Helming the Kitchen will be Simon Purvis, a native of England who's cooked at Four Seasons properties for the past twenty years.
Since he got his start on the line at the Four Seasons in Vancouver, the company has taken him to such exotic locations as Bali, Indonesia; Melbourne, Australia; and Singapore, before bringing him most recently to Jackson Hole. Now, he's thrilled to be in the Mile High City.
"My wife and I have been talking about Denver for eight years, since we first heard there may be a property opening here," Purvis says. "It's got a little bit of Vancouver, a little bit of Melbourne, a little bit of every city we've lived in."
Purvis made the move about a week ago, and he's working now to hire staff, find local vendors and put together breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. "The steakhouse cuisine lets me be creative," he says. "We'll have what you'd expect, like onion rings and creamed spinach, but we'll also have items that are attention-catchers, particularly as specials." A couple of the attention-catchers he's working on: a Colorado grass-fed beef tartare with violet mustard and a quail egg, and a kobe beef sashimi with shaved wasabi and wild mushrooms.
"We also have a custom-made wood-burning stove," the chef notes. "We'll use different woods and charcoals for different dishes, and I want to do a dish I cooked in Indonesia: swordfish or snapper wrapped in turmeric and banana leaves and cooked on that stove."
The restaurant will feature a community table, a patio along Arapahoe Street and a private dining room with a view of the kitchen. And in summer months, happy hour and cocktails will be available on the hotel's rooftop pool terrace.
Although there's no official date from the construction company on when the entire project will be done, Dana Berry, Four Seasons director of public relations, says the hotel staff is aiming for October 19.