True to its name, the sprawling campus of Aspen Meadows Resort serves as a 40-acre foraging opportunity for Rachel Saxton. As chef de cuisine of West End Social, the hotel’s recently revamped flagship restaurant, she can often be glimpsed in her white chef’s coat, dashing through the dining room to snip herbs and edible flowers from a culinary “garnish garden” on the outdoor deck.  

“It’s my little peaceful haven in the summer,” says Saxton, who creates seasonal menus highlighting Colorado ingredients for brunch, après, and dinner under Executive Chef JD Baldridge. “There’s awesome stuff that grows on-property: pine tips from the trees; serviceberry and chokecherry that come midsummer. I’m always running around grabbing things.”

Formerly Plato’s Restaurant, West End Social is now awash in aspen wood, Roaring Fork Valley marble, and vibrant textiles that conjure the clean aesthetic of Herbert Bayer—the pioneering Bauhaus artist, sculptor, and architect of the Aspen Institute campus from 1953 to 1973. The redesign is part of a multimillion-dollar renovation by Salamander Collection that includes 98 refreshed guest suites and the new Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies. 

Come June, the Aspen Music Festival and School is in residence, and conferences, groups, and international speakers flock to the Meadows in a cross-cultural exchange. Seeking education and enlightenment, diners at West End Social are in a unique class, Saxton says. “Our food should be the same way: creating conversation.”

Grounded in the environment, Saxton’s afternoon and evening menu includes lots of “little snackies”: freshly fried Kennebec potato chips, Wagyu tartare (this winter with gochujang, kumquat, and sesame), and ever-buzzy “caviar bumps.” The kitchen turns out two fresh pastas daily, large shareable plates like roasted half-duck with shatteringly crisp skin, and a slew of seasonal vegetable preparations. Salt-roasted and seared celery root is a punchy crowd pleaser with a creamy lemon-vinegar aquafaba meringue, charred escarole, red wine vinaigrette, oregano oil, and peanuts.“The flavors are intense but very welcoming,” Saxton notes, adding that the visual component is just as important, reflecting the restaurant’s bucolic setting.

The bright, panoramic venue, which altogether seats just under 200 people and includes arguably the most epic restaurant patio for catching sunset within city limits, is accessible just steps from the Rio Grande Trail below. Saxton suggests strolling by for her bison burger on a pretzel bun with caramelized onions, feta, bitter greens, and a genteel sidecar of green olive tapenade—an upscale riff on a regional hamburger with a cult-like following from her husband’s native Michigan. Hearty and eccentric, the burger is still comfortingly familiar at first bite.

Salamander Collection founder and CEO Sheila Johnson felt similarly when she experienced the Aspen Ideas Festival (this year June 23–29). “I fell in love with the Aspen Institute,” she quipped during West End Social’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in February. “This is such a special place. We want to make this the destination of Aspen.”

Johnson’s vision for a “sexy cafeteria” takes shape as the Market Café, downstairs next to the Madeleine K. Albright Pavilion (at press time, scheduled to open by Memorial Day weekend). Executive Pastry Chef Sara Figueiredo will present house-made pastries (flaky croissants!), sourdough bread, and signature desserts to pair with coffee and tea alongside grab-and-go eats for breakfast and lunch. (Her appointment feels fated: Figueiredo previously worked in San Francisco with David Nayfeld, who was sous chef at New York’s Eleven Madison Park while Saxton interned there.)

“Good product goes a long way to make things luxurious,” says Saxton, who edits summer menus based on inventory from Farm Runners, the Hotchkiss-based distribution service that collects fresh provisions from more than 50 family farms in Western Colorado. May’s tender greens and peas lead to vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet corn, and famed Palisade peaches in July and beyond.

Other colorful extravagances keep guests asking questions. “I’ve got a bottle of lilac vodka that I made a year ago, from the lilac bush over there,” Saxton muses, gazing toward a window, where a culinary world of inspiration awaits.