Shadowcliff prides itself on providing great food service. Chefs at Shadowcliff come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Due to these backgrounds, Shadowcliff has created guidelines for the kitchen to ensure outstanding food preparation and service consistent with our sustainability values.
The Compassionate Kitchen (written by Judith)  is a set of guidelines on Shadowcliff’s food standards. This book includes recommendations such as buying local and organic foods. It can be read in full on the Shadowcliff website and in the books found in the guest rooms.
Staff is trained to best support the guests. Shadowcliff encourages guests to take what they will eat on the first trip through the serving line and return for seconds as desired. This allows the kitchen to avoid unnecessary waste and is a teaching tool for staff and guests alike.
Shadowcliff supports all diets and food preferences, but it was found that if vegetarian options were served at the head of the line, guests would take more vegetarian items and fewer meat products. Shadowcliff is dedicated to providing healthy options in tandem to upholding sustainable environmental practices. In recent years, beef was discontinued from the menu and was replaced by fish, chicken and locally sourced bison.
Shadowcliff’s partnership with SHAMROCK FOODS allows the kitchen to broaden its options for organic and locally sourced foods. Originally Shamrock had no organic products available. Judith played an important role in working with SHAMROCK to develop more organic food options to support not only Shadowcliff but other buyers in the region.
In addition to partnering with SHAMROCK FOODS, Shadowcliff sources cold weather vegetables and greens from local growers, solidifying our commitment to buying within the region. Whenever possible, the kitchen team travels to farmers markets to take advantage of fresh produce in Granby, Steamboat, Estes and Loveland.
Community and communication is one of five core values at Shadowcliff, and the chefs often speak to the guests at meal time to discuss the meal, the locally sourced food utilized and why they made such choices.Â
Another important part of sustainability at Shadowcliff is education. Shadowcliff has created programming for youth groups via sustainability workshops. A popular demonstration from sustainability workshops is weighing the waste from their meals to demonstrate how easy it is to reduce food waste by paying attention to how much food they take as well as how much is discarded in the garbage.Â
The presence of bears in the area dissuades attempts to compost waste produced in the kitchen. Despite this, Shadowcliff occasionally creates educational opportunities through vermiculture, including demonstrating the use of worms as a composting alternative for both adults and children.