This week we welcome chef Cliff Benavides to our Instagram stories so he can show us his joy of cooking and running the kitchen at Courier in the Grand Hyatt Denver hotel. The chef recently moved to the area and comes to the Mile High with decades of food knowledge under his apron, which he uses to create an approachable, globally-inspired menu of food.
Check out what he does and how he celebrates his staff as Benavides takes over our social media for the day. Best part, you can enter to win a gift card to the restaurant so you can taste first hand what the fuss is all about.
The Chef
Much of Cliff Benavides cooking career took place in Texas. In 2007 he started with the Grand Hyatt San Antonio and, 17 years later, has never looked back from working with the hotel group. Since working for the company the chef has moved around, landing in kitchens located in Austin, Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side, Charleston, and Houston. Save for a six-month stint at an arena, he has solely worked for the hotel chain. Now Benavides is in Denver, honing his craft at Courier.
“It’s the people, I have great connections with the people I have met over the years,” said Benavides as to why he has stuck with Hyatt his whole career. “Maybe it’s the ambiance, the aura, I don’t know the right world, but the connections [I made] have been everlasting.”
Benavides originally hails from Chicago, where he was born and raised. After high school his family moved to Texas, and he came with them to study the culinary arts, taking odd jobs in between.
“It’s my chosen family here, and a lot of San Antonio people I started [working] with moved around, and my core four moved to Denver,” said the chef regarding why he was drawn to the Mile High City in the first place. “For the last three years they have tried to get me here, and by the time I moved I knew about a dozen people.”
The chef fit right in, taking the reins of Courier in early January, 2025. He loves to read, especially about cooking and food. Cookbooks remain high on his list too, and some favorites include The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs, Food Lovers Companion, and his 50th anniversary edition of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. He also devours articles and magazines on the subject. And, in his spare time, he works to create the perfect grilled cheese to fit any mood.
The Restaurant
Courier in the Grand Hyatt Denver has been going strong since 2018. Its name pays homage to one of the building’s first tenets, the historic Rocky Mountain News. The Rocky Mountain News remained at that location until moving in June, 1952. But while the menu font speaks of newspaper type, the connection trails off there.
It’s more about the food anyway. Sectioned off into three distinct spaces, guests can grab a seat at the bar, sit in the main dining room, or request the private dining area with a reservation. At the bar you can get the same fare, though dinner comes with a show as bartenders whip up drinks and pour from a 12-tap system, which highlights local brews. Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 6 p.m.
Overall the food options range from flatbreads to sandwiches to fresh salads for lunch and dinner. The evening menu offers many other options as well, including the Bruschetta Pappardelle and a drool-worthy tequila-brined roasted half chicken with warm potato salad. In general, said Benavides, the menu reflects not only his experience with global flavors, but dishes created by his chefs and their experiences as well.
The Menu
Chef Benavides said he’s excited to show off his talented team in the kitchen, and show viewers what the pre-shift action is like. Currently the chefs are working on the fall menu, and, as with each season, Benavides opens it up to the staff to help create it.
“When I write new menus I ask the cooks what their passions are, and so with the menu for the summer I assigned each of them a dish to make,” he said. “We go from there and volley ideas about how it should look [and taste].”
One of his chefs, who grew up in the Congo, created mbika, or courge, a dish composed of squash seeds that get ground, seasoned, and laid over rice. It looks like ground turkey, added Benavides, but the menu item remains completely vegan and hearty.
“You don’t see this on any menu, and who else has a dish from the Congo in Africa?” he said. “Many guests have ordered and enjoyed it.”
Overall the menu at Courier features techniques and flavors from around the world. For the fall the chef is working on a bison short rib and a meat platter featuring three different exotic sausages. But while some of the items will change, dinner hits such as The 3B, a burger with grass-fed beef, bourbon onion jam, house-cured bacon, cheddar cheese, and house slaw, will always be available.
The Takeover
Join chef Benavides on Thursday, September 25 as he takes over DiningOut’s Instagram stories. Follow his day in the kitchen as he directs his staff, plays with new fall foods, and highlights why he has loved working with the Hyatt company for the past 17 years.
Enter to win a $100 gift card to Courier by liking the static post, following DiningOut, tagging friends, and following the restaurant all on Instagram. Bonus points if you tag someone who is new to the magazine.
Visit Courier for the breakfast buffet Monday through Friday from 6 to 10:30 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 11:30 a.m.; lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner Sunday through Thursday from 3 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 3 to 11 p.m. 1750 Welton St., Denver, hyatt.com
