In a display of culinary prowess, Denver’s acclaimed modern steakhouse, Guard and Grace won the Best Bite of the Day—later awarded the highly respected 2024 Heritage Hero Award—at this year’s Heritage Fire event in Snowmass. Their crowd-winning menu, the “Head to Tail Duck Experience,” deemed chef Troy Guard and his team victorious.
Heritage Fire tours around the nation to celebrate the best of local food and drinks, celebrating diverse heritages of livestock and produce. During this end-of-July weekend celebration, chefs were brought together to compete in a showcase of the best local, live-fire cooking. As voters traveled from station to station to make their final decisions, Guard and Grace cinched this win for Denver.
“Winning the 2024 Heritage Hero Award is incredibly meaningful to the Guard and Grace team and me. As a modern steakhouse, we’ve always focused on shaking up the dining scene, and this award truly reflects our commitment to culinary excellence, top-notch ingredients and innovative pairings,” says Chef Guard. “We thrive on delivering the unexpected and are thrilled to be recognized for pushing boundaries and thinking outside the box with our food.”
The tasting menu traveled from multiple parts of duck, starting with the Duck Tongue Trail Mix—fried duck tongue, a fish sauce caramel, mixed in with chocolate-covered peanuts, puffed grains and pickled Fresno chili. Voters were then captured by a Rustic Chopped Liver including a spicy, fried Ritz cracker and sauce gribiche—an emulsified sauce made from hard-boiled egg yolks, mustard, oil and seasonings—and a Charcoal-Grilled Duck Wing with tamarind barbecue.
On the creation of this menu, Chef Guard says, “Each part of the duck, from the tongue to the breast and fat, was thoughtfully used to create a multi-course journey that honors traditional preparations with a more modern flair.”
Deeper into the six-course tasting are Crispy Duck Carnitas paired with Denver’s Raquelitas tortillas and a charred scallion salsa verde. Just before dessert is a Slow-Smoked Dry Aged Duck Breast, a rich dish including a glaze made from Colorado plums and a Korean-inspired potato salad. Lastly, to end on a sweet note, is the Smoked Duck Fat Caramel Tart, with a salty note from sea salt.
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“[The menu] was inspired by the rich cultural significance of duck as a delicacy across the world. We infused this dish with unique flavors, giving our Crispy Duck Carnitas a Mexican twist, while the Slow-Smoked Dry Aged Duck Breast was elevated with a Colorado plum glaze, adding a rustic, local touch,” says Chef Guard.
Be on the lookout for what’s next at Guard and Grace because Chef Guard is “committed to continuously elevating our offerings and enhancing our guests’ experiences. We’re always innovating with new menu items and planning exciting collaborations and events,” just like this award-winning tasting menu.
Guard and Grace is located at 1801 California Street, Denver. It is open for lunch Tuesdays – Thursdays 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., for dinner every day 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Happy Hour Mondays – Fridays 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
All photos courtesy of Proof PR.