About — Counter Culture Telluride

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Counter Culture is the culmination of three service industry professionals coming together over a passion for local and seasonally available food. Settled on the Western Slope of Colorado, the Counter Culture team commits themselves to the local community of farmers, ranchers, and artisans that make the food in this area as unique as the bold souls who love it.

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Community + Sustainability

Founding Partners

Taylor Landry

Taylor originally is from Pittsfield, Maine, where he grew up in a culinary and sustainably-minded household. In the kitchen and prep-cooking since age 12, Taylor’s journey with food is rooted with his parents – his father is known for developing some of the first vegan and vegetarian dining halls for Colby College.
Despite being a life-long pescatarian, Taylor is one of Telluride’s executive meat chefs and has a full range of cooking expertise. Before co-founding Counter Culture, he worked at Alpino Vino (cooking alongside Steve and Grace) as well as starting his own catering company.
Taylor is a firm believer in sustainable sourcing being the most important ingredient for any dish. For Taylor, local and organic products are special, and weird veggies are gems (local mushrooms, for instance) - working with these products to show them in a new way is a beautiful process.
He is an advocate for Counter Culture’s Vegetarian Grain Bowl - noting that its excellence is in its simple, but elegant, presentation of the ingredients, and that the dish hits all of the desired flavor ranges.
Working in the kitchen, Taylor is inspired by the process: he prefers being hands on with the food, prepping and working with it, and noticing the differences and similarities within each produce item. Taylor finds prepping foods to be grounding, as well as a welcome challenge.
For Taylor, Counter Culture represents professionally walking the talk in sustainable culinary practice. Together, the team established their brick and mortar business, and actively works to provide locally sourced foods for every day consumption in Telluride.

Grace Mayer

Grace is originally from Omaha, Nebraska and has been involved in the food industry since age 16. After graduating, she worked on organic, homestead-style permaculture farms where she experienced sustainable food production from source to plate.
Grace has worked in all aspects of food industries and establishments: starting on the line, assembling in sandwich shops, crafting at local cafés (Ghost Town), and hustling in high-end restaurants (Alpino Vino).
In co-founding Counter Culture, Steve, Taylor, and Grace realized their dream to run a culinary business that balances humility with excellence, and represents their team’s talent through stylish and delicious foods.
Grace loves food and meals that are welcoming and comforting – soups, in particular, are poetry in a pot. For Grace, making soup is a metaphor for life: the process might go wrong, but you can keep it moving, let it simmer, and add things to it until it tastes good and turns out alright.
Grace is known for her breads and desserts: she’s a pasta, pie, and tarts aficionado, and her crème filled, chocolate tarts with Oreo cookie crust are a crowd favorite.
Grace has a passion for locally sourced cuisine – she enjoys chatting with customers about where the ingredients are coming from as well as championing Counter Culture’s local food partners.
Grace moved to Telluride for the outdoor recreation and fun vibes, but stayed for the tight-knit, welcoming community that supports and lifts each other up.

Steve Hertzfeld

Steve is originally from Bethesda, Maryland, and has lived and worked all around the United States. His first professional experience cooking for others was in Washington State, as a summer backcountry guide / cook for trail maintenance trips. During that time, he multi-tasked in the wild, guiding and feeding people, and learning how to use all available resources while avoiding food waste.
Since moving to Telluride, Steve has worked in many local culinary establishments, including Alpino Vino and Brickhouse 737, and as a private chef. He enjoys the experience of crafting custom menus that highlight every event, season, and venue.
For his dishes, Steve is inspired by seasonally available local ingredients and producers. He loves coaxing the maximum flavor out of everyday staples. His ethos is to use fresh ingredients and not over-complicate: letting the elegance be in the simplicity.
Steve draws inspiration from his travels—a lifetime of seasonal work has allowed him to see 50 U.S. states, 2 territories, and many foreign countries. He loves to incorporate flavors and techniques from around the globe to elevate classic American dishes—”Confusion Cuisine”. A favorite recent meal was “Masa” ball soup—an East Coast deli favorite fused with southwestern ingredients and flavors. He enjoys working with doughs and fermented foods, as well as braising meats. Steve is most proud of Counter Culture’s scratch ethos—every burger is ground fresh in house, and served on a house made bun.
Steve’s favorite times on the job are when he gets to focus on the creative process; he enjoys cooking something new, taking risks, and trying a combo he has not explored before. He lives for the magic moment when those trial flavors and test batches blend perfectly, producing a spectacular dish.
For Steve, Counter Culture is about producing an honest and tasty product for customers, and creating a space and menu to enjoy for all occasions. He loves working with his friends every day - a team whose mission is to support local business, promote sustainable practices, and foster community.