Alex Seidel From a boy who grew up in Wisconsin to the man who is the chef/owner of one of the west’s best restaurants comes food fit for kings and journeymen alike. Alex Seidel of Fruition is a simple and hard working restaurateur that expertly delivers elevated comfort food. His easy going manner and mid-western work ethic has garnered him two nominations from the James Beard Foundation for one of America’s top chefs. However, Alex is the first to point out that he hasn’t achieved his success alone; his team of talented sous chefs, wait staff and business partner Paul Attardi all play a role in the success Fruition enjoys.
Seidel didn’t grow up wanting to be a chef; he actually went to college at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, as a walk on for the soccer team. He tried his hand at many different majors; pre-med, physics and political science, before choosing to forgo traditional college and enter Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon (which has been purchased by Le Cordon Bleu).
After graduating from Western Culinary Institute Alex moved on to Monterey, California to start working in his new profession. It was the commitment of Oregon and California to locally grown food that has influenced Alex’s cooking the most. Although California proved to be a great training ground it was time to move on to the Vail Valley to work at the acclaimed restaurant, Sweet Basil.
Sweet Basil’s Executive Chef, Bruce Yim, was a huge influence on Seidel. "Bruce taught me a lot about technique and the importance of quality", Alex said. But Seidel didn’t stop there about one of his mentors, "He also taught me how to effectively manage a team and a kitchen." Alex’s numerous years of playing on a soccer team and Yim’s philosophy of "we’re a team and we have a goal" have worked extremely well for Alex and Fruition. This is evidenced by the fact that Fruition has very little turn over in their kitchen and front of the house staff. This shared attitude and management philosophy are big reasons why the consistency and quality of the food and service stays as high as it does.
After Sweet Basil Seidel followed a girl (who would later become his wife) and moved to Denver where he soon found himself working for Frank Bonano at Mizuna. At Mizuna Alex quickly worked his way up the ranks from sous chef to executive chef where one of his responsibility was creating the menus with Frank. Working for Frank would have far reaching affect on Alex even he didn’t realize when he started there. It was at Mizuna that Alex and Paul Attardi met.
Paul and Alex became business partners just over three years ago when Alex called Paul, who was living in the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the time, to persuade him to come back to Denver and open a small restaurant with him. It didn’t take a lot of convincing for this sommelier and front of the house master to pack his belongings and move back to the Centennial State.
When asked what his biggest career accomplishment as a chef has been Alex points to being able to take his entire staff to where his culinary career began. "I was able to pass on information & knowledge about the food and wine of Orgeon, having them experience that as a group & being the leader was a huge accomplishment for me."
Alex also pays homage to some other great chefs in the Mile High City citing Selby, Bonano, Sorenson and Wiard for their contribution to the exploding dining scene in the Denver. He’s watched as they’ve improved their restaurants and skills. "Our dining scene continues to evolve and attract better chefs from other parts of the country. Alex also went on to say, "our dining scene will take care of itself; it’s the diverse community of chefs that raises the quality of the restaurants."
Alex has definitely made an impression on the Denver dining scene and soon will be making one on the farm to table scene with his recent purchase of an organic farm in Larkspur. His intent is to provide the restaurant with produce and in the not too distant future possible cheese. Knowing Alex, his cheese, like his restaurant, will be outstanding.
