
Dancing Marlin Attends 2015 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen | Chicago South Suburbs Restaurant
Dancing Marlin team members were thrilled to have recently attended the 33rd Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. In a class by itself, the Food & Wine Classic is considered “the” superstar culinary event. The Food & Wine Classic, which was held June 18th-21st, brought together some of the world’s greatest chefs, winemakers and restaurateurs to do what they do best – talk about food and wine.
We arrived a day early to settle in and explore some of the offerings of Aspen. Our first visit was to the John Denver Sanctuary, a beautiful venue which attracts visitors from around the globe.
Later we ventured skyward in a gondola to view activities below from the top of Aspen Mountain.
The meeting officially kicked-off with a welcome reception at Ajax Tavern that was hosted by American Express, the major sponsor of the education component of the Food & Wine Classic – The 26th Annual Restaurant Trade Program.
Aspen brought together countless famous chef’s including the likes of Rick Bayless, Tyler Florence, Tim Love, and Michael White. Dancing Marlin’s very own Ed Nemec was lucky enough to meet Andrew Zimmern from The Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods”!
There were tremendous educational highlights in Aspen. Our first morning seminar, “Meet the Masters”, was hosted by Andrew Zimmern. Later that afternoon Andrew Zimmern moderated another session, “Fine Casual”, which featured commentary from Rick Bayless, Danny Meyer, Ashley Christensen and Bobby Stuckey. We were also fortunate to experience a fantastic learning and tasting event hosted by Patron Tequila. New ideas and insights were collected by the Dancing Marlin team which we will bring back to enhance your experience at our Southwest Chicago suburban location in Frankfort.
The FWC event site was arranged with 3 massive tents, inside of which hundreds of exhibitors showcased their best food and wines. Grand Tastings were fast and furious, and everyone left each tasting session with a smile and a full belly. Food and Wine Magazine sponsored a booth which featured “Best New Chefs”, where up-and-coming culinary stars presented their best new offerings.
Dancing Marlin had a great time at this world-class culinary event. The Food & Wine Classic proved to be an extraordinary experience and we can’t wait to return to Aspen for the next Classic, and to share our experience with our favorite people – YOU!

Dancing Marlin attends seminar with Jose Garces, Gabrielle Hamilton, Andrew Zimmern, Marcus Samuelsson and Michael White