Colorado Luxury Ranch Resort | Vista Verde Cuisine

Cholly McGlynn

Food and Beverage Director
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Cholly started of as a Sous Chef at Vista Verde in the winter of 1998. He proceeded to stay on the ranch for approximately nine years before leaving to pursue Artisan bread baking skills. It didn’t take long for Cholly to realize that Vista Verde was his true home, and he returned as Executive Chef in 2012 with his wife, Alaya, whom he met at VVR. They have a little boy named Eamon and love spending time with him along with their little girl, Saoirse! Some of Chef Cholly’s interests include: hiking, fly fishing, camping, bow hunting and bread baking. Cholly is also a lifetime member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and a member of The Bread Baker’s Guild of America since 2004.

Jonathon Gillespie

Executive Chef
Hometown: South Burlington, VT
Previous Position: Head Chef at The Home Ranch

Originally from Vermont Jonathon, his wife, and their kids have called Clark, CO their home for the last 12 years. Jonathon is a longtime friend to the ranch and we are thrilled to have him join our team this winter. Before coming to Vista, he was the head chief at The Home Ranch. When Jonathon is not cooking in the VVR kitchen, you will find him hunting and fishing! Fun Fact: He has been perfecting his apple pie recipe for 30 years!

Melissa Margason

Pastry Chef
School: New England Culinary Institute AOS

A lifelong love of horses, food, and anything outdoors brought Melissa west in 2015. After one summer season at a ranch in Wyoming, she found Vista Verde and called it home. Working at VVR has provided a way to combine the career of a pastry chef and the desire to spend time outside hiking and riding like nowhere else could. Each season has it’s own highlights; the Christmas Day feast, skiing, snowmobiling, fall cattle drives and pumpkin pies, summer popsicles and long hikes in the Zirkels.

Prior to heading west, she worked in various pastry positions for ten years in the Northern Virginia region, including restaurants, catering and wholesale volume pastry production. She graduated from the New England Culinary Institute AOS in Montpelier, Vermont in 2004.

After her first winter season, it was quite apparent that Nathan (our safety manager) was the cowboy she had been waiting for, and they were married in October of 2016.

Alex Elliott

Line Cook
Hometown: Valdosta, GA

Alex’s first love in life is cooking, where he draws upon his creativity, his travels, and his southern roots to cook up some yummy fair in the VVR kitchen. Alex’s second love in life–and it’s a close second–is his alma mater, the University of Alabama. So if you happen to find the TV that’s hidden in the lodge, then go ahead and join Alex for the game–but you should probably root for Crimson Tide!

Ben McNair

Line Cook
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

Ben is joining us for his second season on the ranch, but his first winter season in a snowy climate! Ben has worked in the food and service industry for several years. When he’s not in the kitchen dishing out yummy meals, you can find him nose deep in some Russian literature. Any Tolsoy or Dostoevsky fans out there? Fun Fact: Ben has mad skills on the slackline.

Anna Turgeon

Line Cook
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

This is Anna’s second season at VVR! Anna is currently on a gap year from Miami University, where she is studying environmental and food science. Although she’s not in school at the moment, she spends her free time researching her recent interest in food systems and regenerative agriculture. Fun Fact: Anna can quote nearly the entire movie Ratatouille (and we think that is perfect for a cook!)

Hadassah Stoltzfus

Line Cook
Hometown: Honey Brook, PA

Hadassah joins the kitchen crew for her first season at VVR. During the better part of the year, she runs her own floral design business, focusing primarily on weddings. Her other creative pursuit these days is making gourmet dehydrated camping food that’s healthy and easy to cook, because a good meal around a campfire is her favorite part of backpacking. When not in the kitchen, you can find Hadassah reading in the sun on the porch, even when it’s a crisp 20 degrees outside!

