Wine Fest Feature: Chefs John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom

Yasmin Lozada-Hissom and John Broening, the power couple behind Spuntino in Denver (image source).

This tag-team husband and wife couple rock the Denver food scene. Running the kitchen, from stove to oven, at Spuntino and Duo -- cool Italian restaurants in the hip Denver neighborhood of the Highlands -- is John Broening and Yasmin Lozada-Hissom (Broening stepped down from Duo in Feb 2013, but Lozada-Hissom still works as pastry chef there).

One of Lozada-Hissom's delectable desserts at Spuntino,
the Lemon Marshmallow Meringue Copetta with pink
peppercorn crunch and fresh berries (image source).

2013 Wine Festival Guest Chef Broening had an international upbringing as the son of an Associated Press writer, living in France, the former Soviet Union, and Portugal. Broening is known as an "erudite chef" (Westword, Aug 2009) and is a self-proclaimed cerebral introvert.  Broening did not start cooking until 1988, and went to culinary school in New York City in 1990.

"Escoffier preferred his wife's cooking to his own, and I feel the same way. When I first met my wife, I was a French chef who finished everything with butter, tortured vegetables into small, even shapes..."
—Broening, interview with Westword magazine

Lozada-Hissom grew up in Arequipa, Peru. She completed medical school, but decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu because that was where her passion lay. Lozada-Hissom was a 2012 James Beard semi-finalist in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category. Like Broening, she has lived internationally, in France and Italy, but unlike Broening, she had an interest in cooking and pastries since she was little.

“I’m true to myself in every single dessert. I want them to have their own character...While the other kids were playing with God knows what, I was making dirt cakes with layers and flowers..."
—Lozada-Hissom, interview with Denver Woman

The culinary creations of Broening and Lozada-Hissom will be paired with selected wines at our March 9 event, so grab some tickets and taste what these two can do!

Wine Festival of Colorado Springs

March 7 - 9

The Artful Duo of French Pairing

Saturday, March 9, 12:30p | Fine Arts Center | 30 W. Dale Street
$85 per guest | Invite friends!

Back by popular demand! Two acclaimed chefs will interpret the union of French food & wine, preparing a luncheon one won’t soon forget! Our guest chefs are John Broening, executive chef at Denver's Spuntino; and Soa Davies, last year’s Wine Festival star and French haute cuisine expert from New York.

For a complete listing of events, please click here and go to Tickets + Events.