Events
18th Annual Taste of Vail in Colorado
By Administrator

While Vail, Colorado is best known for its incredible skiing, luxury is also a name synonymous with America’s number one ski resort.  And what does luxury taste like?  People attending the 18^th annual taste of Vail got to find out what it is to picnic on a Colorado peak.  Many think that the Taste of Vail is the Rolls Royce of food festivals.  From celebrity chefs, to gourmet picnics to a formal food tasting where everybody is dressed uber chic; the Taste of Vail is an event not to be missed.  The taste of Vail stemmed from the brainstorming of several local restaurateurs who were trying to come up with ways to keep visitors interested in Colorado and Vail during its slow time (after Easter and right before the mountain closes for the ski season).  They also wanted to pay homage and celebrate the Vail lifestyle of eating, drinking, skiing and spending time with friends.

Chefs from three of Americas top restaurants including Tony Aiazzi from Aureole in New York City, Curtis Lincoln from the Brown Palace in Denver and Joseph Manzare from Globe in San Francisco grace Vail with their incredible skill and art during the 4 day event.

The taste of Vail allows local restaurants to get in on the action with the fourth annual Colorado Lamb Cook Off, held in Vail Village.  The Lamb Off, as it is called, was the creation of Paul Ferzacca who owns two local restaurants, La Tour and Zacca Za.  This was a way for not just the wealthy to participate in the event, but for everyone to enjoy it.  Also, he was trying to get local restaurant enthusiastic about and event which seemed ot not hold much interest to local Chefs.  Visitors walk the streets with the smell of lamb, cooked in any imaginable way wafting through the air.  A panel of judges selects the winner who will win a 42 inch flat screen TV for first place, a laptop computer for second and an IPod for third, oh and of course bragging rights.  This kind of prestige helped get the local chefs and restaurant community more involved in making this a successful event.

After walking around the picturesque town, visitors can take a gondola ride to the top of Eagles Nest where on top of the amazing views of Vail’s surrounding mountain ranges, a new Belvedere martini bar greets you at the top.  Cuisine ranges from picnic fare to oysters and champagne.

The grand event is of course the Grand Tasting held at the Vail Marriott in Lionshead.  For $175 per ticket, guest can sample food from 34 local restaurants and 50 wineries from around the globe.  Incredibly, it is either the winemaker or the owner that it present, which is a huge bonus for wine lovers. 

This year, the Taste of Vail hosted around 5000 visitors. The event also raises money for Pro-Start, a non-profit organization which introduces high school children to cooking.  Last year Pro-Start received $10,000 from the event.  Whatever your taste or passion, be it wine, lamb or chocolate, enjoying it in the beautiful mountains of Vail Colorado only makes it taste more luxurious.