Ryan Hardy is refreshingly antiquated for a trendsetter. The gregarious, 34 year-old executive chef of The Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colo., has racked up awards and acclaim for his rustic, farm-to-table cooking at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Montagna. His passion and unflagging enthusiasm for cooking, farming, and educating recently earned him a nomination for a prestigious James Beard Award, and his dedication to supporting local family farms has inspired many of the region’s other chefs to follow suit.

In 2007, Hardy and co-owner Michael Waters bought a 15-acre homestead in Crawford, Colo., and created a sustainable farm that produces everything from tree crops and vegetables to heritage breed pigs fattened on windfall apples, pasture-raised chickens, and grass-fed lamb. The yield from Hardy’s Rendezvous Farm goes to The Little Nell’s three restaurants; neighboring ranches supply the cow and goat’s milk for his cheeses. Hardy’s pantry at Montagna is stocked with more than 500 types of preserves, pickles, and chutneys made from Rendezvous’ produce. Cured meats dangle from the ceiling.

Hardy found early inspiration during visits to his great aunt’s tobacco farm near his hometown of Lexington, Ky., where he first tasted the joy of large, hours-long family meals prepared using farm-raised produce and livestock. While Hardy says he always wanted to cook for a living, it wasn’t until he began cooking at a seasonal restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard that his childhood experiences sunk in. “We were surrounded by farms on the island,” he recalls. “I learned how to slaughter and butcher livestock, milk goats, and harvest and forage produce for the restaurant. That’s when I really started connecting with farmers, and that’s what’s driving me in my personal and professional life now.”

After stints cooking at high-profile restaurants in Aspen, San Francisco, and New York, Hardy returned to Aspen to take over the executive chef position at The Little Nell.

What satisfies him the most, however, is spending time at his farm. “I love and crave the city, but I feel at home in the country—there’s something nurturing about it,” he says. “Food tastes a lot better when chickens and pigs are running around in front of you, and you’re drinking out of a Mason jar.”

American Sliders Who knows exactly where the slider craze originated or what it will lead to next, but one thing is for sure—the cheeseburger is decidedly American. We put these on the menu 3 years ago, before they started popping up across this vast country, and they’ve been so popular we can’t take them off. The secret to these little beauties is how you toast the buns. A lot of butter and a medium hot pan give you a crispy edge soaked with butter for that mouth explosion. The combination of Roquefort cheese and bacon is a classic, but be sure to search out real Roquefort cheese from France. It’s the original blue made of sheep’s milk with a buttery, salty finish that is heaven for a cheeseburger. 24 ounces beef or bison, ground, grass fed, fresh 6 ounces Roquefort cheese 4 strips hickory-smoked bacon 6 T. butter 4 T. mayonnaise 12 small buns Salt & pepper Form the patties into 2 ounce portions and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mini hamburgers in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until medium rare, about 5-7 minutes. While the burgers are cooking, butter the buns generously and place butter side down in a sauté pan pre-warmed over medium-high heat. The butter should sizzle and spit. When the buns are finished toasting, place a dollop of mayo on the bottom bun and top with a burger patty. Smudge a half ounce of Roquefort cheese on the burger and top with a third of a strip of bacon. Add the top bun and skewer each slider to hold together. Enjoy immediately. Makes 12 sliders