Parker: Self-taught chef Taylor has new title - restaurant hall of famer

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Kevin Taylor, the self-taught chef who has helped put Denver on the national culinary map, was one of 10 restaurateurs inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News 2006 Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The baby-faced Taylor was welcomed, along with famous foodie names such as Mario Batali and Gary Danko, into the prestigious club recognized annually by the restaurant trade's well-respected magazine.

"It was very exciting; it was awesome," Taylor said about the induction lunch at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. "It's like a lifetime achievement award."

A lifetime achievement award for a 44-year-old who opened Zenith in the Tivoli in 1987? Taylor was a young buck when he first tantalized Denver's tastebuds and became the toast of the town.

The celebrated chef, who moved Zenith to 14th and Arapahoe streets in 1991, saw his fame spread to the coasts with the help of stories in national publications such as Gourmet and Bon Appetit.

But Taylor also has had to swallow the bitter pill of failures such as Cafe Iguana in Cherry Creek North, Nicois (which he later named Zenith and Brasserie Z) on 17th Street and Dandelion in Boulder.

When Palettes inside the Denver Art Museum reopens in September, Taylor will have six eateries under his company umbrella. But his namesake, Restaurant Kevin Taylor in the Hotel Teatro, is where his culinary creativity flourishes.

"It's a very, very difficult proposition," Taylor said. "People who have four-star restaurants have to have other restaurants to support it. It caters to a very small segment; it's not mass appeal."

GONE WITH THE WIND: Ray Valente, owner of Valente's Italian Restaurant at 6995 W. 38th Ave., thought that Wheat Ridge had turned into the Windy City last week when one of his patio umbrellas whipped itself into a whirling dervish.

"I sent one of the waitresses out to close the umbrellas on the patio tables out front," he said. "She came back in and said one of them was gone. I thought it was stolen."

Instead, Valente's regular Vince Vessa captured the umbrella after he saw the wind carry it 40 to 50 feet in the air and land in a parking lot at 38th and Pierce.

"The umbrella is retired," Valente said.

NETWORK NODS: Two CBS sitcoms gave Denver sports stars some props during season-ending episodes Monday night.

On King of Queens, series star Kevin James wore a Carmelo Anthony "Melo" T-shirt during several scenes with co-star Leah Remini.

On The New Adventures of Old Christine, former Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus ended up in a lip lock in a car with her ex-husband. While her brother comforted Christine about her loose-lipped lapse in judgment, her ex, Richard, entered the scene swinging a pink bra.

"I found your bra under my seat," Richard said. Her brother's comeback: "Man, that thing has a quicker release than John Elway."

GET REAL: While MTV's Real World Denver cast settles into its new downtown digs, cast members of Real Worlds gone by will reunite for a Real World Launch Party from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. June 9 at Vinyl, 1082 Broadway.

General admission and VIP tickets are on sale at denver.playcoed.com to meet and greet: Jose (Real World Key West), Johanna (Real World Austin), Cameran (Real World San Diego), Teck (Real World Hawaii) and Ace (Real World Paris).

THE SEEN: The Palm was the power place Monday night when several NFL owners, in Denver for a two-day meeting at the Westin Tabor Center, took tables.

Among the dandy diners were Bob McNair (Houston Texans), Dan Snyder (Washington Redskins), Wayne Huizenga (Miami Dolphins), Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers), Jerry Richardson (Carolina Panthers), Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys), Tom Benson (New Orleans Saints) and Lamar Hunt (Kansas City Chiefs).

EAVESDROPPING on a member of the CSO Chorus after the final Colorado Symphony performance of the Lord of the Rings Symphony:

"Mr. Shore writes difficult music . . . even if you're just oooohing."

Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday through Saturday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-892-5224 or e-mail parkerp@RockyMountainNews.com.