ON FOOD: Chef's Gala nabs impressive group of judges

Chefs who are participating in the Colorado Springs Chorale Chefs' Gala at the Broadmoor West, Rocky Mountain Ballroom Feb. 22 had better brace themselves for the scrutiny of one of the best judging panels in the competition's history.

Leading the judging panel is Charles Dale, executive chef at Encantado Resort in Santa Fe.

At his side will be Holly Mervis, former chef and owner of La Petite Maison, and Alan Manley, former owner of Primitivo Restaurant. Mervis and Manley need little introduction, being leaders in fine dining here for years.

Mervis and her former husband, Jeff, brought French cuisine to our community in 1978 when they opened their small restaurant.

Much to my delight, Mervis, who learned to cook French cuisine from a Belgian native, was one of the trailblazers for getting more female culinary professionals into the kitchen locally. She later developed an award-winning line of seasonings under the name Garden of the Gods Seasonings & Gourmet.

Manley's wildly popular restaurant frequently won awards for its outstanding wine list.

He took his worldly wine knowledge to the next level and created the now-defunct Colorado Cellar Consulting several years ago.

Dale, Fench-born and internationally trained, has had a career that spans some of the most renowned kitchens in the United States and France. He was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs in America.

I first became familiar with Dale and his flair for cooking at his Renaissance Restaurant in Aspen. It had been reported that Julia Child had swooned over Dale's excellent preparation of sea bass at this eatery as "One of the best dishes I've tasted."

Child wasn't the only one to take notice of Dale's Renaissance. It was home to the first of Dale's multiple Wine Spectator award-winning wine lists.

In 2000 he opened Rustique, Aspen's first and only country-French bistro. It was named among the "Best New Restaurants" in America in Esquire Magazine in 2001.

Dale began his culinary career apprenticing with Alain Sailhac, the chef at New York's famed Le Cirque. He continued to hone his culinary talent under the eye of Michelin-starred chefs Daniel Boulud, first at Plaza Athenee Hotel and then at Le Cirque; then with Georges Masraff in Paris; and Jean-Paul Lacombe, disciple of Paul Bocuse, in Lyon.

No surprise that Dale's newest culinary feat, Terra restaurant at Encantado Resort, has already caught the attention of Esquire Magazine and is sure to garner more accolades.

It will be interesting to see which chefs the judges will single out as the winners for this year's Gala.

Incidentally, I'll be there as emcee.

-

Reach Farney at 636-0271 or teresa.farney@gazette.com. She appears Tuesdays on KOAA's Comcast Channel 5 at noon.