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Kremmling lodge recipes featured in Orvis cookbook

by Cyndi Palmer
Sky-Hi Daily News

Several recipes from the kitchen of Elktrout Lodge in Kremmling are featured in the new cookbook, “The Orvis Guide to Great Sporting Lodge Cuisine,” released April 8.

The book features culinary specialties from lodges across the United States ” chapters divided into Alaska, the Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, Rockies, South, Southeast and the West.

“This book is the culmination of many rewarding years at sporting lodges where everything ” a long day in the field, a sunrise and sunset, the company, the food, the wine ” all come together to form a unique and unforgettable experience at the table,” said Jim LePage, co-author and vice president of The Orvis Fly-Fishing Company. “A wonderful meal with hunting or fishing companions can salvage a tough day in the field or be the crowning touch after a particularly memorable day.”



The guide is a collection from some of the company’s finest endorsed lodges, from Alaska’s Boardwalk Lodge to famed Marquesa Hotel at Key West, where Ernest Hemingway discovered his love for trophy fishing. Each chapter showcases the charm of the lodge and explores the fishing or hunting for which it is known.

Recipes usually feature game and focus on local ingredients from the region.



With its prime location near several waterways (including the Colorado River) and its reputation for incredible dry-fly trout fishing, Elktrout Lodge gained the attention of Orvis as a getaway “for the fly-fishing purist.” Miles of private streams carve their way into the alpine landscape just minutes from the lodge, including the Blue River and Troublesome Creek. Along with the Colorado River, the waterways “offer the finest and most consistent dry fly fishing anywhere in the world for trout up to 33 inches.” The lodge also boasts almost 20 fertile farm, spring-fed ponds.

“We’ve got a long association with Orvis and we were excited to be able to be included in their cookbook,” said Colleen Paine, director of Elktrout Lodge operations since 1990.

Owners Andy (an avid fisherman) and Mardi Shepard wanted to create a place that offered a home-away-from-home for avid outdoor enthusiasts, offering services the two looked for in their own travels.

With expert guides, unique guest programs and great dishes coming out of the kitchen, the Elktrout Lodge has worked hard to earn its reputation for its quality and hospitality.

Guests who have caught a fish over 21 inches also receive a pin and membership into Elktrout’s 21-Inch Club. Anglers who net the four species of trout (brown, brook, rainbow and cutthroat) are able to join the Grand Slam Club.

During the evening at the private, high-end lodge, guests are invited to sit down and relax and enjoy one of many fine meals by Executive Chef Bobby Holtzman and his assistant chef Linda Mahon.

Included in the new cookbook are recipes for Hawaiian pork tenderloin, dungeness crab cakes and bananas foster. The two chefs, who submitted several recipes for the cookbook project, are also known for their great sea bass, salmon and halibut dishes.

“We’ve always practiced the philosophy that it is the experience on the river as well as back at the lodge that makes our guests return again and again,” Andy said.

“Mardi and I personally selected our favorites, including our one-of-a-kind root-beer float dessert.”

The book, which has about 220 pages and more than 150 recipes from North America’s greatest escapes was brought together by authors LePage and Paul Fersen. Vivid photographs on the cover and inside are by Bruce Curtis and f-stop Fitzgerald.

Cost for the soft-cover cookbook runs about $30.

“For 150 years, the Orvis brand has come to symbolize the finest in sporting tradition, distinctive country living, and world-class customer service,” a press release states. “Its network of sporting lodges spanning the continent represents the pinnacle of the sporting lifestyle, offering the finest outdoor experiences imaginable as well as superior cuisine prepared by master chefs.”

“The Orvis lodge experience is one of great friendship and shared passion,” said Fersen, co-author and longtime Orvis News editor. “For those who frequent these lodges all share the belief that there is no better place one can be, and these shared passions are most frequently expressed over a magnificent meal at the end of the day.”


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