Denver 2010
July 29 - August 1
- Denver,
- Denver,
CPC Dinner at the Brown Palace
- Event
- This event has additional pricing requirements.
Event Times
# Day Times Status 10 Thursday, Jul. 29 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM Half Full
Description / Notes
CPC Dinner at the Brown PalaceAn evening steeped in the history of Denver
Price: $80 includes historian-led presentation, dinner, tax and gratuity.
To purchase tickets to this event click here.
Overview of Event:
This year’s CPC event takes place at the historic Brown Palace Hotel! Since 1892 (a mere 16 years after Colorado became a state) The Brown has been integral to Denver, hosting celebrities and celebrations for over a century. Their unparalleled staff has worked with us to create a one-of-a-kind experience.
Visit the Brown Palace at www.brownpalace.com.
The evening begins with a brief shuttle ride and walk through the Colorado summer evening to the regal Brown Palace Hotel. Once at the hotel we’ll have some time to enjoy one another over cocktails (cash bar).
Dinner has been designed especially for the Certified Personal Chefs of the USPCA by the Chefs of the Brown Palace Hotel. Executive Chef Bill Dexter, Executive Sous Chef Thanawat Bates, and Executive Pastry Chef James Gallo all had a hand in our meal. Each chef will choose their favorite dishes from each of the three hotel restaurants for our one-of-a-kind meal. We’re anticipating a brief appearance and greeting from each chef as well!
Over dessert and coffee we’ll be treated to a historical presentation by Debra Faulkner, The Brown’s resident historian. We’ll learn about the hotel with its unique triangular shape, own artesian spring, and some of the history of Denver. We will also hear anecdotes of the many presidents, celebrities and guests who make the Brown Palace Hotel come to life.
Target Audience: All Certified Personal Chefs and their guests
NOTE: CPC's must be certified by June 30th 2010 to attend
Chef Bios
Bill Dexter, Executive Chef of The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa
In today’s culinary world of Hollywood chefs and Food Network fame, Chef Dexter is a humbling example of genuine passion for this industry, this hotel and most importantly, the hundreds of guests we serve day in and day out.
Chef Dexter trades glitz and glam for hard work. He oversees seven dining outlets in the hotel – from banquets and weddings to Four-Diamond fine dining, afternoon tea, and brunch, to name a few. The range of culinary talent it takes to deliver the intricacy of each of these outlets is immeasurable and yet he manages to execute excellence through it all.
He puts a tremendous amount of hours in, including working every major holiday to ensure delivery of memorable experiences for our guests. Despite the long hours Chef Dexter puts forth at the hotel, he still finds time to volunteer for various charitable events and educational programs including: Share our Strength, No Kid Hungry, American Culinary Federation, Johnson & Wales, Denver Food & Wine Festival benefiting the Denver Post charities, McCormick Tribune Foundation, Colorado Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Programs.
Chef James Gallo, Executive Pastry Chef
Chef James Gallo, joined The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in April 2007, and is responsible for everything from wedding cakes to the hotel’s Afternoon Tea petit fours, restaurant desserts, coffee shop pastries and famous macaroons.
Prior to joining The Brown Palace, Chef Gallo worked at the Five-Star, Five-Diamond, Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., and at the Five-Diamond Hilton of Short Hills in New Jersey preceding that.
Gallo’s previous experience also includes the Trump Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City, where he worked under such pastry chefs as David Robbins and Marshall Rosenthal, both Culinary Olympic medalists. Gallo has also served as a leader for the pastry team at Whole Foods Markets, an all natural grocery store.
Chef Gallo was involved with numerous charity events in Richmond and has contributed annually to Denver charities including, Third Way Center’s “Say It With Chocolate,” one of the school’s annual fundraising events, Taste of Vail, Wine’s for Life, Thinking Blue, the Kempe Foundation, and the Sodoma Club for Injured War Veterans.
Gallo’s professional achievements include being chosen as one of five finalists to compete in the 2008 World Chocolate Masters, United States Selection, and is a two-time national finalist for the U.S. Pastry Competition.
Recent continuing education classes include, Chocolate Methodology, which details the characteristics and processing of chocolate from bean to finished product; Chocolate Candies & Confections with Guilano Sargenti, a Master Swiss Confectioner; and Sugar Showpieces with Ewald Notter.
Gallo graduated from the Academy of Culinary Arts, located just outside of Atlantic City, N.J., in 1991.
Thanawat Bates, Executive Sous Chef
Thanawat Bates joined the culinary team at the Four-Star, Four-Diamond Brown Palace Hotel and Spa in February 2005.
