This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
To celebrate Longmont Restaurant Week, two local chefs spent their lunch cooking delicious meals via Facebook Live at Kitchen Company in downtown Longmont on Monday.
Candy Campbell, owner and head chef at Bin 46, whipped up an all vegan dish; roasted broccoli rabe pesto over spaghetti squash. Meanwhile, Matt Wallwork, executive chef and general manager at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, cooked a pasta fresca with shrimp, consisting of whole wheat pasta with tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, white wine and spinach.
Both dishes are part of their respective restaurant week menus, including a variety of other week long specials being offered at UCHealth's Longs Peak Bistro.
Campbell chose the roasted broccoli rabe pesto to highlight Longmont's accessibility to local ingredients.
"We get great access to local purveyors and farms and every year it's pretty exciting to put something on the plate that's really fresh," said Campbell.
Wallwork chose the pasta fresca to cook because he really wanted to show off what kinds of meals are prepared at the hospital.
"Hospital food gets a really bad rap and we've been doing a lot of crazy great things, not just for retail and catering that we do, but for our patients as well. This is one of those dishes that is not only just simple to put together but also featured on a heart healthy diet, which is something very rare. A lot of time when you say 'no fat, no salt' for those diets, it means poor food and it doesn't have to mean that."
UCHealth, a partner of Longmont Restaurant Week, was interested in doing a live cooking class during Longmont Restaurant Week to help remove the intimidation factor of making a healthy meal.
"They [people] worry that it will be too complicated or take too much time. We thought a Facebook Live demo would be an excellent way to show that preparing a delicious and nutritious meal can be easy, quick and fun," wrote Jason Amrich, Vice President of operations of UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, to the Longmont Observer.
Amrich wrote that there aren't currently any additional Facebook Live events scheduled but that they "are definitely interested in doing more segments on healthy cooking and other health and wellness topics."
"We want to help everyone in our community to live healthy lives. Events like this are another way our experts can help every step of the way, not just when an illness or injury strikes," wrote Amrich.
"I think what's great about the cooking show is that it kind of brings restaurant week back into the home," said Karen Stallard, membership director of the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Longmont has a really long history in agriculture and what the cooking class kind of represents is how you bring that type of history into your own home."
In case you missed the live stream, you can watch the full cooking show via UCHealth's Facebook page or down below:
