Celebrity Chefs Are Heading to Aspen Once Again This Summer, Should You?

In the winter, Aspen is best known as a ski destination for the ultra-rich and the longtime home of the X Games, which kick off at Buttermilk Mountain this week. But for one weekend in the summer, it becomes the ultimate culinary playground.

The 42nd Annual Food & Wine Classic returns to Aspen June 20-22. Once again, it boasts a lineup packed with celebrity chefs; plenty of familiar local faces are sure to be on hand, too. But what is it really like to attend? And is it worth the high price tag?

The short answer: It depends on what you're hoping to get out of the event. If you're a casual fan of food fests, tickets to the Grand Tasting are probably way out of your budget. But if you're in the industry, it can be a valuable networking experience as well as a damn good time.

Plus, there's fun to be had outside the Grand Tasting tent, too.

How much are tickets to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen?

Brace yourself. A consumer pass, which includes weekend-long access to the Grand Tasting tent in the middle of town plus the opportunity to sign up for cooking demonstrations and beverage seminars, is a whopping $2,950. Last year, every person we spoke to with a consumer pass had some close connection to the restaurant industry.

Those actually in the industry can get an American Express Restaurant Trade Program Pass. It's the same price, but includes extras such as access to exclusive panel discussions and networking events; access to Private Trade Tastings and early access to the Grand Tasting Pavilion.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, January 22, at noon EST at classic.foodandwine.com/experience/passes.

What chefs will headline the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen?

This year's lineup includes Padma Lakshmi, Ayesha Curry, Kristen Kish, Tyler Florence, Carla Hall, Stephanie Izard,
Maneet Chauhan, Tiffany Derry, Claudette Zepeda, Martin Yan, Andrew Zimmern and the winner of Top Chef Season 22. You can catch them throughout the weekend leading cooking demonstrations and panel discussions.

There will also be wine and beverage seminars, as well as tastings led by experts such as master sommelier Bobby Stuckey, co-founder of Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine, which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary.

What is it like to attend the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen?

"It's not real life." That's the description I heard last year before attending the event for the first time...and it's pretty accurate. While the Grand Tasting tent is packed with tempting bites from national and global food and beverage vendors, much of the action over the weekend takes place in other venues.

Even if you don't have an official pass, you're likely to run into celebrity chefs at hotspots like the Little Nell and Hotel Jerome. There are parties and events all over the small mountain town; while you have to be on the list to access some of them, others are totally open to walk-ins.

A few of my favorite 2024 moments were at events open to the public. There was the Birdcall-sponsored caviar and champagne party at the Mollie where I ran into Maneet Chauhan leaving with a bucket of fried chicken in hand; the Westbound & Down patio pop-up where I took a long, much-needed break with a platter of oysters; and the Id Est Hospitality pop-up complete with hand rolls and karaoke at subterranean cocktail bar Hooch.

As I sat outside Hooch on the last night of the 2024 Classic, a group of men in their twenties spilled onto the street, trying to figure out their plans for the rest of the evening. As they debated between two parties they'd heard about, one of them asked me, "Is it like this here every weekend? What's going on?"

Turns out, they'd booked a bachelor party in Aspen not even knowing the Food & Wine Classic was taking place — and they'd been having a hell of a weekend bouncing around because of it. As they headed out into the night, they declared, "Let's come back for this next year!"

While passes — and accommodations — are admittedly pricey, it's pretty much a guaranteed good time if you can make it to Aspen for this weekend of indulgence.