Our first supper club began on a summer evening in June in 2024. The setting was a long table beautifully set on the lawn right by the river at The Joy & Wylde Redstone Art Gallery. At the helm was the innovative Chef Matthew Betcher, whose "Dear Wild" punk dinner delivered an unconventional culinary journey. As the sun bathed the surrounding mountains in the evening summer light, guests immersed themselves in an experience that challenged traditional notions of fine dining. This wasn't just a meal; it was a statement, a carefully orchestrated blend of local flavors and avant-garde techniques that set the tone for what promises to be a groundbreaking series in the world of experiential dining.
Dear Wild, is a love letter to everything wild, creative and nourishing to body and soul. Underground experiential supper clubs incorporate foraged wild foods, sustainable farming and ranching and a unique blend of techniques gathered from cuisines throughout the world. Food should go beyond just sustainable and create an experience. Dear Wild, pushes beyond the constraint of the usual dining experience to create something more cerebral and creative; incorporating new potential food paths, history and art. A sport of punk attitude through a fine dining lens.
Matthew Betcher
When Chef Matthew first mentioned his punk dinners, claiming they were "a thing" in L.A., my curiosity was immediately piqued. An online search yielded no results, adding an air of mystery to the concept. My imagination conjured up images of avant-garde diners adorned in tuxedo tails emblazoned with crystal skeletons, their bodies a canvas of piercings and tattoos, fingers tipped with black-polished nails. As for the punk food, all I knew was that the proposed menu was a delicate balance of complexity and simplicity, featuring locally foraged ingredients transformed through fermentation and tincturing. Each dish was to be paired not with sipping wines but with carefully selected vintages designed to complement the fermented flavors. This concept embodied my long-held dream of chefs unleashing their creativity beyond restaurant confines. Embracing the unknown, I was prepared to cast caution aside and immerse myself fully in this culinary adventure.
How did the dinner come to be? It all started in December when I received an invite from the Wise Women group to attend a Shopping Social at the new Joy & Wylde gallery. Upon entering the gallery and shop, beautifully decorated for the holidays with the scents of pine, natural candles, potpourri and incense, I felt stirred to have a culinary experience there. Joy expressed interest in my idea, and together, we worked on hosting a summer feast on her patio to create an unforgettable culinary experience.
While "manifestation" might be an overused term, it would be a mistake to dismiss the unison of a Chef, a store/gallery owner and myself, as mere coincidence, three individuals with a shared creative vision, each playing our roles in the collaboration. Dear Wild is for Chefs who desire more freedom to experiment outside of the normative restaurant paradigm. It’s an underground supper club by invitation only. It’s like the next iteration of gourmet food trucks but more high-end cuisine with no boundaries or pretense at all (even the food truck is too defined at this point). Interesting cerebral food in unique environments that reflect the avant-garde nature of the sourcing, preparation, and menu.
It’s like the next iteration of gourmet food trucks but more high-end cuisine with no boundaries or pretense at all (even the food truck is too defined at this point). Interesting cerebral food in unique environments that reflect the avant-garde nature of the sourcing, preparation, and menu.~ Matthew Betcher
On this evening thunderclouds hovered, threatening to drive us indoors, but mercifully, the rain didn't come until we were already home and safe in our beds, and we could savor the whole experience as intended.
As Chef Matthew approached our table to introduce each course, he exuded an aura of understated sophistication reminiscent of John Malkovich's screen presence – calm, enigmatic, and utterly captivating. His movements were deliberate, his words carefully chosen, each syllable infused with a passion for his craft. At our place settings, we discovered small books – an unexpected literary accompaniment to our culinary journey with Chef Matthew's musings on nature's abundance, reflections on the rhythmic dance of seasons and time's relentless march, and contemplations on humanity's complex relationship with the earth. These poetic offerings served as a philosophical framework for the eight courses to come, inviting us to engage with our food on both a sensory and intellectual level.
Each course was paired with Aquila Cellars wine, poured by Kade Gianinetti, who houses the wine at his restaurant in Carbondale, the Painted Pig. Also pouring was Brandt Thibodeaux, Land Manager and Winemaker.
Aquila Cellars is Colorado’s natural winery with unfiltered wines that favor energy over power and freshness over richness. The wines are uniquely Coloradan, grown at the highest elevations of North America and produced with the highest vibrations. The wines served were the 2023 Vespa, 2022 and 2019, Grape Verjus, 2023 vernal, 2021 & 2022 Virga which means, when the rain falls but doesn't hit the ground.
Most people pass through the valley without even knowing that Redstone exists. But those that stop are treated to this village stuck somewhere neither here nor in the past.
We sit in this valley with ranches on one side and farms, orchards and vineyards on the other. Some of the best practices in farming are taking place all around us. We continue to import crops, but have yet to revive the ancient and indigenous that grow so naturally here and once provided a strong identity for the native inhabitants... ~ Matthew Betcher
I look forward to more culinary adventures with varying chefs to turn the tables on the current norms, making every experience worth paying for, where unique dishes will transcend typical restaurant fare and be presented in settings beyond conventional dining environments.
If you have an off-the-beaten-path venue, are a chef with a culinary adventure in mind, want to sponsor a dinner, or if you want to secure your spot for our next supper club email JillianLivingston@aspenreallife.com.
