Boulder's lucky to be home to "Top Chef" Season 5 champion Hosea Rosenberg, whose restaurant Blackbelly is earning high praise from critics and locals alike. And whose newest venture, Santo, is a delicious take on the cuisine of Northern New Mexico. In advance of "Top Chef" Season 15, which will feature Boulder as a setting for the show, we checked in with Hosea to see what he's up to lately.
You can also read more about Hosea and his perfect day in Boulder.
I find inspiration in all sorts of places: in my own kitchen with my chefs, reading magazines, reading books, at the farmers market and eating out at great restaurants. You never know when something is going to strike you.
"Top Chef" changed the entire trajectory of my career. While I was on the show, I realized just how much one person can do when they're pushed to the limit. But since being on the show it has opened up so many doors that I may not have otherwise been open to me. Like, meeting some of the best chefs in the world, traveling all over the world, and exposing myself to new and exciting food. I couldn't have had this kind of opportunity without it.
I would say Boulder is a draw for a lot of young cooks, more so than a lot of seasoned chefs. I do think we have access to the most amazing produce and livestock you can find. It's something accomplished chefs in larger cities don't have access to locally. Plus, the lifestyle in Boulder and Colorado, in general, is hard to compete with.
She's only four months old, but she already enjoys the sights, sounds and smells of the Boulder Farmers Market. She also seems to enjoy coming to work with me at Blackbelly. All the employees were her first friends. She's been an integral member of the opening team at our new restaurant, Santo, as well! She especially likes the Navajo-style tile we installed on our bar. It's been quite a trip opening a restaurant with a brand new baby, but she's been the best!
Anywhere alone with my wife is my favorite place to be. We don't get a lot of nights off anymore with our new baby, but when we do, we try to go out to a new place each time and just enjoy each other's company. There's so many great new restaurants in Denver and Boulder that we always seem to have a new experience wherever we go when we have a date night.
We had one day off from filming in six weeks, and the crew brought us movies on VHS. We all pulled our mattresses into the living room to watch.
Also, Glad was a sponsor so there was an over abundance of trash bags in the stew room where we got stuck for hours after challenges. So we did things like stretch out bags to form a tennis court and net using sautée pans as rackets, and we made a bed out of bags too.
Top 3 favorite breakfast spots in Boulder:
Blackbelly for breakfast burritos
Best beer, wine or cocktail you’ve had in the last month:
Anything from the bar at Arcana — I recently enjoyed a "bartender's choice" bourbon concoction (Arcana is temporarily closed.)
Favorite hole-in-the-wall or little-known spot to eat:
Your favorite farm-sourced ingredients to cook this season:
All the varieties of winter squash
