Reader: Is FIVE too much of a good thing?

Leigh Sullivan founded FIVE, a group of Denver chefs who cook across the country, back in 2008; the lineup, like Sullivan herself, has gone through some changes over the years. Sullivan recently relaunched her own marketing/public relations company, Leigh Sullivan Enterprises, and just announced the latest lineup of FIVE, which...

By Patricia Calhoun

February 8, 2012

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Leigh Sullivan founded FIVE, a group of Denver chefs who cook across the country, back in 2008; the lineup, like Sullivan herself, has gone through some changes over the years. Sullivan recently relaunched her own marketing/public relations company, Leigh Sullivan Enterprises, and just announced the latest lineup of FIVE, which includes both chefs and bartenders:

Tyler Wiard (a FIVE veteran and executive chef of Elway's Cherry Creek); Hosea Rosenberg, Top Chef season-five winner and co-owner of Blackbelly Catering; Samir Mohammad, executive chef of Village Cork; Jenna Johansen, co-owner of Dish in Edwards and Il Mondo Vecchio Mercato-Salumeria, which is coming to Denver this spring; Crave Dessert Bar & Lounge pastry chef Jessica Scott; sommelier Jonathan Greschler of Fuel Cafe; and mixologist James Lee, formerly of Bitter Bar in Boulder, who's joined with Rosenberg to launch Blackbelly Catering.

The announcement inspired several quibbles -- about grammar, experience...and counting.

Says GFTW:

Isn't five, like, um, supposed to mean five?

More to the point, adds Nothankyou:

With the exception of Tyler, FIVE looks to me like nothing more than a collaboration of Colorado service industry professionals who can't hold a steady job at 1 restaurant for more than 3 months.

Too bad my interest in this self-righteous touting of supposed talent won't even last that long...

Quibbles and critics aside, as it moves into its fifth year, FIVE is still cooking....which is more than you can say for many other Denver dining ventures.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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