Chef Alex Seidel
Chef Alex Seidel
James Beard Awards Foundation, "Best Chef: Southwest", Finalist, 2016
Food & Wine Magazine, "Best New Chef: 2010"
Chef/Owner, Fruition Restaurant + Mercantile Dining & Provision; Denver, CO
We’re closing the year out on a high note (about 5,280 feet above sea level to be exact) back in the bustling city of Denver. One of our favorite culinary hot spots, the Mile High City has fast become one of the nation’s best bets for fine dining and quirky, inventive concepts thanks to a plethora of local farms, bold diners and forward thinking chefs. It also doesn’t hurt to enjoy winter with a snowy backdrop, reflecting on another year spent traveling the country and working with America’s most progressive food talents. This basket is one for comfort and creation - with a menu of dishes that are both cozy and inventive; the chef a true visionary. The goal of course is to provide a chance to think back on the year that was while inspiring the one ahead. Our band of culinary adventurers can’t wait for what’s around the bend and are excited to have you along for this joyride!
Alex's Own Culinary Adventure
Food courses through Chef Alex Seidel’s veins. Having worked in the culinary industry since he was 14 and garnering accolade after accolade to his name (Food & Wine Best New Chef! James Beard Foundation Award Finalist!) he’s a powerhouse of talent. His dedication to his craft is astounding. While he owns and operates two of Denver’s best restaurants, Fruition and Mercantile Dining + Provision, we’re most in awe of the 10-acre farm and artisanal sheep dairy he launched in 2010, Fruition Farms Dairy. On-site he raises a heritage pork breed, makes award-winning cheeses and supplies his kitchens with the fruits and vegetables he grows. At the core of Seidel’s mission is the necessity to solidify the continuity and sustainable relationship between restaurant, farm and market all while inspiring diners from near and far alike with meals of a lifetime.
Alex's Restaurant
Fruition Restaurant
Opened in 2007, Fruition Restaurant is a showcase of Chef Seidel’s passion to create approachable, delicious food without the pretense of fine dining. Fruition is perennially honored as one of the top restaurants in Colorado and helped earn Chef Seidel a spot on Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef list in 2010.
In 2009, driven by a desire to learn more about food sourcing and production, Chef Seidel purchased a small farm outside of Denver that would soon become Fruition Farms Dairy & Creamery. Along with raising Heritage Breed hogs, Italian Honey bees, and a fruit and vegetable garden, the 10-acre plot is home to East Fresian dairy sheep that serve as the foundation of the artisanal sheep’s milk creamery, the first of its kind in Colorado.
In the fall of 2015 Seidel opened Mercantile dining & provision, a restaurant and European style market in Denver’s Historic Union Station. Beyond what is offered in the dining room or the marketplace, Mercantile bridges the information gap between farmer and consumer. In connecting the dots, he hopes to instill in guests the same appreciation that he has for those involved at each step in the process of going from farm to table. From farmer to shepherd to chef to server, each has a hand in both preserving and dictating the story that each dish tells.