There’s even more reason to make your way to Vail this year for the GoPro Mountain Games. In a celebration of wholesome food, healthy living and elevated dining, Larkspur Events & Dining is hosting the Whole30 Dinner Experience this Thursday, June 7, in a collaboration with Whole30 co-founder and CEO, Melissa Hartwig, and the talented team at Larkspur.

Hartwig has started coming to the Mountain Games every year, and she says the event will be a perfect way to kick off the weekend. Whether you’re an athlete competing in the games or a spectator coming to watch all the action, the dinner will highlight the Whole30 as a way to fuel your body to feel good and perform well.

“I think the dinner will be a great example of the way we eat on the program,” explains Hartwig. “It’s not diet food, nobody is calorie restricting, and it’s certainly not flavor deprivation. It’s going to be some of the most delicious food I hope people have ever had in Vail.”

Larkspur owner and chef Thomas Salamunovich has actually been participating in the Whole30 program leading up to this event. He says the dinner will include a lot of high-end, quality ingredients, and will be entirely aligned with the program.

“It’s incredibly liberating to produce this menu for this event,” shares Salamunovich. “We’ll have grass-fed beef carpaccio, caviers — we are breaking out all the luxury goods, because ultimately they all work within the Whole30.”

If you’re competing in the Mountain Games, this could be the best way to nourish your competitive edge. Hartwig says the program has been endorsed by Olympians and professional athletes.

“Especially for the performance-driven athlete,” she explains, “if there are things in your diet that are not serving your performance, your recovery, your mood, your sleep, your energy levels — even the stuff that you may be taking because you think it’s healthy — if it’s not serving you, because we all react to different foods in different ways, then do this little 30-day self-experiment to figure out what foods work and don’t work for you. Then build your perfect training and recovery and performance diet around what you have learned during this experience.”

Maybe this refined dining experience at Larkspur can be day one of your 30. There will even be dessert.

“Our wonderful pastry chef has created these incredible truffles with dates and chocolate and coconut,” says Salamunovich. “Dates have lovely natural sugar.”

The meal will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening with a meet and greet, and guests will make their way to tables for and elegant family style experience. Here’s a preview of the menu:

• To Begin | Braised Baby Artichokes & Aromatics, Niçoise Olive Crumbs
• First course | Chilled Eastern Seaboard and West Coast Shellfish, Early Summer Vegetable Crudité; Pairing: Clarified Citrus Tonic
• Second Course | Seared Grass-Fed Beef Carpaccio, Celery Root Crisps, Shaved Black Summer Truffles, Preserved White Winter Truffle Aioli; Pairing: Bone Marrow & Wild Mushroom Herbal Tea
• Third Course | Pasture Raised & Organic Egg & Almond Flan, Maris Piper Potato Broth, Sturgeon and Trout Caviars
• Fourth Course | 4 preparations of Liberty Duck with their
  accompaniments; Cured, Confit, Broth, Brick Oven Roasted
• Fifth Course | Interactive Assortment of Savory Desserts “no sugar added”

Tickets for the Whole30 Dinner Experience are priced at $150 per person and can be purchased at register.mountaingames.com. Space is limited. For more information on the event, visit mountaingames.com/events/whole30- dinner-experience.

Based in Vail, Colorado, KIM FULLER is a freelance writer, editor and photojournalist in addition to her role as Co-Owner + Editor-In-Chief of CO YOGA + Life®. She is also a yoga teacher and co-founder of In Your Element, a yoga and outdoor adventure company. See more of her work at kimfullerink.com, and follow her on Instagram @lifeinfull.