A winning recipe

PORTRAIT

JAMES BEARD AWARD

SEMIFINALIST AUSTIN

Before Denver chef Austin Nickel was nominated as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s prestigious NICKEL DISHES ON LONG Rising Star award, she regularly capped off 14-hour work- DAYS IN THE KITCHEN, days finishing her coursework at the end of the bar after closing up shop for the night. AUTHENTIC CONNECTION

Her double duty paid off in a 2018 degree in hospital- THROUGH FOOD AND ity from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a PANDEMIC PASTA. chef de cuisine position at Spuntino, an acclaimed spot in Denver’s Highland neighborhood serving traditional Italian dishes that pleased the palate of the James Beard Foundation, a national nonprofit that honors the nation’s top chefs and other food industry leaders. In addition to Nickel’s semifinalist nod, Spuntino owner and Executive Chef Cindhura Reddy was nominated as a semifinalist for the Best Chef award.

“I love food and the community it creates,” Nickel said. “Everyone has to eat — and food has become a cultural phenomenon, reflecting who we are and where we’re from as we sit down around the table with each other.”

One driver of that culinary community is authenticity, which Spuntino has cultivated by design through its handmade pastas and dishes featuring the products of sustainable local purveyors such as Salidabased El Regalo Ranch, which raises the goat meat for the restaurant’s tasty Bolognese.

“As chefs, we know we can make food delicious,” Nickel said. “It’s about going that extra mile to craft an experience with the dishes you’re not going to find anywhere else.”

This spring, when she should have been celebrating her Beard nomination, Nickel was instead using every bit of her education and experience to preserve that community as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-restaurant dining across Colorado. Alongside Reddy, Nickel has taken pasta to creative heights, working to optimize to-go menu selections and crafting pop-up offerings.

“We’re in an industry where we’re primed to bounce back from any situation,” Nickel said.

“There’s an inherent creativity in this line of work.”