Daniel Joly/Courtesy photo
How does a Belgian-born chef who owns a top restaurant in Beaver Creek end up cooking a delicious dinner for the Philadelphia Flyers? If Daniel Joly is involved, anything can happen.
Joly is a certified Belgian master chef who started working at Mirabelle restaurant in Beaver Creek in 1992 and bought it in 1999. He has won numerous awards and accolades including a four-star rating from Mobile Travel Guide, AAA and Wine Spectator. Furthermore, Mirabelle has recently been on the Michelin Guide Colorado list of recommended restaurants. These rankings have earned him trips around the world to host cooking demos and seminars. From being a brand ambassador for Stella Artois to judging the Taittinger Culinary Competition in Paris, to doing cooking demos at the Epcot Center in Florida to wine dinners in Napa Valley, California, Joly has gotten around.
But how does a world-class chef end up cooking for an NHL hockey team from several states away? Connections. And that is what Joly is known for. Creating connections with people worldwide through his culinary creations.
For over 20 years, Joly has been friends with Jonathan Rotella, a second homeowner in Beaver Creek who would frequent Mirabelle. Rotella is also the CEO of NexGen Hyperbaric. NexGen Hyperbaric has a partnership with the Philadelphia Flyers, where NexGen supports player health and recovery through medical-grade hyperbaric oxygen therapy. NexGen Hyperbaric also has partnerships with the NFL, NBA and MLB.
“This dinner is the intersection of performance and craft — our work with the Flyers, and my 20-plus-year friendship with Chef Daniel Joly,” Rotella said.
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The concept to host a dinner for the Philadelphia Flyers crystallized on a Philadelphia trip that Rotella and Joly took together. A highlight was having lunch with Chef Georges Perrier of Le Bec-Fin, one of the most celebrated restaurants in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. Le Bec-Fin was even named the number one restaurant in the United States in a major 1994 Condé Nast Traveler readers’ poll, underscoring Chef Perrier’s stature and legacy.
“Watching Chef Joly and Chef Perrier meet for the first time — two masters connecting — made it clear this should be a night built around excellence, friendship, and shared respect for craft,” Rotella said.
“Meeting Georges Perrier was a special moment for me. That era of American fine dining shaped so many chefs, and it made this dinner feel even more meaningful — tradition, mentorship, and pushing the craft forward,” Joly said.
On the trip to Philadelphia, Joly also had the chance to visit the Philadelphia Flyers training facility with Rotella.
“We discussed the idea about hosting a dinner for the team when the Flyers were coming to Colorado to play the Avalanche and welcome them to our state,” Joly said.
Rotella sees this dinner as a natural way to celebrate the trust and collaboration that exists around the team — while also showcasing Joly’s range and artistry.
“Chef Joly’s connection to the Flyers is personal and organic through our long friendship with and the relationships that have developed through NexGen’s work with the organization. The dinner is an extension of those relationships and a chance to create a meaningful experience around the group supporting the team” Rotella said.
The team was in Colorado for the dinner by Joly on Thursday night before they took on the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
“Thursday night was a meaningful window of time to bring everyone together before the game,” Joly said. “When you cook for elite athletes and their team, it’s not just about indulgence — it’s about intention. We built this menu in collaboration with the team’s nutrition and performance staff, so it supports recovery and still feels like a true culinary experience.”
The dinner was hosted at The Four Seasons Hotel Denver where Joly worked with its culinary team and the Four Season’s executive chef Joshua Fryer and food and beverage director Craig Dryhurst to create the event. Over 50 people from the Philadelphia Flyers organization were served.
“They have been very helpful and welcomed us into their kitchen,” Joly said.
Joly welcomed the team with a Philly cheesesteak starter before treating them to soup, salad and for the main course he served a Colorado favorite, roasted elk tenderloin.
“A lot of the players had never had elk before and Daniel made it a point to say that elk is our local meat and they loved it,” Rotella said.
Dessert consisted of a deconstructed carrot cake, dolce de leche caramel and macaroons, lemon bars, madeleines and chocolate cookies.
“I was sitting with the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, Danny Brière, after the meal and he said, ‘your chef made quite an impression on our organization. Normally the team is allowed to leave after dessert, but they wanted to stick around,’” Rotella said. “Every member of the team came over and shook Daniel’s hand and my hand after dinner, thanking us for this. It was something very special. They were just so respectful, and it was such an amazing, organic thing and I wasn’t expecting reaction from them.”
Joly always manages to find never-ending opportunities that take him to great locations and great kitchens cooking for great people.
“I love to create moments with food and if you can share that with people and make it special, there’s something magical about that,” Joly said. “You know, we’re not doctors, we don’t save lives, but if we can create these moments and shine a light on Beaver Creek’s culinary scene and help our diners have a good time, that’s really what it’s all about.”
