Celebrity Chef Tour on Denver’s menu

DENVER — Eight courses paired with wine all from some of the best up-and-coming chefs in the country. If you think it’s only something you can experience in a place like New York or Los Angeles, think again. All you have to do is check out the Celebrity Chef Tour.

“We did Iron Chef, so that was a really big one. That’s probably my most recognizable thing to date,” said Amanda Cohen, the guest chef at this year’s event at Linger in Denver.

Cohen is a vegetarian chef and is excited to work with new colleagues and share her unique spin on veggies.

“It’s kind of like a buffet that comes to you, you get a little bit of everything from different restaurants,” she said of the event. “Instead of having to go to five different restaurants, you get to go to one.”

But it’s not all about the guest chefs. Local chef and restaurateur extraordinaire, Frank Bonanno, is also in the mix.

“I have Mizuna, Luca D’Italia, Bones, Osteria Marco, Green Russell, Russell’s Smokehouse, Wednesday’s Pie, and Lou’s Food Bar,” he said. “It’s fun to get to work with other chefs that you haven’t worked with before and it’s just a fun event.”

During the event, diners enjoy eight courses along with matched wine pairings.

“If you tried to do that on your own at a really nice restaurant, it would probably cost you anywhere from $200-$400,” said Jeff Black, owner of the tour. On this night, all of that is only $150 including tax and tip.

If you missed the tour this year, they say you can do nearly the same thing year round.

“Try and support the local guys, keep coming back to your local restaurants, because they’re the ones who make a difference,” Black said.

“Go with friends and order a couple of plates and share. That way you can have more food and you’re not getting stuffed. And you just really experience what the chef has to offer,” said Bonanno.

The Celebrity Chef Tour stops in Denver every year. You can find the additional dates and locations on their website.