Chef Emily Oyer is an expressive chef, with experience at some of Aspen’s most storied restaurants and some of television’s most cutthroat cooking competitions.
She’s worked at restaurants like the alpine bistro Cloud Nine, located on the mountain at Aspen Highlands, and the American restaurant Jimmy’s, which ended its 24-year run in Aspen in 2021; her resume also includes an appearance on the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay,” and a win on “Chopped 420.” Oyer’s recent work as a private chef has put her in the spotlight too, with stations in the Grand Tasting Tent of the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen.
Now, Oyer plans to put her own twist on the menu of the Alpin Room, where she'll serve as head chef of the Alps-inspired fine dining restaurant at Snowmass Ski Area. It’s located mid-mountain, in the High Alpine building near the top of the Alpine Springs chairlift. The venue has been operated by the Aspen Skiing Company since 2020; it was previously run by Gwyn Knowlton’s family as “Gwyn’s High Alpine” for about four decades.
Oyer joined All Things Considered host Halle Zander live in the Aspen Public Radio studio for an interview about her plans for the Alpin Room this week. It’s part of a series of live interviews with local community members during our year-end membership drive, which runs through Dec. 5. We’ll be posting additional interviews from the series shortly after they occur.
You can hear the audio using the “Listen” button above and read a transcript below; this interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Halle Zander: The Alpin Room has been an Alps-inspired restaurant since its inception a few years ago. And before that, the space also had some of that vibe when it operated as Gwyn’s High Alpine. What's your vision for the menu?
Emily Oyer: So, I am fully staying in line with the Alsatian foods, but in saying that, the Alps are in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, and so I actually have a little bit (of a) heavier hand in the French part of it. But we have, still, lots of meats and cheeses and potatoes.
Zander: And you've previously worked as an executive sous chef at Cloud Nine, which is located on the mountain at Aspen Highlands. The Alpin Room is also a mid-mountain restaurant. So are there elements to ski-in, ski-out dining that affect what you're doing in the kitchen?
Oyer: Yes, it does. Sometimes it affects our food getting up to the restaurant, or humans coming up to the restaurant to eat it. Since it is ski-in, ski-out only, if you cannot ski, you cannot come in or out.
Zander: Yeah, so (were) there previously, like, snowcat experiences, ways to get up there before, or no?
Oyer: So they used to have, from what I know, they used to have hiking dinners — like skinning-up breakfast, actually. And my hope is this year to fully bring that back. I have kind of almost fully gotten approval for it. As long as I can handle it, they said that I can do it. So that's what we're looking to bring back. But as far as snowcats, they try and limit the snowcat driving on the mountain to protect the snow.
Zander: Right. You have a lot of experience in high-end kitchens, and competitive cooking environments. Those can have a reputation for a pretty intense atmosphere. But there's also a lot of conversation right now about changing that culture in the kitchen. What do you want your kitchen culture to look like as you step into this new role?
Oyer: So I am fully not with the old culture of yelling at people and making yourself seem “bigger than.” I am on the same playing field as my staff — I will pick up a broom, I will do dishes if needed. And that really sets the tone. And I will never ask my staff to do something that I myself (would) not want to do.
Zander: Okay, got it. So tell us a little bit (about) what ingredients are really inspiring you right now. Can you tell us a little — a few more details about what's on the menu?
Oyer: So I do have the menu in front of me, and a couple of the things that I know are going to do really great. I'm going to have a classic poutine on the dish with mozzarella and cheddar curds. I will also have a beautiful chicken Cordon Bleu with chicken thighs instead of breast because it'll have a lot more flavor. And we have an Oktoberfest Alpine burger. And that is going to be probably one of the biggest hits. We'll be using beer from Aspen Tap, from Aspen Brewing, and pretzel buns that will be from Open Sesame. So we're going to be — there's going to be flavors all over the board, but it's all going to be very fresh.
Zander: So what factors are you thinking about when you source ingredients?
Oyer: What we have in this valley. I personally know someone who has many, many potatoes. So I'm going to be using those potatoes for some of our items and figuring out which greens and — or all produce, really, that we have more in the valley instead of like, fresh fruits and berries.
Zander: Okay, great. Any plans to bring your cannabis cooking experience to the Alpin Room?
Oyer: One day, we will — one day, we will be able to do that. But there is no talk of that whatsoever currently.
Zander: All right. Well, Emily, thank you so much for being here with us today. It was a pleasure.
Oyer: Thank you so much. And I really hope to see all of you guys up at the Alpin Room, because we're going to blow all of your minds out of the water.
