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American Bouillabaisse, tomato safran nage, poisson de la mer, lobster quenella, rouille
Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times
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Bread pudding, compressed apricots, creme fraiche ice cream, almonds
Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times
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Roasted guinea hen, truffle mousse, porcini mushrooms, madeira
Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times
Tom and Diane Coohill, owners of Coohills Restaurant in Denver, know how to throw a party. Luckily for Aspen, they’ve partnered with Park90 wine bar at the Regent Singapore for the summer residency at the Chefs Club. Now through September is your chance to experience this elevated pairing of French-influenced dishes and world class wines with on point hospitality.
First the wine. With Curren Nelson as head sommelier, all wines will be available by both the glass and the bottle. The premise is to allow people to try wines without the pressure of committing to a bottle. However, you can’t go wrong. The “+” in the restaurant name, represents both the partnership and the fact that they are only selling wines with a rating of 90 or greater.
For the menu, Tom Coohill brings many of the things he’s known for in Denver, such as his crab cakes, charcuterie, local ingredients and French techniques, incorporating more shared boards and a dedicated bar menu in addition to the finer dining offerings.
“This space is smaller and more manageable than our restaurant in Denver, and the kitchen is the Rolls Royce of kitchens,” according to Coohill, who says he feels fortunate to have landed in Aspen for the season.
His Loup de Mer and Salmon Terrine is served cold with a shallot tarragon cream sauce. The light and refreshing dish tastes of the sea for a bright starter course. Each bite of the Roasted Guinea Hen was a tender mélange of roasted hen with crispy skin and porcini mushrooms, stuffed with truffle mousse and finished with a delightful madeira cream sauce. Coohill’s French training truly shines with his American Bouillabaisse. Lighter than a traditional bouillabaisse where stock is made from the entire fish, Coohill uses bones from white fish for a richly flavored broth that doesn’t overwhelm the other seafood in the dish. It’s accompanied by rouille (a garlic, saffron and potato mayonnaise) and crostini for an impressively delicious meal.
Save room for dessert, to share at the very least, and treat yourself to the impressively light Bread Pudding, made with house made brioche and vanilla custard, served with crème fraiche ice cream, caramel, almonds and fresh summer fruit. Asked what makes their residency unique, Diane Coohill said, “We’re hands on to operate this restaurant as a Colorado couple. We’re in Aspen for the summer.”