Wilkinson Library, Chef Bud: Two Books & Cooks Events

28 Jun Wilkinson Library, Chef Bud: Two Books & Cooks Events

Chef Bud Thomas of Rev, Hotel Madeline, and Library’s Books & Cooks

Chef Bud (Thomas) is cooking with gas this month.

Rev, the signature restaurant at Hotel Madeline, Mountain Village, opened for business with a VIP welcome dinner for the Telluride Wine Festival on Thursday, June 27, 2013. Chef Bud is the new chef de cuisine (read “top dog” in the kitchen).

On July 9, Chef Bud leads “Sumptuous Summer Grilling,” one of a series of cooking and wine classes being offered by the Ah Haa School for the Arts. The drill on how to grill takes place Tuesday, July 9, 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

And then, at noon on Tuesday, July 2, on the terrace of the Wilkinson Public Library and again at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, this time in Mountain Village, Chef Bud hosts two editions of his popular class, Books & Cooks.

In the summer of 2009, Chef Bud Thomas and his wife Jenna came to Telluride’s Wilkinson Public Library to teach children how to make peanut butter and jelly crepes.

“Knowing how much our daughter Hazel loves cooking, we were thrilled to offer this instructional opportunity to every kid in the area,” Bud recalls.

Scott Doser, program coordinator at the library, believed the initial class could grow into an incredible monthly program for the community, one that would feature local and national chefs preparing favorite recipes from cookbooks that could be checked out on site.

“Cooking shows are so popular, the idea of creating a library program based upon cooking demonstrations seemed logical and timely back then,” explains Scott.

Over the past five years, dishes prepared by chefs at Books and Cooks amount to an encyclopedia of both popular and more obscure recipes: sushi and BBQ to chicken liver pate and the Danish sweet Ebelskiver, surprising and satisfying patrons’ taste buds. Chefs who have visited Books & Cooks include sushi chef Brady Pitt from the Pescado Sushi Bar, Jerry Greene from Baked in Telluride, Lucas Price from La Cocina de Luz, Amy Helck from The Divide Ranch and Country Club, Sarah Mandell owner and operator of Flourish to Thrive Catering, food writer and anthropologist Dr. Susanna Hoffman – and of course Jenna and Hazel Thomas from ChefBud Catering.

Tracy Sherwood, pastry chef at La Marmotte is featured on Tuesday on the library’s terrace. She is making panna cotta with berry sauce topped off with a Florentine cookie, a nice, light summery Italian dessert.

The special Red, White & Blue holiday edition of Books & Cooks on Wednesday features Chef Lisa Dahl, executive chef and owner of Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano and Cucina Rustica in Sedona and author of the award-winning cookbook. “Elixir of Life.” Lisa plans to prepare gazpacho shooters with a Mediterranean summer plate, tabouli, with a luscious lemon-infused humus and kalamata tapenade on a crostini.

To view a montage featuring some of the best moments from Books & Cooks, check out the following video:

About Chef Bud:

There are not many things Chef Bud Thomas enjoys more than sharing his craft of making delicious food. He learned the skills required to run a successful, award-winning kitchen while working as a chef in top restaurants such as Loew’s Ventana Canyon Resort and Café Terra Cotta in Tucson, Ariz., Les Saveurs and The Collection in London, England, and The Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride. You can find him all over town in his quest to get people excited about food: As Chef de Cuisine at Hotel Madeline; on the Board for Telluride Wine Festival; hosting Books and Cooks at Wilkinson Public Library; cooking with the Tomboy Bride at the Telluride Historical Museum; and at Ah Haa, where he demystifies the art of cooking great food by starting with quality ingredients, using simple techniques and having fun in the kitchen.