At last night's Denver FIVE dinner at Lola, 1575 Boulder Street, Jamey Fader, culinary director of Big Red F Restaurant Group, the empire that oversees Lola, had this to say about his partners in cooking: "There are great things going on in Denver right now because of the incredibly talented efforts of our city's chefs, guys that worship at the alter of cooking and make the energy at their restaurants really palpable." Fader was describing kitchen crusaders like Matt Selby (Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's), Troy Guard (TAG), Kerry Johnson (Lola), Brett Smith (Zolo Southwestern Grill) and Tyler Wiard (Elway's Cherry Creek), all of whom contributed to the six-course feast that left all of us moaning in rhapsody.

Photographic food porn follows after the jump.

Troy Guard's buttermilk-fried Goosepoint oysters with an heirloom tomato salsa, guajillo chile oil and habanero-spiked ramp aioli. Matt Selby's rabbit leg barbacoa with achiote-charred onions, sweet potato hash and New Mexican red chile Brett Smith's roasted beet tamale with house-cured bacon, spring greens salad and Haystack Mountain goat cheese Jamey Fader's deconstructed tortilla soup with pan-roasted halibut, blistered poblano chile broth, cotija-masa chips with crema and watercress salad Tyler Wiard's Chimayo-grilled Colorado lamb loin with a braised lamb and green chile hominy cake, smoked guacamole and red chile jus Kerry Johnson's roasted pineapple, licorice pearls and coconut ice cream dessert