Welcome to Vail Chef

Our Story

Cooking, Catering and Hospitality have been at the core of Chef Jay and Chef Adam’s lives with a combined 55 years experience in elevated dining establishments. Our mission is to create flavorful memories focusing on quick service, meaningful connections and fantastic private chef experiences in the Vail valley. Our menus are streamlined to be considerate of the time with your family and friends in our evolving environment.

While they emphasize the dining experiences that they have created in their sample menus, both Jay and Adam believe that everyone’s interests are different and unique and look forward to creating menus that cater to any of your desires.

Jay Spickelmier

Chef Jay Spickelmier began his culinary career at age fourteen in Denver, Colorado, rising quickly through the state’s most respected kitchens, including Boulder’s legendary Flagstaff House. Recognized early for leadership and precision, Jay stepped into executive roles at a young age, driven by both talent and an entrepreneurial mindset.

In 2001, Jay relocated to the Vail Valley, where he became a defining force in the region’s luxury dining scene. His career includes executive leadership at The Left Bank, Sonnenalp Hotel, Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, and The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, where he was part of the opening team for Spago Beaver Creek. A 2009 Westword Iron Chef Champion, Jay has consistently operated at the highest level of resort and fine dining.

After launching multiple successful restaurant concepts in Denver—including Jing Denver—Jay returned to Vail in 2011 as Executive Chef for the Marriott Luxury Collection, leading the culinary program through its evolution into the Grand Hyatt Vail.

In 2020, as the pandemic reshaped the hospitality industry, Jay transitioned from resort leadership into a more entrepreneurial, experience-driven culinary model—applying his luxury background, international perspective, and operational expertise to private dining, events, and bespoke culinary experiences.

Chef Jay’s cuisine is informed by extensive Central American and European travel, blending classical technique with global influence. His work and philosophy have been featured in multiple culinary publications, reinforcing his reputation for thoughtful, refined, and regionally inspired cuisine.

Bold, seasonal, and globally influenced, Chef Jay continues to define Rocky Mountain Cuisine, where international experience meets alpine luxury.

“My passion for cooking is rooted in the adventurous Rocky Mountain lifestyle and everything Vail and the surrounding area have to offer. The inspiration to define ‘Rocky Mountain Cuisine’ is found in the natural beauty that surrounds us every day.”

— Chef Jay Spickelmier 

Adam Smith

Adam Smith is a classically trained French Chef. He has devoted the last 20 years of his life to honing his skills as a “Chef of all trades”.

After apprenticing a French master chef for 4 years, Adam spent the next year living in Grenoble, France. While there he worked at Chez le Per’ Gras, a family owned bistro in operation since 1896, learning, exploring, and falling in love with the pastry kitchen. Before returning to the Vail valley Adam attended pastry classes at Ecole Le Nôtre. 

Since Adam has returned to the United States in 2010, he has worked diligently to continue his mastery of all aspects of the culinary arts by spending time as a pastry chef, restaurant chef in both private and corporate settings, spending time as the banquet and catering chef for large resorts and smaller boutique & luxury hotels. Most notably at the Gateway Canyon Resort in 2016 which was named the #1 resort in colorado, #3 resort in the us by Conde Nast, and Travel & Leisure #1 resort hotel in the west & #16 best hotels in the world.

“Cooking is an expression of who that chef is. Where they came from, the people that they have learned from, and all their experiences. I only hope to convey how much I love all of these things through the food I bring into people’s homes.”

– Chef Adam