Next, Oprah and Gayle point their Impala in the direction of Durango, Colorado—a former mining town that's now known for outdoor sports—that is located about 85 miles from the "four corners" intersection of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
There they planned to drop in on Oprah's former chef, Paul Gelose. Oprah says Paul loved Colorado more than just about anything...even cooking for her and Stedman. "He used to cook for me and count how many ski days he was missing," she says. "So I said, 'Go back to Colorado, Paul.'"
He did, and now Paul owns a high-end restaurant called The Palace in Durango. All 18 members of the Big Adventure crew stopped in, hoping for a haute cuisine break from roadside fast food.
Gayle was particularly excited about eating at The Palace. "If his restaurant food was anything like the food he used to make for Oprah and Stedman, I knew we were in for a really good treat."
As Gayle read the menu aloud, she could hardly contain herself. "Seared scallops drizzled with mango vanilla bean butter? Penne pasta, fresh garlic basil, roma tomatoes sautéed in olive oil, tossed with fresh mozzarella cheese—that sounds good. That's worth the seven hour drive we did today."
Published 01/01/2006
