The visionaries behind the food at four downtown staples will share their stories about the local cuisine scene at the next Durango Diaries, a live storytelling event.
After 13 years working as a journalist, Katie Burford shifted careers, leaving her position as city editor at The Durango Herald to learn the craft of ice cream making. Her popular downtown ice cream shop, Cream Bean Berry, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. At the shop, Burford serves artisan ice cream, often made with locally sourced ingredients. In high school, Marcos Wisner scored internships at Carver Brewing Co. and East by Southwest. That work led him to New York City, where he worked first at Masa, then for Jean George and Eleven Madison Park. He briefly returned to Durango, and with fellow chef Owen Clark, started a pop-up dinner series, Foundfood, focusing on wild foraged and local food. Leaving Durango again, he worked at Noma in Copenhagen and The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley before returning home to start a food truck, The Box, inspiration for the wildly popular 11th Street Station, a food truck collective and bar he opened last year with his father, Jaime Wisner. Sean Clark also kicked off his career in food at a young age, working part time at a restaurant at age 16. After college, he was certified by the Culinary Institute of America. In 1995, he joined Steamworks Brewing Co. as part of the original crew, and since that time has become a driving visionary behind the brewpub and its sister restaurant, El Moro Spirits & Tavern. He is currently the executive chef and a managing member of both Steamworks and El Moro. This session of Durango Diaries is free to the public and will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave. If you miss this session, catch it on the iTunes podcast app by searching “Durango Diaries.”
For more information, visit durangoherald.com/durangodiaries.
Our next Durango Diaries will be:
Anne Hillerman: The author and daughter of writer Tony Hillerman will discuss her books, which took on her father’s characters after he died. Mancos archaeologist Frank Lister will join her to discuss the maps he creates to accompany the novels. The episode will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.Media insight: Youth suicide series: Editors and reporters from the Herald will discuss a series of solutions-oriented stories about youth suicide in La Plata County. The talk will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 23 at Durango Public Library.Raising extraordinary children: Parents who have raised children who have gone on to achieve great success will discuss raising overachievers. Storytellers will include Janet Kuss, mother of fallen Blue Angel Capt. Jeff Kuss; Debbie Williams, mother of Olympic cyclist Howard Grotts; and a third speaker to be determined. Stories will be shared at 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at Durango Public Library.Future of farming: Local farmers will talk about the changing face of agriculture and livestock and what the next generation of farmers face. Hana and Daniel Fullmer of Tierra Vida Farm, Kate Greenberg with Young Farmers Coalition and J. Paul Brown will speak at 6 p.m. Nov. 27 at Florida Grange, 656 Colorado Highway 172; and the Fullmers, Brown and Davin Montoya will speak at 6 p.m. Nov. 29 at Marvel Grange, 217 County Road 133, Hesperus.
