On Food: Culinary rewards at classy Aspen food and wine fest as low as Rockies are high

ASPEN, COLO. -- I had a frequent-flier ticket and a press pass, which was the only way I'd get to join the 5,000 gluttons, whose average income is $348,700, at the Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen.

For three days in the middle of June, people from around the world descend upon this old Colorado mining town -- population 5,000 -- to eat, drink and spend money.

The event is the 19-year-old child of Food & Wine Magazine, American Express and other Major Corporate Sponsors. Culinary glitterati, such as Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin, Todd English, Michael Chiarello and Lidia Bastianich, attend, with entourages in tow.

A giant tent engulfs Wagner Park and becomes the Grand Tasting pavilion, where participants can sample hundreds of wines and a smattering of foods between attending seminars and cooking demonstrations. In a star-studded nutshell, the event is three days of boozing and schmoozing. And at an altitude of over 8,000 feet, inebriation wastes no time.

I attended the Classic once when I lived in Denver and I'll probably attend it again. I do it ostensibly for my job: The seminars do cover relevant topics and Aspen is a lovely town. But the Grand Tasting is the epitome of what I call a grazing event, where etiquette and decorum are chucked with the contents of the spit buckets.

Grazing events irritate me.

They are organized with the intention of showcasing chefs, foods and wines. The reality is that you surrender your taste buds and walk from table to table, waiting in long lines, sampling much more than your senses can register.

The foods and wines also are presented out of context. Chef X serves a 3-ounce portion of a dish that may or may not be on his menu but is the easiest to prepare remote and hold in a chafing dish. Winemaker Y then pours a scant 2-ounce sip from a vintage reserve into a glass tinged with the residue from the previous dozen wines you've sampled.

Neither the chef nor the winemaker can make an accurate impression. The magic that food, wine and camaraderie can inspire has no chance to sweep you off your feet.

This is not my idea of enjoyment.

You don't even have to go as far as Aspen to witness such a cattle call. We have plenty of grazing events right here in Seattle. You can taste this or bite that with hundreds of others mooing along with you.

There is nothing happy about these gatherings. It's not like going to the farmers market where you can feel true spirit and energy. There was no soul under those white tents.

I think tasting events have their place, but under more intimate circumstances.

I still had fun at the Classic. I caught up with industry friends I hadn't seen in years, dined at several spectacular Aspen restaurants, and gleaned a few story ideas.

Instead of grazing, I tasted.

P-I food writer Hsiao-Ching Chou can be reached at 206-448-8117 or hsiaochingchou@seattlepi.com.

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