The Alumni Garden Party on August 20 was another fun event in Denver. It was held on the front porch of Peter Marczyk ’84 and Barbara MacFarlane’s prairie-style home. Peter bought the house about 16 years ago and spent two years working with Rob Squire to gut the entire building. He rewired it and redid the plumbing, and installed an amazing kitchen. The home is located within a 15-minute walk of Peter’s second store (his first store is downtown). Their kitchen is to die for: Three different sinks, a double oven, eight burners plus a griddle and a salamander (for broiling), huge fridge, an icemaker and a massive island. I just hope my wife doesn’t see the pictures or I might have another renovation project on hand!
The whole concept of their stores is similar to that of the biodynamic wineries of California. They try to invest in local produce as much as possible (although he imports from all over the world), that way they can trace their food such as beef from conception to the final product. Wine people talk about how the taste and quality is influenced by factors like soil, amount of sunshine, amount of water; Peter feels that the same can be said for food. He states that if you place one of their steaks alongside a mass-produced company steak, the difference is stunning. Peter has gained a huge reputation in the Denver area and around the country as a food expert.