
Chef Barclay Dodge
I really enjoy working with chefs. One of the things I’ve discovered about their basic personality: They are nurturing, creative, driven, and caring people. Why else would they want to cook for you? They possess all this good energy and want to share it with whomever will sit at their table. And Barclay’s is absolutely one I’m looking forward to.
Here’s some insights he’s shared with me. Let us know what you think.
Basically, tell us about yourself.
That’s a big question for anyone, I’ll keep it simple. I grew up in Alabama then moved to Aspen when I was a kid. Cooking is the only thing I have ever done professionally. I started working in restaurants by the time I was seventeen and never looked back. I worked and lived at some great places around the world in Spain, New York, Morocco, Mexico, San Francisco, Santa Fe, etc….. The life of a cook has shown me a lot, and I take none of it for granted. It’s a great life! I am now fifty-three and still working the line with the cooks and owning my own restaurant, Bosq in Aspen. The icing on the cake is my amazing wife, Molly, and 3-year daughter, Lennon, with another baby girl on the way.
How/when was your epiphany that you were destined to be a chef?
I decided to be a chef, I never changed my mind.
What is your favorite thing about being a chef?
I enjoy so many aspects of being a chef, and definitely cannot limit it to one choice. A few top things are the creativity, team work, foraging in the wild, and working with local artisans and farmers.
Your least favorite?
a slow night
Do you have a favorite ingredient?
one of my favorites is wild watercress, we use it all summer long; another is fresh lovage, I love it!
Chefs are creative by nature…. where else does your creativity emerge?
I get a lot of inspiration from scent profiles of perfume. I love scents and perfume, to me, the inspiration is tangible.
Best compliment?
“Bosq is firing on all cylinders!”
Best life-lesson cooking has taught you?
to be aware of your surroundings
If one is planning on a future in food, what advice would you give?
Build Soil or Die!