Colorado Restaurateur, Chef Win Big at 2024 James Beard Awards

Chefs from across the country gathered at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago on June 10 for what is known as the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Awards. Of the thirteen semifinalists from the state, three made the finalist cut.

Last year, Colorado was shut out when the state's only finalist, Michael Diaz de Leon, then the executive chef of Id Est Hospitality's Brutø, didn't win the Best Chef: Mountain category.

But this year, Id Est Hospitality Group founders Kelly and Erika Whitaker took home a huge honor: Outstanding Restaurateur. And Matt Vawter, owner of Rootstalk and Radicato in Breckenridge, won Best Chef: Mountain region, which includes Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.

Id Est's first restaurant, Basta, has been a stalwart in Boulder since it debuted in 2010. Since then, it has added the Wolf's Tailor and Brutø, which each earned one Michelin star and one Michelin green star for sustainability in Colorado's first Michelin Guide last year.

The group also includes Boulder cafe and grain company Dry Storage, which plays a big role in Id Est's zero-waste approach and its mission to make local food systems stronger.

Its newest additions in Denver, Hey Kiddo and attached bar Ok Yeah, opened on Tennyson Street in January 2023 and were honored in April when they were named Regional Top 10 Honorees for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West for the Spirited Awards, which is the Beard Awards of the bar scene. Id Est also recently purchased award-winning Nonesuch in Oklahoma City.
"What a moment — holy crap," Erika began her acceptance speech. "When we founded Id Est, our daughter was just a year old. Now we are ten days away from her sixteenth birthday. ... Kelly, my partner in life, my partner in business, thank you for casting this massive vision. You're truly, truly special. We have a team of over 100 employees, which is crazy to say out loud. I also want to mention that our leadership team is comprised of 100 percent females. ... So if you're struggling, maybe change things up — hire some women."

Kelly added, "We operate seven restaurants, but we also have engaged in so many different conversations around our food supply system and been food advocates. I just want to say that all these things are possible. To have restaurants, to grow a family, and to also get involved. This year alone, we contracted and built with farmers over 200 acres of regenerative land for growing grains and milling flour, and this isn't just applicable to our tasting menu restaurants, this is applicable for a pizza, this is applicable for a sandwich, so this is really touching restaurants in Colorado everywhere right now.

"We don't particularly chase these awards, but do chase the platform this brings," he added. "For that, we know that this is a responsibility. I feel more sense of fight now than ever."

Best Chef: Mountain winner Matt Vawter grew up in Summit County and landed his first job in Denver at Fruition, which is owned by Alex Seidel, who won a James Beard Award of his own in 2018.

Over six years, Vawter rose through the ranks before Seidel brought him on as proprietor/chef de cuisine at Mercantile when it opened in 2014.

But after thirteen years in Denver, Vawter decided to make the move back to Summit County in 2020 and open a place of his own. He began the process of remodeling an old Victorian house in Breckenridge that September, but then COVID numbers began rising again, and indoor dining was shut down for a second time in November.

"That part was nerve-racking," Vawter told Westword last year. "It was like, 'I've already spent a bunch of money — we're invested in this. And now things are closed.'"

But the team moved forward anyway, opening Rootstalk in December 2020, offering outdoor dining and to-go meals. Locals and tourists alike have embraced the restaurant, and Vawter was able to add his second eatery, Radicato, in the summer of 2022.
In his speech accepting the award, Vawter said:

Wow, thank you to the [James Beard] Foundation for recognizing what we do in our small little mountain community in Breckenridge. I started cooking when I was fourteen years old to help my parents pay rent, and I've never looked back. To our producers and farmers, we get to highlight your products on the plate and in the restaurant, and it makes our lives really easy.

To my partners, Patrick and Cam, who are in the audience, you guys believed in me when I said, let's go open a restaurant in middle of the pandemic. You picked up your lives and moved, and you practice what you preach. You work to get better every single day, and our restaurants wouldn't exist without you. To all of our leaders back at home ... you all make our teams better, you make our restaurants a better place to work, and thank you.

To our teams, none of this is possible without you. Thank you for believing in us and trusting us to lead you. Thank you for all your hard work.To all the chefs that took a chance on me, and allowed me to make mistakes and grow, and teach me about this business, I certainly wouldn't be on this stage without your help.

And lastly, my wife, Christy. You're my best friend. You met me when I was an eighteen-year-old apprentice, and you've been by my side ever since. Through all the years of being a broke cook, three restaurant openings — one of which you had to be a single mom and live in a different city — thank you for always supporting my dreams and being by my side. Thank you for being my partner in life.

The other Best Chef: Mountain finalist from Colorado was chef (or "shef," as she likes to say) Penelope Wong, owner of Yuan Wonton, which started as a food truck before moving into its brick-and-mortar last September. Wong was also a semifinalist in the same category in 2023.

These wins come at an exciting time in the local dining scene. A few months from now, there should be more to celebrate when the second round of Michelin honorees are announced.

Looking for more reasons to dine out in Denver? Check out our top 100 restaurants list for some culinary inspiration.