Aspen's Hotel Jerome Names Marlon Rambaran As Executive Chef
Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection, Aspen’s luxurious mountainside retreat and most storied hotel, today announces Marlon Rambaran as executive chef. Rambaran brings more than 20 years of culinary experience at some of the nation’s top kitchens to his new role. Classically trained with a focus on French, Italian, Mediterranean and Japanese cuisines, he presents a new and dynamic perspective to the property’s beloved dining outlets. In addition to helping the resort’s signature mountain restaurant Prospect, Rambaran will oversee all food and beverage operations for the resort, including J-Bar, The Living Room, The Garden, the soon-to-open speakeasy Bad Harriet, as well as in-room dining, catering and creative pop-up culinary activations.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Chef Marlon Rambaran into our Jerome family,” said Patrick Davila, general manager, Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection. “His wealth of experience speaks for itself, having worked in some of the best kitchens in America. Chef Rambaran will be an inspirational driving force as Executive Chef, and I look forward to his ongoing contribution as we embark on a new chapter for Hotel Jerome.”
Rambaran joins Hotel Jerome from L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon,the Michelin star-rated restaurant in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Prior to that, he held several senior leadership positions, including consultant executive chef at The Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington D.C., overseeing a seven million dollar relaunch of the entire food and beverage program, and executive chef at Le Bilboquet in Sag Harbor, N.Y., handling all aspects of the restaurant’s operations since its opening.
“I am honored to join the culinary team at Hotel Jerome,” said Marlon Rambaran, executive chef, Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection. “The hotel is such an iconic Aspen institution and I look forward to cultivating relationships with local farmers and purveyors to create an atmosphere and menu that appeals to the community and our resort guests.”
A Trinidad native raised in New Jersey, Rambaran earned his culinary degree from the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing, N.J. In his free time, he enjoys reading, playing chess, hiking, fishing, and traveling to new areas to discover the latest restaurants and cuisines.
The hotel’s two luxurious Residential Penthouses offer everything from private elevator entrance to spectacular mountain views. Sophisticated amenities include the legendary J-Bar, which is lauded as an Aspen institution; Prospect, an American bistro; après-ski favorite – the Living Room bar and lounge; sultry underground bar Bad Harriet; the award-winning spa; state-of-the-art fitness facilities; ski concierge; outdoor pool and hot tub.
The Hotel Jerome is located on East Main Street (State Highway 82) in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick structure built in the 1880s that is often described as one of the city's major landmarks, its "crown jewel". In 1986 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is operated by Auberge Resorts.
It was built by Jerome B. Wheeler, at the time co-owner of Macy's and a major investor in Aspen during its early boom years. He wanted the city to have a hotel that equaled European ones in its refinements and amenities. It was one of the first buildings west of the Mississippi to have full electric lighting and it has the only above ground ballroom in Aspen. It was the only hotel to remain open through the city's "quiet years" in the early 20th century, as a family business run by a former bartender and his son that often served as the town's social center.
During Prohibition a celebrated spiked drink, the Aspen Crud, was invented at its J-Bar. Later, the drink and bar became popular with members of the Tenth Mountain Division while they trained in the area. After the war, Aspen and its new ski resort became a popular destination, and celebrities vacationing in Aspen like Gary Cooper and John Wayne often stayed at the Jerome, and it became known as a place where they and the locals freely mingled. Hunter S. Thompson used the J-Bar as his de facto office; later the hotel ballroom hosted his memorial service. Bill Murray partied there while portraying Thompson in a film, and the J-Bar also inspired a song by Glenn Frey, who had gone there often with his bandmates while a member of The Eagles.