Prior to joining The Brown Palace, Chef Bates worked as banquet chef for the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. With Chef Michael Mina, he helped open the St. Regis Monarch Beach Hotel & Spa in Dana Point, Calif. He has also worked at the St. Regis Hotel & Spa in Century City; Stage at Café Atlantico with Chef José Andrés; and the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa in Colorado.
A native of Thailand, Chef Bates completed high school in Lander, Wyo., where his mother had opened a restaurant. He then trained as an apprentice at the Colorado Mountain College in Vail, earning an associates degree.
In addition to serving as executive sous chef for the hotel’s five dining venues, Chef Bates is solely responsible for the menu in Palace Arms – The Brown Palace’s fine dining establishment. Open nightly for dinner, Palace Arms recently relaxed its dress code and no longer requires jackets and ties for gentlemen. This, combined with Chef Bates’ innovative and ingredient-driven approach has enhanced the restaurant, which owns a 58-year legacy in The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa. The menu features signature items such as Colorado Lamb Loin and Bison Rossini, as well as creative, contemporary dishes. In addition, Chef Bates, also known as the “mad scientist” due to his talents in gastronomy, finds the time to showcase his innovative approach through various tastings he conducts for guests and events. Tastings have ranged from the use of Pop Rocks and peanut butter & jelly, to foie gras, root beer floats and deconstructive lobster poppers.
Palace Arms has been featured in Wine Enthusiast magazine and referred to as “Denver’s eminent equivalent to New York’s 21 Club.” Forbes.com and USA Today have both named Palace Arms as “Best Place in Denver for a Business Dinner,” and The Rocky Mountain News named Palace Arms as one of the “Top 20 Restaurants in Denver.” The restaurant was recently featured in “America’s Top Restaurants” by Zagat and its extensive wine list consistently wins the “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator.
With consistent accolades, Palace Arms is known as much for its award-winning cuisine as its unique setting. After weeks of historical research by previous owner C.K. Boettcher, who wanted the room to reflect the Napoleonic period, Palace Arms opened in 1950. Antiques dating from 1670 decorate the walls and include a dispatch case, bridle and a pair of dueling pistols believed to have belonged to Napoleon and his second wife, Louisa. Twenty-two flags, replicas of revolutionary battle flags, and flags prominent during the exploration of the American continent, hang inside Palace Arms. There are objects in the display cases at the entrance of the restaurant that date to the 1700s and include an ornate silver centerpiece commissioned by the British royal family. Inside Palace Arms, the Independence Room offers private dining for groups up to 24. Its curved walls are decorated with wallpaper made from Alsatian wood blocks depicting various stages of historical independence. This wallpaper also currently hangs in the Diplomatic Receiving Room at the White House in Washington, DC.
Menu Coming Soon!!!
Instructor/Speaker
Debra Faulkner
Historian and Archivist
Professional positions in public history are few and far between. I am fortunate indeed to serve as institutional historian and archivist for The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa, Denver's most venerable and elegant hotel. In addition to The Brown's tradition of outstanding hospitality and elegance, it is the hotel's history that makes it arguably the most unique hostelry in the state. Sharing that history with visitors and guests is my distinct privilege.
Growing up in Loveland, I came by my love of Colorado history honestly. Since earning my Masters from the University of Colorado at Denver, I've taught U.S history at Metropolitan State College. With a particular interest in local women's history, I've authored several books on our state and its extraordinary ladies. Colorado and Denver history are intricately interwoven with The Brown Palace story, and the hotel provides a living canvas for painting pictures of our past.
Like a kid in a candy store, I make delicious discoveries in the hotel archives nearly every week. I am always happy to research Brown-related questions and to accept the donation of Brown Palace memorabilia from generous folks who uncover them in long-forgotten boxes or trunks.
The hotel management clearly places a priority on showcasing this architectural gem in the heart of the Mile High City. The Brown Palace logo features a pair of griffins, the mythological guardians of treasure, and The Brown certainly qualifies as such. Something of a modern-day griffin, I watch over the artifacts, documents, and photographs and preserve them for the future. These memories and mementos make the hotel special. More than just a place, The Brown Palace is an experience that has delighted and beguiled our guests since 1892.
On tours of the hotel, I aim to engage, to enlighten, and to entertain all those interested in The Brown Palace story. I invite you to join me or one of our other knowledgeable guides for public or private general history tours. We have also developed several special-emphasis tours, including our presidential tour, affairs of the heart tour, architectural tour, and the ever-popular ghost tour.
If you have questions about Brown Palace history, a story or an artifact to share, please contact me via phone at 303-297-3111 x3313 or via email at history@brownpalace.com. I have office hours each Wednesday and will reply at that time. I look forward to sharing The Brown Palace experience - both past and present - with you.