Denver cooks get to step exterior of the field for the Denver Meals + Wine Pageant this weekend.
This 12 months, 50 cooks from throughout the metro space are taking part. Every will create a small plate or chew for the Grand Tasting as a part of the competition. This occasion is as enjoyable and creatively difficult for the cooks as it’s scrumptious for the attendees.
“I am planning on simply grilling some shrimp with the pinnacle on, and I am planning on dressing it with our home made XO sauce,” mentioned MAKfam Chef Ken Wan.
Wan is prepared for the problem. He is excited to introduce his model of Chinese language meals to an entire new viewers.
“I might say the meals may be very daring. I am not afraid to make use of salt, MSG, or sugar,” he mentioned.
That is proper, Wan says that MSG is unfairly maligned. Monosodium glutamate is a taste enhancer similar to salt, pepper or sugar. There was a fantasy that MSG induced well being issues, however it has been debunked by scientific research and main well being organizations.
“It is similar to every other ingredient, like sugar, salt and pepper. Positively not dangerous for you. It is going to be in case you use plenty of it, similar to sugar, salt, or pepper. Something carefully is at all times key,” Wan defined.
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Wan’s Cantonese heritage is vital to his type of cooking. At his Denver restaurant, MAKfam, he serves up stir fried noodles, dumplings, and fried rice dishes.
“I’ve had somebody inform me I cook dinner like an outdated Chinese language grandma, which I believe is nice,” he mentioned.
He should be doing one thing proper. Within the final 12 months, Wan was a semifinalist within the James Beard Basis’s rising chef class and a Michelin Bib Gourmand award winner.
“I am extra involved about ensuring the meals is nice. The persons are pleased. These are my priorities,” he mentioned.
MAKfam is Wan’s second idea in Denver. MAK stands for Meta Asian Kitchen, and fam represents the affect his household has had on his delicacies. The restaurant seems like a New York eatery with some Eighties Hong Kong aptitude.
“One of many highest compliments I’ve ever gotten about MAKfam is while you come right here, you eat right here, you are feeling such as you’re transported to a different place,” he defined.
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He is wanting ahead to bringing his model of scrumptious Chinese language consolation meals to the Denver Meals + Wine Pageant.
LINK: For Tickets & Information about the Denver Food + Wine Festival
The Colorado Restaurant Foundation hosts the Denver Meals + Wine Pageant as a fundraiser to pay for its packages that help the careers and effectively being of restaurant staff. The Pageant runs September 3 – 6, 2025, on the Tivoli Quad on the Auraria Campus.
