Michelin Bib Gourmand Winner the Ginger Pig in Denver Debuts New Items

Long-time Westword readers will be familiar with chef Natascha Hess’s journey from food truck owner to restaurateur to Food Network competitor and, most recently, Michelin Bib Gourmand award-winner. But it was Hess’s journeys across east Asia earlier this year that provided the inspiration for several new menu items that have popped up at both her Denver spot as well as her soon-to-open Boulder takeout window — one of which can’t be found elsewhere in the metro area.

“I’m so reinvigorated,” says Hess of her travels; in February, she spent three weeks in Korea, Japan and Singapore with her Chopped competitor Ann Kim, and in May, she returned for a six-week tour of Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. “Luckily, I got to visit Japan three times,” she says of her…