Chefs without walls
 
An open demonstration kitchen takes center
stage at the Blue Spruce Market in Evergreen

    In a single sentence, Carol Miller summarizes one of her customers’ biggest dilemmas and pinpoints where her passion meets with a public need: “They’re too busy to cook, but they want to serve good food around the table.”

     Carol and her husband Seth have created a community table of sorts where shoppers can grab a wholesome dinner that’s quick and easy to prepare, develop a more intimate and knowledgeable relationship with what they eat and enjoy opportunities to taste something new or shop for something unusual. Their gourmet food market — which they describe as the source of “Inspired Eating, Every Day” — is closely based on their own family values.

     “Mealtime together has been a priority and gathering around the table, listening and learning from each other, has been an important family value as we negotiate our way through our fast-paced, activity driven way of life,” Carol says. The Millers have three young children. “Vital also is the creative process of making meals together, trying new foods and learning about the world’s cultures through food.”
 
     Unusual architectural details give their shop a distinctive personality. In front of the slate blue walk-in cooler is a huge marker-board playfully asking “What’s for Dinner Tonight?” and offering lots of ideas to answer that “gnawing” question that arrives every afternoon. It’s a place where the couple can do informal surveys and retrieve handwritten feedback from customers, as well as writing out their own feature items and menus. Off to the left, two chefs, Marcus Cordova and his assistant, Chris Krejci — obviously happily engaged in their dream jobs — dodge each other briskly behind a wide curved counter rimmed with chairs, making stuffed calzones, fresh gazpacho and other wonderful things that will soon go into the deli case nearby. Samples are happily served, and for those who sit for a moment to watch, questions are graciously answered. The open kitchen is designed to be welcoming, but also to create a venue for in-store tastings, cooking classes, special events and seasonal promotions — all the things that make shopping more fun and rewarding. “We wanted to bring the kitchen out into the store and take the mystery out of cooking,” Seth says.

     All of that is a perfect backdrop for healthful, high quality food that’s carefully selected. Carol, who has a fundraising background, once worked with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and says buying beef directly from the rancher was part of what drew her to Ranch Foods Direct. “I love working with ranchers,” she says. “A lot of shoppers want to be in a smaller environment and understand where their food is coming from. That’s also a mother’s perspective.”

     She says selling Mike Callicrate’s naturally tender beef matches up with their ideals and establishes their integrity in the food business. “I can look my customers in the eye and say that I have the best beef around,” she says. “It’s not corporate. Mike’s been our strongest assistance in that area. He’s very good at consumer outreach himself. And he’s more connected to the processing than most producers are.”

     Her personal favorite among the beef cuts? “The filet. I love the filet,” she says.

     “I like the ribeye, that’s my favorite,” adds Seth. “I have other customers tell me that the T-bone is easily our best cut. People all prefer different things.”

     “Most of the customers are saying it’s some of the best beef they’ve ever tasted,” he continues. “The chef agrees, and I agree. It’s the only beef that I’ll eat anymore. The quality of Ranch Foods is second to none. And we keep the muscles whole and cut the steaks by hand to order. So that’s something that a lot of people who buy steaks these days aren’t accustomed to seeing. They aren’t coming in here finding pre-cut, pre-packaged steaks in styrofoam wrapped in cellophane. We wrap it in butcher paper. They appreciate that.”

     “I’ve really enjoyed working with Ranch Foods. My wife and I were first exposed to them when we went to the Black Hat Cattle Co. at Kittredge,” he adds. “We know the owner of Black Hat, Dave Rodriguez, and we were sitting there waiting to be seated and he was asking how things were going on the progress with the Blue Spruce Market. We started talking about meat. That’s when Dave said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to try this. This is the only beef I’ll serve.’ Naturally we had it for dinner that night, and it was delicious. We made the contact and developed a relationship.”

     That decision — along with many others directed at quality and service — have led the market to flourish. Seth says sales so far are better than projected, and the community support for their store has been tremendous.

     “When you have high quality products in conjunction with the best possible customer service the community responds well,” he summarizes. “We make sandwiches, and we have a salad bar, and we have a soup-of-the-day. I’ve had a small amount of formal culinary training in Denver. Cooking is something Carol and I have enjoyed doing for a long time. We enjoy good food, we enjoy going out.”

     None of their success is merely by chance. The Millers deliberated over the design and concept of their new market for more than a year. Before that, they enlisted the aid of a life coach to arrive at a new adventure they could enjoy as a couple, also brainstorming alone as individuals in the process. On the top of their wish list was a platform for being involved in the community and supporting the area’s special events. They were convinced a natural meats and gourmet food market was something the rapidly growing mountain community west of Denver needed. What they embarked on is clearly a labor of love. “Seth primarily does management and operations, and I do the marketing,” Carol says. “We’re constantly talking to our customers to find out what they need. It’s so much fun.”

     The Millers are planning a grand opening in September. The Blue Spruce Market is located just east of Evergreen Parkway at Bergen Parkway and can be reached by calling (303) 674-1445. Or visit the website: www.bluesprucemarket.com.