There’s a stereotype of the hot-headed, highly-decorated chef that’s always screaming and terrorizing the kitchen team in order to achieve the perfect plate. But at the Michelin-recognized Ash’Kara in LoHi, executive chef Reginald Dotson couldn’t be farther from that image.
“I’ve always been more of a deep thinker than a quick reactor,” Dotson shared. “That’s just kind of how I’m wired.”
As the fourth of five brothers with big personalities, Dotson learned the value of patience early on. He credits his mother, who was a nurse for 30 years, with embedding care into his DNA.
“It doesn’t really make sense to not be level-headed,” he continued. “I can think a lot more precisely when I’m calm, so it’s just something that I’ve adopted and also something that I want everyone [in the kitchen] to take in as well.”
Dotson’s quiet confidence should not be mistaken for a lack of competitiveness, though. During his tenure at Ash’Kara, he has led the restaurant to Michelin Bib Gourmand status for the last three years in a row, and he intends on maintaining that title.
“I always say, getting the award was the lucky part, being able to maintain it is the real process,” said the chef. “Three is not enough, I want to continue to have that legacy throughout my career.”
Grandma’s Garden: An Early Inspiration
Long before Michelin recognition, Dotson was influenced by his grandmother Maddie’s Southern-style cooking and how it brought people together.
“A lot of the spirit of cooking is what I get from her, just being able to make people laugh, bring people together, and have that first sense of hospitality,” the chef shared. “If they knew Maddie was cooking, everyone would come over.”
Dotson’s grandmother, who was originally from South Carolina, also instilled a reverence for fresh ingredients in him, often creating dishes using vegetables from her own garden.
“Every summer, we’d go back and pick fresh vegetables out of the garden,” he recalled. “We’d do fried green tomatoes, pick fresh greens and then make a salad out of it with cucumbers.”
At Ash’Kara, that vegetable-first mentality translates into dishes like roasted cabbage layered with tahini and harissa over spiced lentils; sweet potatoes served over spiced rice with crispy shallots and mixed greens; and pan-seared gnocchi with leek and allium soubise, confit mushroom, and pecorino.
The kitchen works with local partners including Rebel Farm and Esoterra Culinary Garden, as well as Moxie Milling and Dry Storage for flour.
“Being able to make vegetables taste good is probably one of the better things you can do as a chef,” he noted.
From Curious Kid to Culinary Force
Aside from his grandmother’s influence, ever since childhood Dotson has always been curious about cooking, playing with pots and pans, and, apparently, open flames.
“I’ve always found [cooking] fun and intriguing…One of my first instances of ‘cooking’ was when I put a teddy bear on top of the stove and just turned it on,” he said with a laugh. Luckily, his mom stopped him before anything caught on fire.
That curiosity turned into structure when he began working as a prep cook at the now-closed Islamorada Fish Company inside Bass Pro Shop at The Shops At Northfield. He followed that job with a formative stint at the Warwick Hotel in Denver, where he worked while attending Johnson & Wales University.
“People say culinary school can be a waste of time or money,” he said. “But for me, it was my time to make mistakes and really learn the small nuances of things that I had no idea about.”
That experience was put to the test immediately after graduation when he moved to Charleston to work at Kiawah Club. He recalled the first day on the job when a chef handed him a 12-pound salmon and told him to break it down, something he had never done before.
“Right after culinary school, I was looking to get out of Denver because I knew if I didn’t leave then, I never would,” the chef shared. “I needed to get uncomfortable and unfamiliar with something.”
From Kiawah Club an unexpected opportunity took him to St. Kitts in the Caribbean to work at a partner resort during the winter season. He worked 14-hour days, six days a week, developing specials and adapting to a new environment.
When he eventually returned to Denver, he made his way through the ranks at iconic destinations. The list included the Brown Palace, where he experimented with gastronomy techniques that were trending at the time. He cooked at the now-closed Acorn, where he worked in a hyper-competitive kitchen filled with ambitious cooks all pushing to level up. Then he finally landed at the Culinary Creative Group, working under chef Carrie Baird at Bar Dough.
The Culinary Creative Connection and Ash’Kara
Within a relatively short time, Dotson stepped into the sous chef position at Bar Dough where he worked for nearly three years. Eventually, Culinary Creative’s leadership saw something more, and in 2021 approached him with a proposition to take on a role as sous chef at Ash’Kara.
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors weren’t in his wheelhouse, but he trusted the vision. His education on the cuisine started with a five-day trip to Turkey with former Culinary Creative CEO Juan Padro, where the pair ate as much as they could and visited as many restaurants as possible. Dotson came back with tons of ideas. Over time he rose to chef de cuisine at Ash’Kara and eventually, executive chef, shaping the restaurant’s style while honoring its foundations.
“This restaurant creates a sense of adventure,” Dotson stated. “A lot of people know about hummus or Babaganush, but don’t know about all the nuances of Mediterranean food, and they can try that all here.”
Today, Ash’Kara’s menu is structured for sharing and exploration. It begins with meze like hummus, Babaghanoush, and Htipiti (a red pepper and feta dip), all meant to be passed around with warm pita made fresh in the oven to order. Then come “snacks” like falafel and kofta, before moving into larger entrees such as tajines, roasted vegetables and the fan-favorite za’atar roasted chicken with harissa butter.
The creativity continues behind the bar with cocktails that echo the kitchen’s flavors, like the Getting’ Zhuggy Wit’ It that repurposes cucumber juice from house-made tzatziki into a refreshing, spice-kissed drink mixed with blanco tequila and Chareau aloe liqueur.
Leading Ash’Kara to Michelin Status
After years of studying, working as a line cook, making his way through the ranks of kitchens across Denver and South Carolina, and earning his keep at Culinary Creative Group, Dotson’s work paid off when Ash’Kara earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2023, the first year the organization came to Colorado.
“I always kind of thought I was going to work in a Michelin restaurant,” Dotson shared. “To have it come full circle has been really mind blowing.”
The restaurant has since earned the Bib multiple times, which Dotson views as humbling and motivating.
“Michelin is a good benchmark, but it’s not the only benchmark,” he said. “When you come into the restaurant, you should feel it’s a second home. There’s nothing more humbling than somebody making food for you – you’re accepting, you’re gracious, and it’s that warm feeling that I want to give people.”
Visit Ash’Kara Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 2005 W. 33rd Ave., Denver, ashkaradenver.com
