Introducing Alpine Modern’s New Nordic-Alpine-Inspired Menu

We recently introduced you to our new executive chef, Ellory Abels. After she had helped to grow the San Francisco catering company Green Heart Foods, the Texas native traveled the world in search of culinary inspirations. The Culinary Institute of America graduate visited eight countries, where she collected different spices and cooking traditions she now integrates into her own kitchen.

Upon returning from her culinary expedition, the outdoor enthusiast and passionate rock climber settled in Boulder, Colorado, where her incredible talent, serendipity, and (our) luck brought her into the Alpine Modern family.

We sat down with the worldly chef to talk about the much more elevated and seasonal menu she has created for the Alpine Modern Café in Boulder, Colorado.

Chef Ellory talks about Alpine Modern’s new Nordic-alpine menu

AM   What’s essentially different about the new menu you have created for the Alpine Modern Café?

EA   When I came to the Café, the food was very approachable but lacked a theme. I wanted to elevate the menu and make it seasonal. With a seasonal menu, you have fresher ingredients and can source them locally. As humans, we’re based on tradition and the themes of life and holidays. I feel that food and the ingredients are very much based on that, too.

A Nordic-inspired menu

AM   How did you come up with this new approach for the Alpine Modern menu?

EA   I brainstormed what Alpine Modern was as a brand, what the food represents to us, and what we wanted to show the customers to be our foundation. Then I came up with the theme of Nordic-alpine food, which is scary for a lot of people. When you say Nordic food, you think of pickled herring or just really gross dishes like that. So I was very cautious of saying that to people. But I thought of what Nordic food is to me. I made a list of seasonal ingredients and started to build a menu off that. With food trends happening right now and the health consciousness—and I myself really care about nutrition—I wanted to implement that more into the menu as well.

AM   Why Nordic? Boulder doesn’t necessarily represent a Nordic culture or environment...

EA   Nordic represents simple living and food. I mean, look and their menus. It’s very healthy. It’s very clean. It’s not overthought. And I wanted to show that in the food. So I don’t necessarily want to say it’s Nordic-style food, but it has these same things behind it. It’s inspired by the foods of Iceland, Norway, Finland…

AM   What are key ingredients you have implemented for the new menu?

EA   I am using fennel, beets, dill, water crests—and instead of herring I’m using trout, and making it more approachable in that way. Instead of creams, I’m using thick, Nordic-style yogurts. And lemons, I’m using lots of vibrant zests in the food. And on top of that, I’m making it more seasonal.

For example, our beet hummus on the winter menu will probably change to a carrot hummus in the spring. The menu will probably change four times a year.

With a healthy dose of Ellory...

AM   The new menu is seasonal and Nordic-inspired. But what part of the new menu is quintessentially Ellory?

EA   The twist of having what I would call nutritional, healthy hippie food intertwined into it. It goes with the Boulder theme. I worked in San Francisco before I came here, and I’ve been very health-oriented in the places I’ve worked. Greens are huge to me, so I’m trying to implement greens into almost every dish. And freshness and the vibrancy of colors. That’s very much me. The chia seed pudding, the quinoa porridge, the kale salad with avocado seeds... That’s very much me.

“Nordic represents simple living and food... I mean, look and their menus. It’s very healthy. It’s very clean. It’s not overthought. It’s inspired by the foods of Iceland, Norway, Finland…”

Behind the scenes

AM   Now that we have an executive chef, a huge step up for Alpine Modern, and we have launched a new menu, what else has changed at the Café?

EA   We’re focusing on making this not only an environment where people can come and get amazing food but also have amazing beverages that are special to the Café here. We’re creating monthly special beverages. Right now, for example, we have the Williamsburg and the matcha latte, and we’re going to have a Turmeric Latte soon.

AM   Besides taking the menu to the next level, how does having you as an executive chef impact the Alpine Modern Café and the brand at large?

EA   Having an executive chef here allows a lot more growth for Alpine Modern, for our food, and for the whole scene of the Café. It allows us to create a solid foundation and consistency and to implement new ways to eat and to be here at the Café. For example, we’re starting an event program, and we’re hoping to have live music in the summer and to do grill-out nights. There will be so much opportunity. And we are starting to implement grab-and-go food from the Café into our downtown location soon, at the Coffee Bar in our flagship retail store on Pearl Street here in Boulder.

We’re also working on baking our own pastries fresh every morning. Another new thing is that we are offering gluten-free items. We’re working with Kim and Jake’s Bakery, a local gluten-free bakery. We’re using their bread and cookies, so almost everything on the new menu now has a gluten-free option.

“Almost everything on the new menu now has a gluten-free option.”

AM   What is currently the most popular item on the new menu?

EA   The Quinoa Lentil Bowl. It’s also one of my favorites for sure. And the Chia Seed Pudding—people are really digging that.

AM   What feedback are you getting about the new menu?

