With restaurants in Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Naples, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tampa, and Washington DC - Sounds like my next guest has a pretty sweet life! A Culinary Institute of America graduate and Corporate Chef for Ocean Prime and Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (CMR), Ian Rough is an Ohio native and proud to call CMR his home away from home for the past 17 years. Let’s make him feel at home here on Chef or Death - Next!

Growing up in the heart-of-house, Chef Ian Rough earned his chops in the restaurant business at the age of 15 as a dishwasher and a pantry cook. Working for the famed 55 Restaurant Group in Columbus, OH for five years, Rough was tapped to open new concepts and through his opening and operational experience, developed a passion for training. Now with nearly 25 years of food service and hospitality experience, Rough has supported CMR openings across the country. As Corporate Chef, Rough oversees culinary operations and menu development for the Ocean Prime brand.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Jesusio Silva discovered two lifelong passions at a young age: the thrill of the restaurant work and a love for his home team soccer club, the Tigres of Monterrey. Cooking, would transport Jesusio internationally—eventually landing him in Denver, exploring new cuisines and cultures. Yet his dedication to the Tigres and the community of supporters (Libres y Lokos), allowed Jesusio to never lose connection to his hometown and the people he left behind. Let’s play ball with Chef Jesusio Silva, next.

Above the Bar was created as a way to channel negative energy towards positive, tangible change. Acting as liaisons between brands, bars, and bartenders they help conceptualize, organize and operate fundraisers. Guest bartenders from all over the city donate a small amount of their time to work behind an unfamiliar bar, alongside peers they wouldn't normally get to work with while raising money for worthy causes through tips and proceeds of donated product. CC Chaput & Jillian Hapak hope is to bring people within the hospitality industry together to help build our community, make a difference, and go above and beyond the bar.

Co-founder of Above the Bar Denver, CC Chaput has been Bartending for 15 years with a total of 20 years in the hospitality industry, She started her long road down this career path as a hostess at an Abdow’s Big Boy in Enfield, CT. Participating in national and international programs such as Speed Rack CC was Season 6 regional winner of the North East and Season 8 regional winner of the South West, the Cocktail Apprentice Program, and Camp Runamok only confirmed my passion for this industry. CC currently tends the bar at Run for the Roses.

Co-founder of Above the Bar Denver, Jillian Hapak. Working in hospitality for 12 years, mostly bartending. “I'm proud to say that my first 'official' job in the industry was at a Hooters in a close suburb of Philadelphia. in San Diego, I explored as many facets of the industry as I could; from bartending, travel training for a large corporate restaurant, and even cooking and baking. A member of the team at Brass Tacks, as a bartender and social media manager. I also attend Nursing School full-time at the University of Colorado.”

Founded in 1933, the Colorado Restaurant Association is the leading trade organization for the state's dynamic foodservice industry. It exists to protect restaurant businesses and help them thrive. The Association’s membership consists of approximately 3,500 restaurant members and over 300 vendor members that provide products and services to the foodservice industry. With a 60+person board cultivated from CRA membership, plus eight chapters statewide, the CRA is run by restaurateurs, for restaurants.

The Colorado Restaurant Foundation is a non-profit that manages a number of workforce development programs and champions health and wellness initiatives within the hospitality community. Both arms of the organization play critical roles in our ability to serve the industry. Joining Chef or Death today is

CEO, Sonia Folsom Riggs,

Government Affairs Manager, Nick Hoover,

President of the Colorado Restaurant Foundation, Mary Mino,

and Communication Director, Laura Shunk

David Bergen is the co-founder and Director of Brewing and Marketing at Joyride Brewing Company in Edgewater, Colorado. Dave grew up near Chicago and graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, before moving to Colorado in 2004. He began homebrewing in 2007 and opened Joyride in July of 2014. Dave is a Certified Cicerone and Certified BJCP judge and is currently the vice-chair of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Brewers Guild. Dave’s proudest professional moment was when Joyride won the silver medal in the 2019 Great American Beer Festival for their Ice Cutter Kölsch. Let's raise a glass!!!

Joyride Brewing Company is a small craft brewery in Edgewater, CO, across the street from the banks of Sloan’s Lake. They have a 10 barrel brewhouse with eight serving tanks and 6 fermenters. It all started as things often will,after a few beers. On a cool Colorado evening, three friends were sitting around talking about life. The idea of opening a brewery came about. Light bulbs went off, epiphanies were had, the three clanked their glasses and a brewery was born. Dave Bergen was one of those three - Let’s welcome him to the show!

