Lia is a student of International Hotel Management, studied at Les Roches in Switzerland, and used to live in Boulder, CO. She currently studies at Johnson & Wales, RI. Photos by Mary Theis.

The early sunset shadows, cast by the mountains to the west, spread across the city of Boulder, Colorado, bringing with them thoughts of dinner. Idyllic Boulder, with its youthful spirit, adventurous tendencies, and environmental awareness, is the perfect spot for the conscientious diner. The city is full of choices, from college friendly fast-food to health conscious fine-dining, and even a milk and cookies specialty restaurant! With so many choices available, how does one choose? How would you choose? If sustainable, locally sourced food is on your mind, then have your feet carry you across the glowing historic downtown area and through the doors of The Kitchen.

If you were to spend a morning as a fly-on-the wall in the recently reopened kitchen of The Kitchen, you would notice an interesting pattern unique to this restaurant. A farmer arrives to deliver his/her products of the season and perhaps exchange some jokes and hellos, and then heads back out. With these goods in hand, the cooks and chefs have to come up with ideas of what to make for the day. They do not have the hours and days of preparation time that most cooks plan for in the majority of establishments. Each day is a new challenge to be creative with whatever products come through the door. The menu, therefore, changes daily, with very little time to prepare dishes. This style of preparation encourages a high turnover of food and requires little storage area compared with businesses that do not put as much focus on freshness. On a winter’s day you may find dishes like Munson Farm Heirloom Squash Soup with pecans, Endive Salad – terragon, chèvre & yogurt, and Colorado Beef Strip Loin Char Grilled – with celeriac potato gratin, braised shallots & rosemary jus. Although being increasingly locally sourced does cost the restaurant more, the staff of The Kitchen has found its clientele willing to pay the difference in price for the increase in quality and nutrition.

The Kitchen has had its mind set to be a locally sourced restaurant since it opened in 2004.  Chef/Co-owner Kimbal Musk provided some insight into the approach of the restaurant as well as the recent renovations. After coming from South Africa, studying in Canada, and diving into the culinary world through his studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York, he teamed up with Hugo Matheson, Executive Chef/Co-owner at The Kitchen. Matheson graduated from Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London and, according to Musk, has more of an affiliation with the Farm-to-Table ideals because of his background. When it came to collaborating on the restaurant and whether it was to be focused on locally sourced, sustainable food, Musk said, “[there wasn't] really a choice. There was no other way.”

Though not 100%, The Kitchen is mostly local, getting its products directly from farmers who deliver the food to the restaurant. The non-local inventory is still held to high standards, coming from organic farms and from producers that The Kitchen finds to use sustainable methods of cultivation and transportation. Matheson and Musk look to farms “run by farmers, as opposed to machines.” To Musk, Farm-to-Table is representative of strong connections and relationships with local farms. They have even established an annual pig-roast 5 years running with Cure Organic Farm, one of their suppliers.

This was a driving incentive for the recent renovations. The restaurant expanded its kitchen to take advantage of delivery, almost doubling the size of preparation areas as well as updating some of the equipment in the 7 year-old kitchen. The renovation allowed for the addition of 3 new cooks. Training the new talent is another unique trait of this outlet with creativity, simplicity, and efficiency as the main focuses. They must be able to work with whatever arrives that day and create something simply delicious out of it, as opposed to the somewhat restrictive pre-planned formulas of most restaurants. The freedom to be creative each and every day is a great privilege to cooks and chefs in any establishment, but can become quite exhausting. In order to preserve the passion and quality of the food produced, Sous-Chefs are rotated on a regular basis.

As dinner service winds down, and the last guests take their leave, a feast is set up for the staff. Not only does this bring the members of The Kitchen together as a family, enjoying the season’s bounty, but it also allows the majority of fresh produce to be used, leaving little room for spoilage. From start to finish, The Kitchen creates a bond with the community: tying together the fields and care from the farmers, to the visitors and residents of Boulder who stopped in for a meal, and finally to the staff who worked hard to bring a flare of hospitality to it all.