AURORA, Colo. — When Colorado was announced as the sixth region in the United States to get a Michelin Food Guide, Caroline Glover was excited.
Not because she would have the chance to add a coveted Michelin Star to her impressive collection of awards (she was Food and Wine's best new chef in 2019 and won last year's James Beard award for best chef in the Rocky Mountain Region), but because it would be a chance to put Aurora's food scene on the culinary map.
"I was excited at the thought of the city that we're in, and we chose to be in, could be included in something so incredible," she said. "Aurora is such an incredible food mecca . It has one of the most diverse food scenes in the whole entire state."
But Michelin is not including her city in Colorado's guide.
Only Denver County, Boulder County, Aspen Snowmass Village, Vail, and Beaver Creek will make it in.
In a statement, Michelin's North American spokesman explained that the selection process begins with a study of the general area.
"During the destination assessment, the inspection team is looking at the entirety of the culinary scene across the area’s culinary hotspots, considering whether it is advanced enough for a Michelin Guide selection of restaurants, which would include Stars, Bib Gourmands, Recommended restaurants – and potentially Green Stars. If there are enough restaurants offering high-quality cuisine, the process begins for the Michelin Guide to be established," he wrote. "The inspectors have no quotas to meet – regarding numbers of Guide distinctions to award, restaurants to visit, or types of cuisine to include in the selection."
Glover says Aurora has more than enough high-quality restaurants to make it in.
"There's all types of different ethnicities out here, all kinds of incredible food that you don't see across the state in this one little pocket," she said. "So, I think people that use the guide to check out a state will be missing out on a pretty big melting pot out here."
She wants restaurateurs in Aurora to get the recognition she thinks they deserve. People like one of her favorite chefs, Siri Tan of Urban Burma.
"Best samosas hands down," she said. "The tea leaf salad is something that I crave on a daily basis."
Tan operates Urban Burma in Mango House on East Colfax.
"So, a lot of the foodies are in Denver, but then the most diverse food, or ethnic foods are in Aurora," he said.
Tan wishes those Denver foodies would give Aurora a shot and branch out of their comfort zones.
"I wish people in Denver are more, like, adventurous at food," he said. "Don't be scared."
Inclusion in the Michelin Guide would mean more visitors to Aurora establishments, but that's off the table for now.
The city could be included in the future if Michelin decides to revisit the state.
It's a missed opportunity for Aurora, but Glover says it's also a missed opportunity for Michelin, too.
"I think it's one of the hottest spots, honestly," she said. "And if you talk to a lot of other chefs, they come an eat in Aurora, because it's different, you know you get a lot of different types of cuisine."
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