Culinary Tourism

Touch, taste, smell, sight and sound ... excite all of your senses when you visit Gunnison-Crested Butte! From the north end of the valley in Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte to Almont and the south end of the valley in Gunnison, your expectations will be met if food and drink are high points of your visit.

A delightful gastronomic experience awaits you with more than 50 restaurants in our valley ranging in price and selection. Great steaks, sushi, wild fish and game, vegetarian cuisine, tastes from around the world and locally grown Colorado products, including a wide variety of excellent Colorado wines, offer a diverse selection of exquisite options as you create your culinary tour of the Gunnison Valley. You will find family-style dining, bustling atmospheres, intimate settings and the favorite spots of locals, each offering up our usual Western hospitality and superior customer service.

Cooking Classes

If you like to be more hands on during your culinary experience you won't miss out in Gunnison-Crested Butte. Several local caterers and culinary experts demonstrate individual style in their kitchens, and you're invited to join in on the fun! Slice, dice, learn, laugh and sample unusual and everyday dishes that you can make at home and share new skills and recipes with family and friends. Cooking classes take place throughout the year in several locations around the valley.

Catered Meals

If you're traveling with a group and would like a catered meal for 4 or 400, our caterers create magnificent culinary delights of all kinds, bringing them right to your venue, vacation home, cabin or condominium.

Food for Adventure

With many caterers and restaurants offering "meals-to-go," mix and match your food choices, mode of transportation and setting. Hike, horseback ride, raft, canoe, boat, snowshoe or Nordic ski to scenic picnic spots along rivers and lakes, feast in fields of wildflowers or toast on a mountaintop.

Culinary Events

Don't miss enjoying outstanding food and drink in festive scenes during culinary events that take place throughout the year, such as the Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival, Gunnison's Farmers Market, Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, Crested Butte Farmers Market, Gunnison Valley Hospital's Taste of Caring Harvest Dinner and the Crested Butte Center for the Arts' Tour de Forks and Chefs on the Edge.

From indulging in the tasty items prepared by casual sidewalk vendors and food and wine pairings to sampling local cuisine at the farmers' market and exquisite meals served by well-known chefs in luxurious private homes, our valley showcases the world of culinary excellence in unforgettable settings. How does "Have a Beer with Beethoven" in a barn during the Crested Butte Music Festival or munching on grilled Colorado lamb kabobs as you stroll our historic Main Streets during other fairs and festivals sound?

Schedule of Culinary Events

June 14 - 15 - Bayou in the Butte: A Louisiana Swamp Party, Crested Butte

Late June - Early September: Tour de Forks, Various Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley Locations

June 22 - October 19: Crested Butte Farmers' Market, Elk Avenue, Crested Butte (Sundays)

June 28 - October 11: Gunnison Farmers' Market, Virginia & Main Street, Gunnison (Saturdays)

July 7 - 13: Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, Various Crested Butte Locations

August 14 - 17: Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival

September 6: Fall Festival of Beers & Chili Cook-Off, Mt. Crested Butte

September 27: Taste of Caring Harvest Dinner & Wine Tasting - Presented by Gunnison Valley Hospital at Marchitelli's Gourmet Noodle, Crested Butte

• Cooking Classes