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It was Christmas Eve - one of Harwigs/L'apogee's busiest nights of the year - when some pans on the back burner of one of the kitchen's stoves began to smoke. As Chef Ryan Hoth moved the pans from the stove, boiling grease splashed onto his hand.

"He had webbing between his fingers from the horrible blisters all over his hand," said Jesse Rapp, a sous chef at the elegant downtown Steamboat Springs restaurant. "But he stuck his hands in rubber gloves and called it good. It was the worst burn I've ever seen, and he worked all night."

Hoth's dedication to Harwigs/L'apogee began seven years ago when he moved here for the skiing. He started as a line cook and worked his way up the ladder until he was named chef in March.

Hoth said he understands the responsibility of his new position.

"You gotta get the job done," Hoth said. "That's the job description."

But Hoth's restaurant experience predates his time in the Yampa Valley.

"I started in a little diner slinging food - nothing fancy," he said. "I was 15. I don't know if I was truly legal, but I wanted money, so I didn't care."

Hoth's passion for cooking led him to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in California. And the cooking equipment and utensils he has collected throughout the years now crowd his small Steamboat apartment.

"I live in a little studio, and my kitchen is the hallway in the entrance," Hoth said. "I have a two-burner stove that folds into the wall, and my fridge is the same size of a college one."

Small things seem to work well for Hoth - he drives a Mini Cooper and recently rebuilt a mini bike. Racing his Mini Cooper goes hand in hand with Hoth's work in the fast-paced restaurant business.

"I've gotten it up to 130 mph in Wyoming," he said. "And in the cog rally I was driving 95 mph on a dirt road passing a cop, who was saying to go faster."

When it comes to his drive to excel in the kitchen, Hoth points to his upbringing.

"I come from a family of not very good cooks," Hoth said. "One of my inspirations was to cook better than my parents."

Hoth challenges himself by devising different daily specials.

"That's what makes the daily routine - menu-wise - very enjoyable," he said. "I have an outlet for any creativity flowing through my veins."

His daily routine needs no explanation and very little communication when working with Rapp.

"We don't even have to speak to each other. We almost have this telekinesis between the two of us," Rapp said. "It's a weird chemistry we have that's hard to describe. We can just raise an eyebrow and know what each other is talking about."

Of course, Hoth's love of skiing hasn't diminished during his seven years in Steamboat. He and Rapp often head to the restaurant kitchen straight from the slopes.

"It depends on how good the skiing is," Rapp said. "Some nights we are still on the line in ski pants."

Noisette D'elan (Elk Chop)

Yields four portions

Ingredients

4 elk chops (10-12 ounces each)

½ pound butter (cubed)

20 stalks of asparagus

2 c black quinoa

2 yellow onions (julienne)

2 beets

2 shallots (diced)

2 c elk stock (or beef stock)

2 c bread crumbs

1 c cream (heavy whipping)

½ c grated parmesan cheese

½ c cognac (or brandy)

¼ c Chablis (or any white wine)

2 T herbs de provence (chopped fine)

- rosemary

- bay leaf

- basil

- savory

- thyme

Method

- Heat oven to 425 degrees

- Peel beets, slice, put on tray and roast until soft (about 25 to 30 minutes)

- In a pot, add 4 cups water (cold) and 2 cups black quinoa. When water begins to boil, decrease to simmer

- In a pan over low heat, add one-third of butter and yellow onions. Stir periodically until golden brown. Remove from heat.

- When water has cooked off from quinoa, add caramelized onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.

- Add parmesan cheese and bread crumbs to food processor and blend for two minutes.

- Press elk chops in parmesan bread crumbs on both sides (if you like your elk more done, put it in the oven for a few minutes).

- Deglaze the pan used to cook elk with cognac, let alcohol burn off, and add the elk or beef stock. Reduce to half volume. Add half the remaining butter and remove from heat. Stir until the butter is melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

- In a pan, add remaining butter, asparagus and shallots. Cook for two minutes over high heat. Remove asparagus, deglaze pan with Chablis, add herbs and cream and reduce to half volume.