Chef David Schaumburger isn’t new to The Ritz-Carlton brand, but he is new to Denver as he takes over the upscale hotel’s restaurant, Elway’s Downtown. After running food programs within the hotel’s five properties in Naples, Florida, which included nine outlets and six restaurants, as well as the biggest club lounge in the U.S., he is happy to scale down in the Mile High City.
Now, Schaumburger will manage the food services of a single hotel, and the celebrated steakhouse backed by the famous former Bronco quarterback, John Elway. Schaumburger plans on adding more grab-and-go options, perfect breakfast service, and dial in the steakhouse to make it not just consistently great, but modern at the same time. Based on his history and experience in hotels and kitchens, Schamburger may just be the right chef for the job.
The chef comes to Denver with his wife and 2-year-old son. As they ease into the Colorado lifestyle, Schaumburger said he’s excited for the change and hopes to embrace the aforementioned European version of stopping to smell the roses. But in this case, he’s more charged to stop and smell all the food the city offers.
“We really love Denver and all our expectations from videos on YouTube and research came true,” said Schaumburger over the phone. “We are super happy that, as a family, we made this move. And, of course, also for me, it’s such a pleasure to join and build the program and teams. I’m really looking forward to the future.”
The Beginning of a Chef David Schaumburger
Schaumburger grew up in Germany in the town of Zweibrücken, right on the border the country shares with France. Because of that proximity, said the chef, he got a dose of the leisurely French lifestyle of sitting back, sipping a drink in the afternoon at a cafe and chatting with friends and family.
“I like what I see on 16th Street [Mall],” he said with a thick German accent. “You know, you sit on the street, you have your coffee, the kids are playing on the road. You’re a little bit more relaxed, you meet a lot of friends and you enjoy a coffee and you can sit, like, an hour and a half hour only to chat on the street. Then you go grocery shopping and you go home.”
The German-French culture helped grow one of the first culinary inspirations Schaumburger had, which was through his own father. At home, his dad did most of the cooking and Schaumburger eventually started cooking with him.
“For me it was like, wow, look people sit and the laughing, jokes, talking about life, the week, the problems, the happiness, everything,” said the chef. “Everyone feels at home, like in a bubble and it was safe. I was like, wow, this is for me, hospitality.”
In a way, he added, his parents embraced what the hospitality industry is all about, without being professionally part of it. By the age of 17, Schaumburger was ready to make money and wanted to dive into the hospitality industry in whatever way possible. Against his parents’ wishes, he got a job at a nightclub in Germany.
“My family was like, no, you are 17, but the owner was like, okay, because you’re 18 in three or four months,” said Schaumburger, whose parents still wouldn’t sign the work papers for the job. “I really told the guy, look, it’s only a few months, please hire me, I [just] am $5 an hour.”
In the end he got to work as a barback for the club three nights a week, between going to school full time and taking shifts at a Hollywood-themed eatery called Paramount Restaurant in Zweibrücken, which is still running. Schaumburger started as a barkeep, then server, all the while hearing the owner complain about the chef. It was the first time Schaumburger really thought about a job in the kitchen.
From Barkeep to Celebrated Chef
Around the age of 22 Schaumburger decided he wanted to branch out, maybe open his own space. But his godfather and dad disagreed and encouraged him to learn more. They suggested hotel management, or even a chef. A week later Schaumburger decided he would head to the kitchen.
“I want to try to be a chef because I was already a server, and I know what to do when you put me in the service area, but I would never know what to do in the kitchen,” he said. “I think hospitality [is closest in] the kitchen, with the foods for the soul, for me. Like, it’s the heart of a whole hotel, the kitchen.”
With those ideals in mind, Schaumburger started working at a Romantik Hotel Landschloss Fasanerie, a boutique hotel near home with a Michelin starred restaurant. For him, everything started there. He worked and went to school, and all the while watched how dedicated the owner was to hospitality.
“To see the private owner and how he served the tables, how he engaged with us, and how much they pushed my talent because they told me, you know, everything is possible,” said the chef fondly.
The owner also made sure Schaumberger didn’t get stuck, and gave him six months to work and find a new job in order to grow. When the time was up, Schaumburger went on to other Michelin starred spots, learning how to work banquets, large parties, small hotel cafes, opening a hotel, and more. He had stints at the two Michelin Star-rated Restaurant Villa Rothschild, where he trained under the tutelage of executive chef Chris Rainer.
The experience was great, said Schaumberger, but it wasn’t really what he wanted to do forever. A conversation with his now wife had him questioning if working all night then getting up at 5 a.m. every day to bake brioche for the foie gras was really his end goal.
“I realized, okay, where I want to be one day, and well I didn’t see me like 50-years-old having two Michelin stars, being in a small kitchen,” said the chef. “I was like, no, I can’t. It’s a marathon every day. No, I can’t do this.”
That epiphany led him to the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel, at the time the largest hotel in Europe. There he honed his cooking skills at high speed for thousands of covers. Next he went on to open La Ville Hotel & Suites in Dubai. While there he traveled all over, seeing the world, save for Australia, he added. After that, and with another push from his boss to move on from Europe, the chef headed to the United States to oversee The Ritz-Carlton Naples in Florida.
Working in the United States and Elway’s Downtown
In Naples Schaumberger served as executive sous chef, organizing banquets and, as if coming full circle from his beginnings in hospitality, overseeing the club lounges. After five years there, the chef landed in Denver, where he and his family plan to stay for a while.
With the move comes movement in the menu and food service at Elway’s too. The chef has dived into ideas such as grab-and-go items, whether a weekend brunch buffet is still a popular thing, and if people want quick lunches like a power bowl or salad topped with steak. He is using both his international experiences and what he observes in Denver, meshing the two to make something great for the hotel.
“It’s a completely different environment [than] in Naples, and when we came to Denver my wife was like, oh, finally I have more food options than five or ten restaurants,” said the chef, who is using his wife’s excitement over the dining scene to also fuel his research. “We are full the whole time on Instagram, looking for new places, and I have to say, I really like the Denver food scene.”
And now, about a month into the job, Schaumberger is part of it. While Elway’s will still have a great steak and meat program, the lamb chops made one of our favorite dishes of July, the chef plans to push more Colorado ingredients on the plate too. He’s having fun but also using his professional skills to make sure everything works well for both the staff and visitors. Diners can check out what the chef has created any night of the week, whether staying at the hotel or not.
Visit Elway’s Downtown Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.; Friday from 7 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Join the daily happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, 1881 Curtis St., Denver, elways.com
