At the end of 2006 our tenure at Keyah Grande will come to an end. Although we know that Colorado is not the place for us any longer, we have met some wonderful people and had some great experiences here. We have invested an abundance of time and effort in developing the Guest House and it will be difficult to leave it all behind with the New Year.
It is our goal to have an incredible season this year. We want to make our last season in Colorado absolutely the best one yet. Keyah Grande made Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot List for 2006, which should boost our exposure and help increase the property’s recognition on a national level. Since we are the only staff members who have been with the property since the beginning, we take a lot of pride in its evolution. As the Directors of Operations, in addition to being the Executive Chefs, we have had a hand in every aspect of the business and are happy to see things beginning to come to fruition. We have a very special relationship with the owners, a friendship that we expect to continue for years beyond our tenure at the ranch. We are expecting to see great things continue to happen here long after we’ve left the premises.
Our second priority is to create a new venue for our food. Obviously, Ideas in Food will travel wherever we do. The trick now is to figure out where we are going. We are focusing our search on the East Coast because that is where most of our family is located. After several years in the west we are looking forward to returning to our friends and family, the ocean, the cities and having proximity to the lifestyle that we both grew up with. We are especially excited at the opportunity to create a very welcoming, high-end experience where food, service, accommodations and location become equally balanced and dependent on one another.
We are looking at locations near many of the major cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coastal region: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and more. The key is to be close enough (within a few hours drive) to attract weekend traffic but not in a city itself. We are focusing on small inns, preferably with a full service restaurant or the capability to create one within the existing structure. Our goal is to be able to expand on Ideas in Food with cooking classes and workshops at the new property. These interactive forums will bring together like-minded people who want to explore cooking, food and wine together in a relaxed atmosphere while being an integral part in the development of great new ideas.
We are sharing this adventure with our readers so that you can be involved in the journey with us. We have spent numerous hours looking at properties for the last several months and finding a venue is not going to be easy. Mind you, that is only the first step. Speaking of which, if anyone happens to come across an interesting property for sale, please drop us a line and let us know about it. Hopefully you will find our evolutionary process to be an interesting extension to the discussions on food and dining.
It is a dramatic change to move from working for someone to establishing your own business. It is also an enormous learning experience. Everyday we are learning: new approaches to what we don’t know, new ways of looking at what we thought we knew and new tactics to incorporate and make adjustments with. Our brains are whirling with all of the recent information that we need to absorb in a relatively short period of time. We’re exhilarated and nervous and excited although we knew it was time to make the leap. It’s time to stretch our wings and see how far we can fly without the safety net. Wish us luck!
