New Culinary Delights Take Over Aspen: ‘There’s Some Diversity Now’

There’s new culinary talent in Aspen, away from the slopes this season — and they’re serving food that isn’t the pasta or sushi usually found on menus in the luxury paradise.

Cederic Vongerichten, son of Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and his wife, Ochi, launched Wayan Aspen this month.

The Aspen outpost — which had a successful two-year run at The Little Nell — features versions of their innovative, award-winning French-Indonesian cuisine from the popular New York-based Wayan and her “little sister,” Ma• yes. .

Signature, shared dishes include Lobster Noodles with Black Pepper Butter and Thai Basil; Peekytoe crab fried rice with kerupuk and cilantro; alongside regional favorites like Colorado lamb satay and local dry-aged Ribeye served with Indonesian sauces; and desserts including pandan passion fruit cream.

There’s also an Aprés Ski menu and handcrafted cocktails, including the Calamansi Fizz with gin, calamansi, aquafaba and rosemary, and Devils Avocado with mezcal, avocado, cucumber and honey.

Also in Aspen this season, Jayma Cardoso’s Snow Lodge — from Surf Lodge in Montauk — has a new chef and culinary director: Preston Hix, who was previously at Vail’s La Tour, Fountainebleau Hotel & Resort in Miami and Le Bilboquet in Denver .

Celebrity guests at the Snow Lodge have included Anna Kendrick, Riley Keough, Heidi Klum, Ian Somerhalder and Nacho Figueras.

The “New American” menu comes with a strong Italian influence, and is already known for the whole fish baked in salt. There’s also live piano music during the week, as well as the Jade Room Caviar x Champagne lounge.

Finally, head chef Sam Talbot, the original chef at Surf Lodge when Cardoso launched 16 years ago, is also executive chef at ZigZag – from veteran New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas hospitality owner Romain Pavee and partners /local philanthropists Scott and Carly. Weber.

For years, Aspen’s cuisine was “Italian, Italian, Italian, with a little bit of sushi,” Pavee told Side Dish.

“Now there are several diversities – from Thai cuisine to French-Indonesian cuisine,” he added.

Pavee describes ZigZag as a French-American bistro, “with classics from both sides of the ocean.”

The name comes from Pavee’s five-year-old daughter, Juliette, who noticed that the Roaring Fork River flows ‘zig zag’.

“The name was so alive and innocent and pure, and the river couldn’t be more involved in the community. It is also the shape of the tracks left by snowboarding. It was perfect,” Pavee said, adding that he “fell in love” with Aspen years ago, and it was where his daughter saw her first snow.

ZigZag has opened where Mezzaluna, an Aspen staple, stood for 37 years before closing last October. It comes with “the last, standing wood-burning oven” in Aspen, where Grandpa was.

“Mezzaluna was an institution and we want to honor it. The food will be higher, ‘French elegance’, but it’s also for everyone, in a place that’s warm and welcoming,” said Pavee, adding that there is a focus on local produce, which will be especially evident this summer, with an emphasis on the “garden” section of the menu that reflects fare from places like Venice Beach, where Pavee lives, as well as a wood-burning section.

“Right now the ground is frozen, but in the summer, the bistro will be super produce-focused and healthy. We’ll still have rich plates and comfort food, but we’ll also play more farm-to-table,” Pavee added.

All three restaurants bring something new to the Aspen scene, which started earlier than usual this year, Cardoso said. He opened Snow Lodge in December. 6.

“The crowds have been non-stop since we opened. People want to be on the mountain early, before it gets super crowded,” said Cardoso, adding that there has also been a large number of buyouts from luxury brands.

Snow Lodge has held exclusive invitation-only dinners for brands including Gucci, Bottega Venetta, Vogue and hotelier Steve Wynn’s newly launched Wynn Fine Art, which honored artist Connor Addison. The dinner was hosted by Winn’s stepfather, Nick Hissom, director of Wynn Fine Art, and partner Kameron Ramirez.