Damon Shaw

Head Server
Hometown: Nashville, TN

Damon is joining us for his fifth season in the dining room. He is passionate about wine, and is studying for his entry level sommelier course. When not serving in the dining room, you can find Damon at local restaurants, as he is a connoisseur of the local food and wine scene. He also loves spending quality time with friends and getting out into the backcountry on skis or snow shoes.

Julia Plant

Server
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

CPR and First-Aid Certified

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

This winter is Julia’s third season at VVR, where she has worked as both a Server and a Kid’s Supervisor. She studied media at Miami University of Ohio, and plans to move to New York and work in entertainment. Fun Fact: Julia is fluent in Spanish!

Sarah Patton

Server
Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Sarah is joining us for her second season at the ranch. She is an Appalachian State graduate and is currently working on her masters in Nutrition. Sarah is passionate about nutrition and exercise! Before coming to Vista she was loving working as a health coach. Fun Fact: Sarah was a tennis coach for four years!

Netanya Lessner

Server
Hometown: Cary, IL

This is Netanya’s first season at Vista Verde. Before coming to the ranch, Netanya worked as a virtual assistant. Netanya loves to cook, read, write, paint, and travel. She has two undergraduate degrees, in teaching and interior design. Netanya says that while her degrees gave her many life skills, she has no intentions of using them again, and no regrets about it either!

Sarah Goldman

Server
Hometown: Galesburg, MI

Sara’s love for hiking and adventures brought her to Colorado where she joins the VVR crew for her first season. Her wanderlust has inspired several trips, including her adventure to Iceland and a recent cross-country road trip. After graduating from Moody Bible Institute, Sara spent several years working at a home for disenfranchised girls in Wisconsin. When she’s not serving or adventuring, you can find her curled up with a good book.

Liam Carvajal Janke

Server

CPR, WFR
Hometown: Watertown, MA

Liam joins us for his gap year, before starting his studies at Bowdoin College in the fall. He enjoys exploring other cultures and traveling, and has already visited five continents! Liam is fluent in Spanish, and has studied Arabic as well. A passionate musician, Liam plays several instruments, but his main focus is the trombone.

Michael Brown

Server
Hometown: Garner, IA

Michael joins Vista Verde after serving 5 years in several Americorps programs. He also spent 2 years in Zambia as a rural education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps. Michael loves to travel, and has participated in impromptu dance battles in 6 different countries! He also loves to play the guitar.

Jack Smith

Dishwasher
Hometown: Chatsworth, California

Jack joins us for his first season at the ranch after completing his degree in global studies and professional writing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is excited to take advantage of a true winter season and participate in any and all outdoor sports activities, including snowboarding! In the summer months, Jack loves to camp and hike. After this season, he is looking forward to starting a career in the non-profit sector.

Harry Stanius

Dishwasher

CPR
Hometown: Saint Cloud, MN

Harry, the self-proclaimed “Director of Dishology,” is coming back for his fourth season at Vista Verde, where he has served in many roles. When he’s not holding it down in the “dish pit,” you can find him reading or off skiing in the beautiful back country that surrounds the ranch. This winter, he is most looking forward to improving his skate skiing skills.

Aaron Earl

Line Cook
Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Always an enthusiastic home cook, Aaron decided to take his skills to the next level in the Vista kitchen. He graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine this past spring with a degree in Environmental Science, and since then, his only field of study has been in cooking up delicious meals. Though it’s his first winter season, Aaron embraces the cold weather by getting outside and skiing in his off time. Be sure to say hi if you run into him hitting the trails or skating out on the track.

Anna-Gray Stallings

Server
Hometown: Greenville, NC

This is Anna-Gray’s first season at VVR. She is a recent graduate of East Carolina University, where she completed a degree in Communications. Before moving to the ranch, Anna-Gray had traveled to Colorado several times to snowboard, and fell in love with the mountains. In her spare time, she enjoys nature walks, reading, listening to music, and trying new things.

What Are You Waiting For?

Request a Brochure

Reservation Inquiry

Book Your Reservation

I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Kitchen and Dining Room