The Cyclist's Menu Team: Heidi Rentz & Zander Ault hanging out with Peter Smith of @MadAlchemy Chamois Cream, Broomfield, CO. Peter and his wife are creators of this wonderful, high quality product for cyclist's and triathletes. We are so proud to be working with Mad Alchemy! 

#CHEFZ is still up and running, catering private parties and events across the Front Range of Colorado. However, with my better half, endurance multi sport coach  Heidi Rentz, we have combined our passions for incredible foods, cycling, adventure, and culture into a project that represents that hard work and compassion so many people have for the cycling industry. THE CYCLIST'S MENU MEANS BUSINESS & WE STRIVE TO BUILD A STRONGER, TIGHTER CYCLING COMMUNITY!! As ambassadors of this incredible sport, it's our mission to offer memorable cycle and multi sport training experiences to clients from around the Northern Hemisphere, however, do so with a small town, locally minded approach. At The Cyclist's Menu, you wont find us trying to reinvent any wheels. Rather, incorporate the brands we believe in, trust, and use ourselves. These brands are leaders in the industry, our clients can rest assured, knowing they will have direct contact with the industry in a way that is hard to find elsewhere. We "work hard, to work hard," we provide an opportunity to our clients to personally feel connected to the sport they love, beyond riding their bikes, beyond the simple pleasure of exercise. The Cyclist's Menu can't wait to spend miles on the road or trail with you soon!

A quick visit to Breckenridge, Colorado. Skratch Labs is a company The Cyclist's Menu is pumped to be representing. Not only do they offer a hydration mix for everyday life, adventure, and 1 for even the most extreme conditions; Skratch Labs embodies community. The simple act of being together, actively or relaxing, around the dinner table changes our lives for the better each day. Stay tuned for a new cook book from Skratch Labs soon! 

EVER HEARD OF MT. LEMMON?
INTERESTED IN VISITING TUCSON, ARIZONA FOR A WEEK OF CYCLING YOU WONT FORGET? JOIN US, HEIDI RENTZ & ZANDER AULT, FOR 5 DAYS OF INCREDIBLE RIDING, GOURMET FOODS, OUR FAVORITE ACTIVE/ENDURANCE FUELS AND PRODUCTS IN THE INDUSTRY!

WE ARE SO HAPPY TO SAY THAT SLOTS ARE FILLING UP! CONTACT US FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO SIGN UP, TRAVEL SAFE, AND EXPERIENCE THE DESERT SOUTHWEST LIKE NEVER BEFORE. 

SINCERELY, 

HEIDI RENTZ & ZANDER AULT

PHONE: 406 370 4573 & 505 670 9418
​WWW.HEIDIRENTZ.COM 
​@thecyclistsmenu

Have you heard? There's a new experience on the cycling scene, a new look at riding bikes and embracing the culture surrounding this wonderful sport. A co-ed cycling experience in Tucson, Arizona this winter, January 2016, built and operated by two of the best female athletes in the industry. Heidi Rentz and Kelli Emmett are two of the warmest athletes on the female cycling circuit. With a combined 21 years of experience as professional mountain bike racers, these woman know how to ride! Join them in Tucson this winter, learn their best kept training secrets, and experience a dining culture like never before. 

Amazing desert views, long miles, hill climbs, seasonal farm fresh menu's, tired legs... All this in a memorable community minded atmosphere, nestled in the beautiful Saguaro National Park West! 

Visit www.heidirentz.com   for more details on The Cyclist's Menu experience, how to sign up and contact directly. 

Why Farm to Table?
 
As a Chef, I have chosen to make a sincere and responsible impact on the future of Colorado’s agriculture industry. My mission is to specifically source my products: seasonally, sustainably grown and raised. This will insure my company is actively instilling change in the availability, sale, and distribution of the highest quality goods. Chefs’ are not only points of direct sales for farms and ranches, each one of us represents our suppliers and can tell their stories.
 
CHEF Z is dedicated to offering Colorado’s best, year round, telling stories of new favorite foods, and allowing my clients to feel directly connected to their local and regional food shed.
 
Farm to Table is more than a community supported trend or movement. It is an action, a conscience decision to support your community, state, and the food you eat. The phrase encompasses so many active pieces to life: family, growth, passion, health, and respect.
 
Starting with a handshake, our relationship to food is brought to you by a chef, someone who cares deeply about the food you eat. Each dish tells a story, paints a picture across your palate. Those flavors create memories of seasons past, and moments with loved ones. When choosing to support a farm to table meal, you’re supporting the health and viability of many farms, ranches, and the chef’s who seek to bring the best of Colorado’s food to your table.
 
This is why the Farm to Table model is so important. As land prices increase, population numbers rise, and tillable soil and ground water are lost in large percentages each year, Farm to Table chef’s make personal sacrifices to support key players in their local agricultural communities. This kind of dedication works towards making Colorado a more sustainable place to live now, and for future generations. CHEF Z is a proud Farm to Table Company and is so excited to be sharing the adventures of front and backcountry cooking with you all.  