Envision a feisty young girl who was always outspoken, active and strong-willed. Adrienne Larrew was that little girl who spent her days outdoors whether it was camping with her parents or fixing a fence on her Grandparent’s ranch. Even though she grew up in the suburbs of Denver, she found that ranch work suited her. Adrienne worked on ranches throughout the west, where she met Dan Lorenz, her business partner, and cohort in all kinds of adventures. They worked together for several years before starting Corner Post Meats with a handful of critters in Wyoming. To better connect with their customers, they left the rural mountains to build a thriving business along the Colorado Front Range and have located Corner Post Meats in Black Forest, on a ranch owned by the National Audubon Society. Corner Post Meats is meat for people who give a damn - Let’s give Adrienne all of our damns.

Adrienne Larrew is a driving force behind healthy, tasty meat shipped to families nationwide and restaurants through-out Colorado. She knows firsthand what it takes to raise healthy animals and manage the land, and how important it is for people to trust where their food comes from. Corner Post Meats provides customers exceptional forest raised pork, grass finished beef, grass-finished lamb, and pastured poultry. Adrienne is proud that “Corner Post Meats is meat for people who give a damn”, whether you give a damn about your health, or care about how the animals are raised, or that the land is managed to make ecosystems healthy and vibrant places.

Matt Vawter is the Executive Chef & Proprietor of Mercantile dining & provision. A Colorado native, Matt was raised in the Rocky Mountains in Summit County, and began his culinary career at the age of fourteen, cooking at the locals' favorite breakfast restaurant, The Claimjumper. Intrigued by the pace and heat of the kitchen, Vawter knew instinctively that this was his path. Let’s talk with Matt and see how he’s embraced his new position.

Matt Vawter began working at Fruition Restaurant under the mentorship of Chef Alex Seidel. Like all cooks at Fruition, Matt started in garde-manger and once again quickly rose through the ranks to become Fruition's Chef de Cuisine. In June 2014 Matt received the Zagat Award "30 under 30 culinary game changers". Matt has also received Star Chefs ‘Rising Star’ award and was a semi-finalist for Eater’s ‘Young Guns’. He has also been involved in Summit County’s ProStart Program, and was named Mentor of the Year in 2018.

General Manager and Executive chef of Epicurean Catering at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, Nicole Olst has been active in the Denver culinary community for 8 years. Starting out as a seasonal staff member in the pastry department, Nikki thrived in the commercial catering arena, moving up the ranks within Epicurean, cooking for over 4,000 guests each football game and planning 250 events a year. Let’s get our Game faces on!!!

Originally from Michigan, Nikki moved to Colorado in 2004 to pursue an internship after receiving her degree in Fashion Design and Engineering. After many years in the workforce, she changed her career attention to her passion for food, Throughout her years in the Hospitality and Culinary world, Nikki has worked with many non-profits for food recovery, including We Don’t Waste and VOA Denver. Nikki has also worked with a number of other great chefs during non-profit, Chef driven events around the city; Corks & Forks, Fill a plate, Flavors of Denver, and the Dumpster Dinner.

Derek Figueroa is the President of Seattle Fish Company, the largest purveyor of high-quality fresh and frozen seafood in the Rocky Mountain region. For more than 100 years, Seattle Fish Company has made it their mission to partner with fishermen and farmers to improve the food system. With state-of-the-art facilities that stay open around the clock to handle ultra-fresh deliveries from Maine to Mexico and beyond. With the unparalleled freshness for which the company has become known.

Seattle Fish Company CEO, Derek Figueroa has been with the company for over 29 years. Figueroa sits on the executive committee of both the National Fisheries Institute and Project Angel Heart. Let's talk with the BIG FISH himself and see how he's navigated the choppy waters of running a seafood company...in COLORADO!!

After a long career on TV as News anchor in El Salvador, her country of origin, Susan Cochran decided to migrate to the land that promises a new beginning, the United States, and start from scratch. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, she came to Denver in 2018 and worked for the non-profit, Work Options for Women as Food Service and Culinary Program Director. Cookbook author, YouTube sensation and the kindest heart imaginable. Susan embodies the American dream. She shares her amazing story with Eric - Prepare to be inspired...