On Tuesday, Up the Creek's fish were in the water. On Wednesday, the fish were on a plane, landing in Denver as the recent blizzard just began to hit. Regardless of snowy roads and possible closures, the purveyor personally drove the fish in a Humvee to the Vail Village restaurant. On Thursday, the fish were enjoyed off the plate. All in the name of freshness.

Up the Creek's new executive chef Kyle Cowan is obsessive about fresh food. Fish arrive five days a week, and other edibles, seven days a week. Ice cream and shrimp are the only items in the restaurant's tiny standup freezer. "People can't hide things when food is fresh," chef says. You won't find halibut on the menu in winter, only in late spring, when it's in season, and salmon currently arrives from New Zealand until the fish are ripe in Alaska.

"I like that I work with the best of the the best," Cowan says. "I don't have to turn magic tricks to make good food."

Pan-roasted pork chop, served with asparagus and stone ground mustard mashed potatoes ($27).

"Food needs to be served in a natural state," Cowan says. "In my opinion, the more you add to food, the more you take away from it."

Cowan grew up in coastal Texas. His uncle and great uncle were both master chefs, and his grandfather owned a ranch where meat would hang and dry in the barn. The meals he enjoyed there were abundant and fresh from the land. It built the foundation for Cowan's food passion, and that fire for cooking is what landed him the job at Up the Creek.