An Oral History of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen 1983-2023

Editors, organizers, celebrity chefs, and other insiders reflect on the history and evolution of the most influential and best food festival in America.

- HUNTER LEWIS, AMELIA SCHWARTZ, LUCY SIMON, MARIA YAGODA, AND KAT KINSMAN

Ask 30 participants about the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and you'll get 30 wildly varying, occasionally intersecting accounts of what it's like to be a part of this legendary 40-year-old food festival. And we do mean legendary. Since 1983, hundreds of the biggest names in the food, wine, and hospitality businesses have converged at this annual event to celebrate, network, commingle, educate, and serve the thousands of lucky attendees who find themselves in the rarefied Colorado air of Snowmass and Aspen Mountain for the culinary adventure of a lifetime. Do shenanigans ensue? Oh yes, they do-along with memories and relationships that last a lifetime. Here are stories (well, the PG-rated ones) only the insiders can tell.

THE EARLY YEARS

DEVIN PADGETT (Food & Wine Special Projects Producer): The Classic is part of my heartbeat. 1989 was my first. It was still in Snowmass that year. I had just gotten a job at The Little Nell and moved to Aspen. The Little Nell hosted the Food & Wine Classic team that spring. Back then, the team was three people-W. Peter Prestcott, Caryn Englander, and Lisette Cifaldi. They asked me if I could help them, and one thing led to another. That first year, I helped organize all the chefs and the logistics around the food. And that was my entry into working for Food & Wine. This year will be my 34th Classic. We grew with the wave of restaurant culture. Right as food media came online, as chefs became rock stars, as restaurants became the hottest properties. All that attention, we grew right along with it.