Your Truly, 

Zander Ault
​
Founder/Executive Chef
CHEF Z LLC

Recently, I have been thinking about what it means to perform at your best, all the time... OR, at least work your hardest to perform your best everyday, in whatever capacity you see fit, feel good about, or physically can and are willing to do at that moment. 

My number one reason for thinking this way is due to my creative action towards starting my own small business, as a private chef in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder offers incredible opportunity for those who wish to work hard and have a desire to achieve. It's a major reason why I choose to move here, with my #1 girl, pro woman's mountain bike and XTERRA racer, Heidi Rentz of HR Multi-Sport Coaching. We have dedicated our lives to an active lifestyle, filled with adventure, unknowns, new people, and challenge. Boulder has risen the bar for both of us, and demands attention to detail and committed work ethic. An attitude leading us towards delivering the highest quality product in our industry; Heidi as a professional athletic coach/racer and myself as a nutritional, farm to table chef. The drive to succeed has already brought us great fortune in meeting wonderful, new friends. However, it has brought us to new heights in our professional careers, and is allowing us to experiment, craft, provide different ways of doing things for our clients now and in the future. It is so cool!!! 

My second reason for thinking this way, forming a stream of thought around sustaining a way of life, and the potential outcome; is my recent time spent cooking for professional triathlete and 2015 triathlon world championship contender: Ben Hoffman.  I have spent a lot of time around athletes, one's who have done or do very well in their respective sports. However, Ben is one of the most down to earth, real people I have ever met. His outlook on achievement and success in the sport of triathlon is incredible and inspiring. Ben has taken a natural gift as an athlete and created a fantastic journey out of it. In a smooth and energetic motion, he has maintained his professional career as a triathlete, but as an ambassador of sport and the dedication to what it takes to remain healthy, in shape, and excited about the road to the 2015 world championships in Kona, Hawaii. With only 8 weeks until Kona, I walked into Ben's kitchen and began cooking weekly meals, ready for him to be finished with each days training plan. Finally, a real life experiment in food, to see the actual results of my recipe's ability to help one of the best in the world in triathlon towards achieving the results he desires. The last 3 weeks have been an unparalleled opportunity, one I will remember throughout the duration of my career as a private chef. Furthermore, it helps me understand the sustainability of a way of life. As an athlete, business man or woman, or chef, we all must face challenges, filled with moments to explore new ideas and ways of doing things. The relationship that athletes have with their food is paramount in succeeding the goals each have set out for themselves. A chef can help you redevelop that relationship, and provide insight into what it means to train harder, and eat better! Maintain your lifestyle by understanding how to fuel in a way that can and will provide great results. Maintain your body, help foster a sustainable future for your local economy, and feel great while doing so. I look forward to cooking for you soon!! 

Warm Regards, 

Zander Ault   

@bhoffmanracing @iamspecialized_tri @zootsports @rallysportboulder @tenderbelly @infinite_chimp

When I think about it, I have been cooking for athletes since 2006. The idea of cooking and being a chef, in my life, is incredible. I cant think of anything else that has brought me to more beautiful, amazing places on this earth. More importantly, my love for great food, and the desire to be a chef, has introduced me to some of the most amazing people I will ever meet. Starting with dinner parties during college with friends of all kinds to working professionally for the globally acclaimed training company The Cycling House, cooking for cyclists, triathletes, and runners on the Spanish Island of Mallorca; food, the very thing that drives our bodies every day, has provided a stream of adventure in my growing, young career as a chef. 

This short story must go back a bit further than 2006 however. The concept of art, as a medium, practice, or ritual if you will; I was born with an innate understanding of how it works. My mind visualizes things, needs to see it in person, and work with it. Growing up, my teachers referred to it as, "Zander is a hands on learner." Yes, they were correct, what they didn't fully grasp is my deeper understanding of complex shapes, design, and detail. I remember a moment in high school, when my drawing teacher told me I would receive a lower grade on my assignment because my drawing was done without a background... "A lower grade," I said, "you have to be kidding me..." Art is design, it's what you see, not someone else's point of view. This is why art is so magical, so creative, and always evolving. Another moment in time, if I may... During a 3 year stint in boarding school, in Lakeville, CT, I was submerged into a tightly knit learning environment. I lived at school, folks from the East Coast can get this, as it was normal to live at school at such a young age there. However, although there were struggles, trouble, homework, and maybe even a few visits to the principles office, I learned a lifetime of lessons. Ones that have brought me to where I am today. The best part about this chapter of my life, is I actually visited the principles office every morning!! He was my advisor, and I could not think of anyone more instrumental in my life at that moment in time. I pushed more buttons than I should have, but it was for good reason, and he pushed right back. I was never on watch, I was always being watched, and having learned from that experience, is something I will never forget. Thank you Mr. Dunham!! 

