Chez Maggy and the Energy of Movie star and Collaborative Spirit
Chef Ludo Lefebvre is a giant deal. So is Chez Maggy.
It’s been simply shy of a 12 months because the resplendent corridor of traditional French cooking opened within the Thompson Resort downtown. It was 12 months for Chez Maggy. The already wonderful meals bought higher. The lavishness by no means as soon as waned.
Lefebvre is normally on-site one week monthly, throughout which period he stays on the resort and retains the general imaginative and prescient of his restaurant regular. However the day-to-day operations are dealt with by chef de delicacies Jeff Schwing. So whereas it might be Lefebvre filling the menu with classics like Escargot and Duck Confit and new plates like Chilaquiles, it’s Schwing who retains the execution constant.
READ: Chez Maggy Anchors Thompson Denver with Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s Buttery French Fare
“In Jeff, I see myself once I was a younger cook dinner,” mentioned Lefebvre. Schwing is a Colorado native — born in Denver and raised largely in Evergreen. He reduce his tooth in a few of Denver’s most-revered kitchens together with Acorn, Dying and Co, Grown + Gather and Brasserie Brixton. He initially utilized to work at Chez Maggy as a line cook dinner, although Lefebvre acknowledged his management expertise from the bounce. He opened the restaurant in his present place and has been pivotal in making the place a hit.
“My position isn’t creativity at this level. My position is to make use of my expertise to execute his (Lefebvre’s) imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Schwing. “He trusts me to make choices as a result of he is aware of my choices might be what he needs.” Schwing runs a reasonably traditional brigade system and prizes his distributors, sustaining many connections from his time at Develop + Collect. “Should you don’t have relationship together with your distributors, you’re not chef. Interval,” he continued.
With Lefebvre’s recipes and Schwing’s dedication to good sourcing, it must be no shock that Chez Maggy’s meals is beautiful. There’s a BBQ eggplant ($24) dressed with Thai inexperienced curry, peanut French dressing, herb salad and fried shallots. Colorado lamb chops ($46) are set atop grilled brassicas, dandelion puree and mustard frills. The foie gras tartine ($32) with blackberry-port gastrique is a masterclass in determined decadence no go to must be with out.”I’m completely happy to be right here as a result of I can cook dinner foie,” grinned Lefebvre. Whereas there are lots of staples — don’t anticipate the Burger a la Francaise ($28) or the Omelette Petit Trois ($24) to go anyplace — the menu is adjusted round what’s out there and in season.
There’s motive Lefebvre has remained on the heart of continued acclaim. The brilliance of Chez Maggy is that it doesn’t run star energy alone. As an alternative, the restaurant’s actual magnificence comes from the convenience with which the 2 cooks share the highlight and Lefebvre’s willingness to belief in and domesticate Schwing’s apparent expertise. “I like mentoring. I like to show,” mentioned Lefebvre. “The primary job as a chef is to cook dinner, however the remainder is to show.”
Lefebvre has confirmed he can cook dinner anyplace. Chez Maggy may solely actually exist right here.
Chez Maggy is positioned within the Thompson Hotel at 1616 Market St., Denver. It’s open Monday – Thursday from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
All photography by Adrienne Thomas.
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