With four decades of experience in fine dining, Chef Walter Stephens has cooked in some of Colorado's most distinguished kitchens, including Cuisine Cuisine, The Savoy, Café Français, The Jackson Hotel, Club Med, Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort, and the Fort Collins and Ptarmigan Country Clubs. He learned from Jean Martini, ran the butcher's table with Kurt Boucher in Salida, and worked under Billy Hundley — an old-school education from chefs of France, Germany, Switzerland, and America. His repertoire spans Italian, French, German, Spanish, Greek, and numerous other cuisines.

Chef Stephens teaches the first principles that underpin every culinary discipline: the Maillard reaction, proper seasoning at each stage of the cooking process, and reductions that concentrate and intensify flavor. His cooking begins with the finest, freshest ingredients selected at their seasonal peak — because a tomato in August is an entirely different ingredient than one in January.

Students leave his courses not only satisfied, but equipped with solid, transferable techniques to elevate every meal they prepare at home.