Culinary Arts Experience

Chef Tajahi Cooke is a Jamaican-born chef, community leader, food broker, and culinary educator whose work bridges the worlds of hospitality, business, and service. As President of the Colorado Chef Alliance and an Account Executive with Lakeland Marketing, he is dedicated to connecting chefs, manufacturers, distributors, and operators while strengthening Colorado’s culinary community.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Tajahi’s culinary foundation was shaped by his grandparents, Mrs. Betty and Mr. Adrian Cooke. Long before professional kitchens, he learned that food began with the land—planting vegetables, shelling peas, peeling garlic, and understanding that every meal carried a story. Those early lessons became the foundation of a career built on respect for ingredients, craftsmanship, and service.

Chef Vikky is the founder of ClassikChops, a Colorado-based Nigerian culinary brand specializing in catering and food experiences. Rooted in Yoruba culture from Southwest Nigeria, she brings authentic flavor, quality, and hospitality to every table. After building a bakery and catering business in Nigeria and helping others start food businesses, she launched ClassikChops in Colorado to fill a gap for Nigerian food that truly tastes like home.

Jasmine Holmes is a mixed media artist living and working in Colorado. Born in Arizona, she received her BFA from the University of West Florida, and her MFA from Colorado State University. She has exhibited with Redline, IRL Art Gallery and has presented as a demonstrating artist at the Denver Art Museum. Jasmine Holmes uses depictions of staple food crops from her Creole upbringing to explore connections to her West African ancestry. She considers her work a love letter to her ancestors and their cultivation of the land, depicting and celebrating the knowledge and food traditions that have been passed down within her family for generations. Holmes used her Land Line residency to create paintings that explore the beauty of the botanical world and honor the sustenance it offers.

Our wine-tasting corporate events are set against some of the most picturesque setting around Denver, New York, Portland, and portions of California. Our events are entirely customizable to your tastes and preferences and sure to meet your specifications and goals. For meetings, seminars, galas or team-building activities, we are your one-stop shop for all kinds of wine-tasting corporate events. Our corporate wine-tasting workshops will take you on a journey through each region. We have partnered with local establishments to provide unique experiences. In addition, we have a wide selection of team-building activities involving wine education, cultural cuisine discoveries, wine blending, mixology, and cigar educational workshops. Your galas or events will be exclusively catered with delicious gourmet meals and paired with delectable wines.

Tinashe Nyamudoka started Kumusha Wines in 2017 with the assistance of winemaker friend Attie Louw of Opstal. ‘Kumusha’ comes from my native language, Shona, and it means your roots, your home, or your origin,’ says Tinashe Nyamudoka, proprietor of the own-label brand.  There are eight wines in the range, which includes wines from the Swartland, Slanghoek, Sondagskloof and the Western Cape at large.

Nyamudoka started Kumusha Wines in 2017 with the assistance of winemaker friend Attie Louw of Opstal.  Notably, Nyamudoka is a member of Team ZIM with three other Zimbabwean sommeliers, and Jancis Robinson MW assisted them with crowdfunding to get them to the 2017 and 2018 World Blind Wine Tasting Championships. In 2018, they finished in 14th place, beating both Team USA and Team UK. The documentary Blind Ambition (Third Man Films, 2021) follows their journey.

Emboldened by the great fruit produced by the land, its owner and founder, Theodora R. Lee aka Theo-patra, Queen of the Vineyards, a bold and dynamic Texan and San Francisco trial lawyer, is now bottling her own award winning wines.  In addition to bottling the richly intense and flavorful Petite Sirah and Rosé of Petite Sirah, Theopolis Vineyards strikes a lighter note by bottling a Symphony, a white wine, which is a crossing of Muscat and Grenache Gris.  Theopolis Vineyards also bottles an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, a Yorkville Highlands Pinot Noir and a Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir.

Theopolis Vineyards is best known for its Best in Class, Double Gold, 95 Points 2013 Estate Grown Petite Sirah and its Double Gold 2014 Estate Grown Rosé of Petite Sirah. Additionally, the Sunset Magazine International Wine Competition has consistently given the Estate Grown Theopolis Vineyards Petite Sirah stellar Gold Medals.

After retiring from the NBA in 2019, Channing decided to jump into a new industry: wine. As someone who enjoyed wine on a regular basis, his curiosity peaked once he settled down in Oregon. The Willamette Valley, known for its temperate climate perfect for cultivating the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes in the States, is where Channing began learning about farming, fermentation, and distribution. Wine restored in him a sense of excitement and purpose for life that he had lost along with his parents.

With the help of his many friends in the Valley, Channing was able to bring his first two varietals to life: a 2018 Pinot Noir and 2018 Chardonnay. Wine motivated him in the same way basketball had for so many years. He began to understand the subtleties of soil, weather patterns, and how each harvest varies different yields, just like an NBA season. Every year brought new challenges, but also opportunities to grow. Channing found that his competitive edge translated well into the wine industry – the work was still about dedication and resilience, but now it was in a completely different arena.

When deciding what to name his wine label, Channing and his wife Lauren reflected on those after-practice dinners. She helped him realize that these moments shared with the people who meant the most to him were bridged together by their shared love of wine. He no longer considered these people “close friends” or “teammates” — they became his chosen family.