PRESS

CHRIS CROWL, EXECUTIVE CHEF

Eavesdropping has its rewards - just ask Chris Crowl. When he overheard Chad Scothorn, owner of the Cosmopolitan, talking at a local diner in 2007, Crowl immediately gave the Cosmo a call and dropped off his resume. Soon after, he landed in the gleaming, new kitchen as executive chef.

Crowl is no stranger to fine kitchens. He attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, from 1991 to 1993 and then completed a formative externship in Philadelphia at the award-winning Fountain Restaurant in the Four Season's Hotel. One week after graduation from CIA, he strapped his snowboard to the top of his ten-year-old Honda and moved to Sun Valley, Idaho. There, he worked in fine dining for the ski area and later at Salvatore's Italian restaurant before packing his belongings and driving to Colorado. Once in Aspen, he was executive chef for three of his six years at Krabloonik, a restaurant that specializes in wild game.

By the late 1990s, Crowl wanted a break from overseeing a kitchen and was eager to learn a new cuisine. He found a change of pace as a line cook at Aspen's Matsuhisa, which is world-renown for Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanse and world fusion cuisine. The work environment was tough. Crowl had to prove that he could retain information and do a good job before the sushi chefs would share their knowledge, but he gradually gained their confidence and was entrusted with techniques in the disciplined style of Japanese cooking. During this time, he was also awarded a certificate in the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Crowl moved to Durango in 2002 to buy a house and start a family. Eventually, he became the executive chef at Glacier Club at the Tammaron, where he stayed for over two years.

With nightly sushi specials, Crowl's influence is readily apparent on the Cosmopolitan's menu, but much of his impact is subtler. He's built a rapport with local growers because he believes in buying locally whenever possible. From a chef's perspective, this translates into each dish's ingredients being fresh and succulent. From a customer's perspective, it means that each item on the menu is infused with creativity and awash with flavor.