Culinary Connectors was started in November of 2008 when now president, Becky Creighton, woke up one day and realized she hated her job. She thought, “If I could design a job, what would it be?” She decided it would be something with her favorite things: food, wine and people. She decided to leave her well paying, successful IT job to venture out and put together Culinary Connectors. The heart of Culinary Connectors is to connect people with food and introduce people to the culinary talent in Colorado. It’s so much more than just a tour of behind the scenes look at local restaurants. The tour we went on gave us a glimpse into the culture of Ozo, Piece, Love and Chocolate, Savory Spice Shop and Walnut Brewery. These places educated us on the finer details of their unique specialties- coffee, chocolate, spices and beer. I walked away from the tour understanding more about what goes into making these various products, where they get their ingredients and how things are made. There is also plenty of time to ask questions, get to know the other people on the tour as well as picking the brain of the tour guide. Wining and dining always has a way to bring people together, and we were laughing and having delightful conversation the whole time.
Culinary Connectors has tours in Boulder, Denver and Aspen. They offer walking tours, which is what we from Eat Drink Boulder were a part of, and Top Restaurant Tours. Boulder Savor the Flavor walking tours are on Pearl Street on Fridays and run every other week in the summer. Denver and Aspen walking tours are also held on Fridays and are every week mid afternoon. Top Restaurant Tours offer a unique way to experience some of Colorado’s best restaurants with chef interaction. These tours are 3 hours long, and you either walk or get transported to 3 different restaurants for a 3 course meal. These tours are offered once a month and limited to 10 spots. After being on a walking tour, I would love to try one of the top Restaurant Tours.
Other options for Culinary Connectors include happy hour passes, craft beer tours and food lover’s guide. The food lover’s guide is perfect if you aren’t able to make the Friday walking tours or you prefer to go on your own. You can pick which tour you want to go on, and then print off your guide after paying for the fee. Once you have the printout, you can go on your self guided tour whenever is convenient. Simply go into the shops on your sheet and show someone on the staff your guide printout. They will give you tastings and samples along with being able to speak to the manager or chef. It is recommended to do a self guided tour during slower times of service.
Culinary Connectors works with local Colorado restaurants. It truly is a fun way to get to know more about the food establishments you regularly go to and learn more about your favorite food or beverages. Fun, food, discounts, drinks, fellowship and some walking downtown……what’s not to love?
It was a great time, and a lot of credit to Becky for arranging it, and the artists at each of the shops for sharing their secrets. I would go again, for sure.