Radicato Sous Chef Heather Ripley
Radicato Sous Chef Heather Ripley is Thriving in the Kitchen and Bringing This Breckenridge Restaurant Scrumptious Success
Ingredient-driven Radicato has seamlessly risen to the upper echelon of mountain town dining. Sister restaurant to Breckenridge’s famed Rootstalk and helmed by Chef Cameron Baker and creator and James Beard Award-winner Matt Vawter, Radicato delivers on its passion for connecting Colorado farmers to diners while weaving a story around Italy’s deep culinary traditions.
A key piece in the well-oiled Radicato machine is 33-year-old South Dakota native Heather Ripley, one of the few female sous chefs in the county and right-hand to the busy restaurant’s chef de cuisine.
We sat down with Ripley before the dinner rush to chat kitchen tales and mountain living.
Breckenridge Magazine: Tell us a little about your culinary journey.
Heather Ripley: I’ve been working in kitchens since I was 14, started as a dishwasher, moved into prep cook, and decided I wanted to go to culinary school. During school, I was fortunate to work at Ski Tip and Keystone Ranch. I have a passion for fine dining, creating elegant food. And all of a sudden Matt and his team were up here launching Rootstalk.
Breckenridge Magazine: How did you land at Radicato?
Heather Ripley: A big part of me getting into Radicato was my sobriety. I couldn’t do this job without extreme attention to detail. After years of living the party lifestyle that comes with life in a ski community, I had finally had enough. Right after my 30th birthday, I got sober. The crew at Radicato is so supportive. Most of us at the end of the day want to go home so we can get up in the morning and go ski and have a productive morning. You can’t do that hungover. After I got sober, everything started to click. My career started moving forward, my skiing got better and the relationships that survived sobriety started thriving.
Breckenridge Magazine: What’s a typical day look like for you?
Heather Ripley: My work day starts around 10:30 or 11am. I set up stations. Prep for the day with cooks begins around 1pm, followed by ordering ingredients and 3:30pm pre-shift with servers. And then we start service and cook and cook and cook until the restaurant closes. During the busy season, we’ll be there until midnight.
Breckenridge Magazine: What’s your hope for a Radicato guest?
Heather Ripley: That they come in and have a culinary experience they’ve never had before. The awe and amazement that they get from it is just so rewarding. The attention to detail from our service staff, always having your water filled, crumbing the table between courses. Every person on staff will touch your table at least once.
Breckenridge Magazine: What makes Radicato stand out in the local culinary scene?
Heather Ripley: I love Radicato because we really cherish the products that we use. We source quality produce and meats that are local, which helps give back to those Colorado farmers and producers. We really put emphasis on highlighting those products and then giving the highest level of hospitality to our guests.
Breckenridge Magazine: Where can you be found when you’re not in the kitchen?
Heather Ripley: I’ve loved skiing since I was a kid. I came for the winter, stayed for the summer in 2010. So if I’m not in the kitchen, you can usually find me on the slopes of Arapahoe Basin—I shoot for an 80- or 90-day season—or baking up a storm in my kitchen at home. Last Christmas I was gifted a book on 100 cookies, pies and bars. It’s been my year-long goal to bake my way through the book and I’m almost there!
Radicato is a restaurant to get excited about! Find menus and reservations at:
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