Meet Rob Corey of SEASONED ~ An American Bistro in Estes Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Corey.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Rob. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a native New Englander, I came to Colorado to attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, in 1977. On the first morning in Colorado, my parents and I drove the hour, or so, to Estes Park. This town was my first full day in the Centennial State.

It was in Greeley where I met my future wife, JoAnne, in 1980. In the beginning, we lived and worked in Greeley, Colorado, Grand Canyon, Arizona and Hyde Park, New York. We first moved to Estes Park in 1987 after I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. We lived here for two years with our daughter Megan and then our son, Ryan, was born here in EP. I was the Executive Chef and Director of Restaurant Operations at The Stanley Hotel and then Chef de Cuisine at L’Auberge in the Fawn Valley Inn.

We moved to Boulder and I started The French Manner, which later became 12Seasons Personal Chef & Sommelier Services. My business lasted until 2013. In that time frame I also taught at The Art Institute of Colorado and at Johnson & Wales University, was Executive Chef for SUN Microsystems, worked & staged under fourteen Michelin stars at; The French Laundry (Yountville, CA), Le Bernardin (NYC), Restaurant Daniel (NYC), WD-50 (NYC), Pujol (Mexico City) and D.O.M. (Sau Paulo, Brazil). I was an Executive Chef for the Richard Sandoval Restaurant Group and opened restaurants in Scottsdale (Arizona), New York City, Mexico City, Punta Mita (Mexico), Laguna Nigel (California), & Santa Monica (California).

Currently, I own Mise en Place Consulting, LLC and help my clients to improve their business conditions. In all, I have opened twenty-four restaurants and food outlets since 1998. Number twenty-five is my own: ‘SEASONED ~ An American Bistro’ in Estes Park, Colorado.

We returned to EP because we needed to be back in this beautiful valley enjoying every day in the mountains, breathing fresh air and taking in unparalleled views. The Mission statement for our business is: To serve the community of Estes Park twelve months of the year, to treat every guest as special to us and our business, and to create a family working environment’. The daily operational philosophy at ‘SEASONED’ was created under three guiding principals: create an inviting and relaxed atmosphere; provide the best service possible; and, cook good, inspired, seasonal food.

‘SEASONED’ describes a person that has considerable experience and has done well in their chosen field over time. The name also hearkens towards seasonality and food that is certainly well-seasoned. The Bistro is American in most of our food creations. Americans can be Caribbean, North American, Central American or South American. I borrow from all those regions. We offer a global, and local, taste of wine, beer and spirits.

Including myself, our staff has nearly one-hundred years of experience in food, beverage and hospitality. Since that fateful first day in May of 1974 when I walked into Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts I seem to have had a forty-five-year career in universities, kitchens, dining rooms, country clubs, hotel, inns, corporate cafes, and private homes.

Now, I’m returning to the kitchen to cook. Regardless of all the experience, I crave comfortable, approachable, fun and interesting cooking. Everything we do at ‘SEASONED’ affects our guests. This is for them, especially the local residents of a small town in the Colorado Rockies called Estes Park.

Has it been a smooth road?
Everyone struggles. The key is to get back up and strive to be better every day. My failures are simply other ways to learn how to improve. My food is never the same, born from hot coals and inspiration we work hard to make dining easy. We are the sum of our efforts every day and sometimes we fail to live up to our expectations or the expectations of our guests. But, when we do operate as the team and are dancing together SEASONED can be a very special place, indeed.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We rarely have the same menu from week to week. More often our dishes morph and change daily. We hear the music but we play different notes all the time. We are a small space, just ten tables and we have a small, seasonal, product-driven menu. We are known to have a thoughtful approach to taste, aroma and flavor. Our food is simple but everything on the menu has a story to be told. The stories are chapters in my life and its all very personal to me.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
All businesses are a part of the towns and cities in which they operate. We are all different cultures and stand for our own principles. Every person who wants a business had better be attentive to location and striving to be the best version of themselves possible – every day we need to be the same AND be different. The public can be very fickle when it comes to food, menus and cuisine.

Pay attention to the cost of goods for that is where the profit is derived. Have a sense of business acumen and learn to LEAD PEOPLE. We have had a string of wonderful people working for us and our sense of family makes our connection(s) strong and beautiful. We’re not perfect but we strive to bring out the best in all of us and create a legacy here at SEASONED.

Contact Info:

• Address: 205 Park Lane
  Estes Park, CO 80517
• Website: www.seasonedbistro.com
• Phone: 970.586.9000
• Email: info@seasonedbistro.com / rob@seasonedbistro.com

Image Credit:
Megan McMahon @ Bloom Photography, Denver
Rob Corey @ SEASONED Bistro
Ricky Myers @ JAX Boulder

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