The Steamboat Food and Wine Festival began Thursday with kickoff events at Yampa Valley Kitchen, Primrose, Gravity Haus and Alpine Mountain Ranch.

This year’s festival will feature 19 distinct events at 11 different venues.

“The goal has always been a collaborative component to introduce people to new things,” festival organizer Nicole Jarman said. “For our chefs and winemakers, it is an opportunity to get out of the kitchen and connect with each other while connecting with the patrons.”

---

---

The event has spread to new venues throughout the Yampa Valley every year. The “moveable feast,” as Jarman calls it, introduces visitors and residents alike to a full palette of locations throughout the greater Yampa Valley area.

“Steamboat is so magical,” said Jarman. “We switched dates because the fall timeframe is great for drinking wine, eating fine food and being in the mountains.”

---

---

For patrons, it serves as an opportunity for a human connection to be established with the people that are making the food they are tasting while also building an understanding about what they are consuming.

New events for 2024 include a hiking event at the Alpine Mountain Ranch Hermitage, a yoga event at Love, Yoga, and a tequila pairing dinner at Salt & Lime.

“We want to encourage people to try something different,” said Jarman.

One of Jarman’s greatest joys in organizing the event is bringing the culinary community together so they can understand each other in a more in-depth fashion. To accomplish this, all of the meals are held in a community-style to encourage dialogue and exposure.

The festival is taking on broader trends within the culinary industry with the involvement of new foods and spirits, including whiskey and tequila, amid education surrounding where ingredients are coming from, particularly when it comes to wine. This includes topics surrounding biodynamic farming, sustainable agriculture, the locality of where food comes from and what is truly in season.

Jarman noted that festival participant Elkstone Farm is a prime example of thoughtfulness surrounding food production.

The trend regarding where food is coming from, and how it is raised, has led to an increased awareness in the industry as both chefs and patrons link food production with a healthy body, mind and environment.

“We are worried about our Earth,” added Jarman. “People want to make sure that things aren’t traveling as far from farm to table and making sure that food and drink is sustainable.”

She went on to explain that those conversations have transcended the wine industry as well, as farming practices can impact how a consumer feels due to additives that are used in the production process, including dyes and sugars.

“We are not really drinking the wine as much as we are drinking all of the things that [wine producers] have put in to make it taste consistent,” she said. “That’s why we are getting headaches, that’s why we are getting hangovers, that’s what’s making us feel bad. I think that’s why people want to understand that more.” 

The culmination of the Food and Wine Festival will be Saturday’s Grand Tasting on the lawn of Torian Plum. Sixteen chefs from around the world will present diners with a wide range of dishes. 

Chefs will be attending from locations including Brazil, Sante Fe, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver and the Yampa Valley. 

For Jarman, the future of the festival lies in the community-based celebration of food and drink. 

“We are constantly trying to understand how to support the community of Steamboat Springs and its needs,” said Jarman. “That’s across the board for me as we try to support those in the food and wine industry and let them talk, understand what each other is going through, and be a place of support.” 

New this year is a mentorship program, hosted by Chef Maggie DeMarco, that is designed to provide leadership and mental health support for emerging chefs. There will also be conversations surrounding the Burnt Chef Project, which raises awareness surrounding mental health in the hospitality industry. 

“We also really are spending a lot of time thinking about how to be an advocate for those in the industry,” closed Jarman. “That’s when I get really excited, when it becomes more about the connection between people, and between communities, instead of just being about a killer meal.” 

For more, SteamboatFoodAndWine.com/schedule.