Chef Chris Starkus
With over 25-years in the hospitality Industry, Chris has achieved numerous awards during his culinary career, including Best New Restaurant 2018 (303 Magazine) and Best Eco-Friendly Restaurants in America (opentable.com, April 2019). In 2019, ColoradoBiz Magazine named him one of Denver’s Most Influential Young Professionals (Top 25 Under 40). As a journeyman beekeeper and farmer, Chris curated a rooftop apiary and garden at the Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon, and then developed another apiary program at the Oxford Hotel in Denver, Colorado. In 2017, Chris opened Urban Farmer Denver as Executive Chef.
In 2020, he partnered with a Denver Based startup, Boss Defrost, to save water in foodservice operations all over the world. He is a frequent contributor and guest speaker for creating and maintaining 360-Degree Sustainability in professional kitchens, and his work can be found at 303 Magazine, Diningout.com, themoderneater.com, 5280 Magazine, Heritage Radio, and Slow Food Nations. For Starkus, sustainability is success. As the head instructor for Culinary Arts at Warren Tech, his strength is developing culinary curriculums based in sustainability that produce positive fiscal and environmental-minded students.
A little more back story to Chris and his journey.
Chris Starkus grew up in Santa Clarita, California, enjoying from-scratch family meals made with local produce (and love) by his Italian grandmother and great-grandmother. He jumped into the kitchen at 15 and worked his way up from dishwasher to expeditor. Starkus visited another grandmother in Las Vegas to tour culinary schools while in high school. He enrolled on the spot and relocated to Sin City right after graduation.
A Diploma in his back pocket, Starkus joined the team of Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois, followed by positions at Postrio Las Vegas. Next, he took an apprenticeship under would-be mentor Chef Alexandro Stratta at Renoir in The Mirage. When Stratta opened ALEX at the Wynn, Starkus followed, taking on additional operational roles and mastering whole-animal butchery.
ALEX earned a AAA Five Diamond rating and two Michelin stars. In the wake of the restaurant’s success, Stratta opened STRATTA, which Starkus helped design and lead as Assistant Executive Chef. During that time, he studied for and earned his Level One certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
In 2009, Starkus relocated to Portland, Oregon to work as a private chef. Flexible hours allowed him time to study organic gardening but the pull of Vegas was strong, and he returned in 2011 to join Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood as chef de cuisine.
Returning to Portland in 2013 to join the flagship Urban Farmer restaurant, Starkus competed on Food Network’s “Chopped,” and studied beekeeping at Oregon State University. His experience and dedication to Sage Restaurant Group led him to Denver in 2017 as the Executive Chef of Urban Farmer Steakhouse.
As Executive Chef of Urban Farmer in Denver, Chris Starkus curated locally focused, sustainably sourced steakhouse menu influenced by the bounty of Colorado. Starkus highlighted his seasonally-driven menu with nose-to-tail cuts of naturally-raised meat, executed with finely honed French techniques. Overseeing the whole animal butchery in-house, charcuterie program, and more, he also enjoyed tending to the restaurant’s rooftop apiary and state-of-the-art Urban Cultivators featuring homegrown mushrooms, microgreens, and sprouted grains. Inspired by America’s European ancestry, Starkus united ingredients grown on-site with those harvested from closely regarded purveyors to offer rustic brunch, lunch, and dinner preparations with bold, straightforward flavors.
When he is not creating garden-fresh meals, Starkus retreats to his homestead where he tends to plants, bees, and chickens. He also enjoys kayaking and cycling, often with his wife and their two kids. Follow his chef life on social media @chrisstarkus