EA   The Café staff are loving it, and the customers are really enjoying it, saying things like, ‘Wow, you guys really elevated the menu.’ And that’s exactly what we wanted to do. The menu is not complex, it’s very simple, it’s all approachable because we have such a diverse community here in Boulder. We serve families and college students and young professionals—and we really wanted this to be something where you can walk in, and anyone can find something on the menu.

Come for the food and drinks, stay to feel good

AM   What are you hoping people come to the Café for?

EA   I hope they come here to have their daily clean food, to eat food they really want and that they feel good for a while. And the same with their beverages—having amazing coffee that we really put a lot of time into finding and creating the best process with our ModBar. I hope our customers come in here and see that there is a lot of love and care put into everything—with our plating, with our presentation, and with our sourcing. △

“We really wanted this to be something where you can walk in, and anyone can find something on the menu.”

Morning at Home

“I’m going to make everything around me beautiful — that will be my life.”

— Elsie de Wolfe (1865–1950), interior designer, United States

Surrounding yourself with delightful everyday objects you love makes everyday life more beautiful. Items you look at and touch all of the time carry significance in creating life’s simple pleasures. Both form and function are important. When a knife, a kitchen cloth, a teapot, a mug are so impeccably designed, so sensuously textured, and so faultless in their utility, all but their overt beauty is rendered unnoticable. Good design makes your day, begin it in beauty.

Quite similarly, a strengthened body harbors a nourished soul. Taking time to mindfully prepare real food for yourself and those who wake up with you feeds self-respect and manifests regard for the well-being of family and friends gathered at your table. Good food makes your day, begin it in strength.

Curation for an alpine-modern morning

Recipe: The Perfect Egg Sandwich

A simple dish to remind you to try new new things in life. Make→

Glass French Press

This Glass French Press (available in gray or clear) is an evolution of the classic press pot. The press brews a perfect full-bodied pot of coffee or tea in the traditional French Press method. Made of premium heat-proof borosilicate glass, it is durable and able to withstand extreme temperatures. Shop at Alpine Modern→

Recipe: Kale and Potato Pancakes with Gravlax and Nordic Yogurt

Alpine Modern Executive Chef Ellory Abels created a delicious dish to make for your weekend brunch. Make→

Recipe: Alpine Granola

A morning at home with a simple bowl of toasted oats and nuts. Make→

Alishan Jin Xuan High Mountain Spring Oolong Tea / Taiwan

The name Jin Xuan refers to a specific tea varietal developed by the Taiwan Research and Experiment Station (TRES), which is dedicated to the improvement of the tea industry of Taiwan. Jin Xuan teas are satisfying as they offer good amplitude in texture and taste. With mild floral notes, they have the greatest potential for sweetness, with hints of exotic fruit. Teas elaborated with Jin Xuan leaves have a particularly creamy texture with a distinctive milky smoothness and sweetness. Jin Xuan has typical green, crisp pastoral notes with hints of mountain flowers that charm the nose. The perfect cup of tea to begin the day. From Taiwan Tea Crafts.

Tetsubin Tea Vessel / Japan

A tetsubin is a Japanese vessel for preparing tea. This beautiful cast-iron tetsubin is adorned with the traditional “snow pellets,” or dots. An added benefit of the cast-iron is that iron is transferred from the kettle to the drink, providing the body with the healthy mineral. From Ikenaga Iron Works Japan.

Recipe: Grapefruit Brulée

Broiled in the oven, the grapefruit forms a delicious golden brown and crispy surface. Make→

Forest Honey / Italy

Dark amber color, rich taste, though not overpowering, this honey is great spread on bread. Born from the nectar of flowers in the wilderness of the fragrant, humid forests of northern Italy, this honey has the fresh and delicate scent of the mountains. From Rigoni di Asiago.

Fox In The Leaves Tray

Beautifully printed melamine tea tray featuring Donna Wilson’s watercolour illustration of a fox in a leafy woodland. Made in a small factory in Belgium. Shop at Alpine Modern→

Recipe: Grapefruit Brulée

Halve each grapefruit crosswise and cut a thin slice of peel from the bottom of each half to stabilize the pieces. Remove all seeds from the grapefruit and loosen the segments with a paring knife. Sprinkle each half evenly with sugar and a pinch of salt. Broil in an oven on high to form a golden brown and crispy surface. Serve immediately. △

Recipe: Alpine Granola

Ingredients

• 3 cups (385 g) rolled oats
• 1 cup (130 g) slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup (65 g) shredded sweet coconut
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (55 g) dark brown sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (130 g) maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (85 g) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) salt
• 1 cup (150 g) dried fruit, like raisins

Steps

Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C)

In a bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt.

Combine both mixtures and pour onto two sheet pans. Cook for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add dried fruit and mix until evenly distributed.

Keeps in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

The Bowl

New Norm Bowl, Menu Design, Denmark

The Danish design firm Norm created the New Norm bowl for Menu, inspired by Nordic nature. The bowls are characterized by their purity and simplicity, their design is quiet, unobtrusive. Since the New Norm bowls are available in different colors and sizes, they mix with each other vividly.