Daniel Asher

At River and Woods, specializing in locally sourced, elevated Colorado comfort food, guests can preorder online the restaurant’s special Zimmer Honey Challah with foraged pine-lavender butter. Available only on Fridays, the popular bread eats like the finest brioche, eggy and sweet, with a soft, spongy texture and golden crust. The ingredients of the challah are all thoughtfully sourced: freshly milled organic heirloom wheat from mills in Colorado and Utah; local, pastured eggs from a farm practicing regenerative agriculture; honey from a local apiary; and cane sugar from a farmers’ cooperative in South America. The pine-lavender butter features local pine syrup and pine needles foraged by Chef/Co-Founder Daniel Asher himself.

The recipe was shared with Asher by a dear family friend who received it from a Holocaust survivor after WWII. “The dish defines my core philosophy of cooking: Work with amazing things that are grown and made with a reverence for soil, planet and people; handle them with respect, integrity and proper technique; and serve them to our guests with graceful hospitality,” says Asher.