Where am I going with this you might ask... Well, there was another teacher at this boarding school who made an impact on me I will never exchange either. John Buck, my art teacher, lacrosse coach, and someone who has lead, softly, in my life since those growth years at The Indian Mountain School. He taught us to draw, sculpt, and paint like you meant it. Use art as a form of expression, have fun with it. Since, I have brought this outlook on genre, mediums, and the right side of my brain to so many endeavors in my life. The countless number of thank you's to those who have influenced me, as an artist, and now a chef... I have lost count. 

To return to my proposed thought here, in this blog post, cooking for athletes started a long time ago. Cooking as an art began to influence my life over 10 years ago, and it has evolved into my career path. Thank you to all the hungry, h-angry, always starving athletes who I have cooked for from NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) courses to cocktail parties, training camps to Colorado beer festival fundraisers, the journey has been my pleasure. It is you all, who have influenced my desire to be the best chef I can be, and continue to grow. If you had asked me 4 years ago if I would ever consider starting my own company, as a private chef, I would have responded, "heck no! That sounds like a headache." Well, obviously I have even proved myself wrong, and since have gone ahead and launched CHEF Z Private Chef and Catering Services. As an active community member, no matter where I live, I seek to bring the farm to YOUR table. I love to cook for active people, athletes of all sports, and individuals who continue to push their bodies to the extreme. I love it because it holds no boundaries, its expressive, just like sport. Their are tactics involved, timing needs to right on, and when you feel you have made a bold move, go with it. No matter what sport you're involved in, the food remains the same. Healthy, nutritious, fresh, sweet and spicy, LOCAL... Recently, following an interesting conversation with a woman who directs a group called, Chefs Collaborative , I realized the importance of sustainability from a performance perspective and how it can relate to the longevity of a local food shed. Chef's are a direct expression of a regions food security, and that food sheds ability to remain in tact and support the growing population. A chef, or a group of chefs, we have the ability to influence change in the market place. Where is your food coming from? What are you eating? Who grew it? And, lastly, why, if you aren't already, eating food grown close to your home? These are major questions, ones that seem to have been answered in all of our lives at some point. However, as a chef, and person who desires to make change in the State of Colorado, ask yourself these questions one more time... Furthermore, as an athlete, when considering your performance and its sustainability over a long course of time, why not consider your source of food products to be similar to your decision when taking care of your body. As a private chef, one who seeks to help and maintain the kind of sustainability athletes of all kinds need to perform, I consider the best possible foods available, in order to provide the best nutrients for my clients. Working together makes this easier, especially if your busy training for an event that demands your 100% attention. So, I have been cooking for athletes since 2006, however, what I have really been doing is honing in on my attention as a chef, and the impact I can make on any athletes or active humans life. CHEF Z brings the fire when it comes to training meals, pre and post workout fuels. I look forward to cooking with you soon! 

Yours truly, 

Zander

Let the blogging begin! Whether I can say this idea has been brewing for sometime or I woke up one morning in June 2015 and decided to make a huge stab at starting my own company; I cant say. What I can be sure about is my experience building CHEF Z has ignited a fire within me. My passion and drive to work towards becoming the ever learning, best chef I can be is rooted in my desire to offer the best ingredients and in turn their meals, to my clientele. 

It's been interesting learning how to work for myself. I find myself asking all the complicated questions I would ask a senior manager or boss. However, now I'm answering those questions and tackling the challenges I face each day. It feels great! Its evolving, frustrating, empowering; all at the same time. As Founder and Executive Chef of CHEF Z, I make the decisions where my food comes from, which farms and ranches I work with, and the story I get to share with my clients about the individuals who grew their carrots or raised the cattle, hogs, chicken, or lamb. Colorado is rich in agriculture, CHEF Z is dedicated to bringing the fruits of the harvest season to your home, business, or event. CHEF Z is a small company, one that understands the desire to make change and work to improve the connection folks have with where their food is coming from. From years in the endurance sports industry, the term sustainable is used in a way to maintain health, longevity, and consistency of any athletes performance. I want to impose this kind of thought on my food shed in Colorado. As a chef I have the choice to build a sustainable business model by offering my clients whats available seasonally, yes, but more importantly, provide my clients a real ownership of that food shed. When you choose CHEF Z as your private chef or caterer, you choose Colorado farms and ranches. Thus, you're helping to build a healthier, stronger local agriculture industry that will better endure the tight financial pinches of higher food prices, transportation costs, and the ever increasing price of land. Cheers!

This space will be a place where I get to rant and rave about new ideas, foodie delights, farmers markets, Colorado breweries, dog tails, and adventure of all kinds. You might find some recipes pop up from time to time too! Stay tuned for more from CHEF Z, the summer isn't near done yet!!! In the mean time, and until you find a great reason to have an event or dinner party, stay clued in on my Instagram; @zanderault and on Facebook: CHEF Z 

Eat really good food!!

Zander