods business that distributes throughout the US. She helped to produce a series of short films on Southwestern Chinese fermentation practices with Sandor Katz and Mattia Sacco Botto in 2017 and is currently working on a book on Chinese Fermentation as well as the second series of People’s Republic of Fermentation that will focus on Taiwan and China’s Eastern provinces.

James Beard-nominated Chef Kelly Whitaker he perfected his craft at the one Michelin star Hatfield’s, and later the two Michelin star, Providence. In 2008, Whitaker moved to Boulder and started Id Est Hospitality Group (IEHG). In addition to being an active member of Chefs Collaborative (he received the “Heart of the Collaborative” award in 2014), Whitaker sits on the Blue Ribbon Task Force for Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, and founded Noble Grain Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting domestic, milled-to-order grains.

As one of the rare Colorado natives cooking in Colorado kitchens, Gabe Wyman is as scarce as the obscure varieties of oysters and seafood he sources and prepares as chef of Stoic & Genuine in Denver’s Historic Union Station.

Born and raised in Colorado, Gabe graduated from Evergreen High School and had short stints at Fort Lewis College in Durango and Johnson and Wales University in Denver. Upon returning to the mountain community, he found his calling at the iconic El Rancho in Evergreen as a pantry cook and worked his way up to sous chef with on-the-job training at every station in the kitchen. Eventually, Gabe decided that a move down the mountain to Denver was the only path to continued culinary growth.

A family connection helped Gabe find his first job in Denver, opening Vita with Chef Max Mackissock. He followed Max to the original Squeaky Bean and spent some time in the kitchen at Denver non-profit Work Options for Women. Through Max, Gabe met Max’s wife, Chef Jennifer Jasinski and joined the Crafted Concepts team at her flagship Rioja in 2008 as a pantry cook.

By the end of 2009, Gabe was in sous chef training at Rioja and was promoted to sous chef in 2010. He moved to Stoic & Genuine as Chef de Cuisine in 2015 and returned to run the Rioja kitchen in 2018. A career highlight was cooking with Jasinski at the James Beard American Restaurant at Seven Stars Galleria during Expo Milano – the Milan World’s Fair in 2015. The course he created got a standing ovation from the guests.

His kitchen rules are simple: the guest comes first and foremost; have fun while you’re at work, if you don’t like your job quit and find one you do. Cook with love and passion because the guest can taste it. Be humble. Teach someone something every day and learn something every day. Don’t forget the golden rule “treat people the way you want to be treated.”