i. Biography
In Doha, Qatar, tagine and couscous set the table: steam, grain, clay, and careful spicing. As Executive Chef at Argan, Daniel Asher works from Moroccan foundations while carrying the memory of Middle Eastern food he ate growing up in Montreal and on visits to his family’s Israeli kibbutz. The path to that kitchen runs through Colorado farms, live fire, handmade breads, cider, and a long concern for sustainable sourcing and food justice.
The Place Before Argan, Asher built much of his public cooking life in Colorado, where local agriculture and farm-to-table cuisine in Denver became central to his work. He served as Culinary Director at Edible Beats until 2016, and led the kitchens at Root Down, Linger, and Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, all in Denver, Colorado. At River and Woods in Boulder, Colorado, he was co-founder chef, shaping Colorado Comfort Food in a cozy, nature-inspired setting. He also served as Culinary Director at Acreage in Denver, and in 2018 opened Acreage CiderHouse in Lafayette, Colorado, in collaboration with STEM Ciders and Id Est Hospitality. That project put the material landscape directly into the cooking: dishes cooked over live fire and smoldering embers, Front Range views, and a planned apple orchard intended to instill a sense of place. Asher described the tempo of that work plainly: "Every day, we are out here chopping wood. We chop wood, to build the fire, to cook the food. If someone walked in before the fire was ready and wanted a burger in 10 minutes, we couldn’t do that."
The Method The recurring method is sourcing with consequences: organic and locally grown produce, ethically raised meats, and sustainably produced ingredients. Through EcoChef Culinary, where he is Chef/Founder, those materials are used for events and bespoke leadership experiences. His current work also includes Chef/Co-Founder of Working Title Food Group. Across those roles, his specialties remain local agriculture, sustainable sourcing, and food justice rather than cooking treated as spectacle. Asher’s kitchen language also carries the flavors he grew up with. In 2018, he was opening chef/partner at Ash’Kara in Denver, where the cooking served a fresh, modern interpretation of Israeli and Middle Eastern cuisine. Its menu drew from modern Israeli cooking and flavors from across the Middle East: harissa, zhug, pita, lavash, hummus, muhammara, and baba ghanoush. In 2021, Ash’Kara in Boulder, Colorado, was named Best New Restaurant Boulder County. The honor sits alongside a broader career that has included chef/partner work and membership in the World Central Kitchen Chef Corps.
The Range In 2019, Asher was opening chef at Mother Tongue. His range also extends to Barrio 75 in Sun Valley, Idaho, an homage to Mexican and Latin American cuisine using regional ingredients and handmade nixtamalized heirloom corn tortillas. The through-line is tactile: firewood before service, embers under dinner, corn treated through nixtamalization, couscous and tagine handled with restraint. At Argan, the Moroccan cooking returns to spice and structure, letting those dishes carry the room without crowding them.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Daniel
What style or method defines Daniel Asher's work?
Daniel Asher’s work is defined by local agriculture, sustainable sourcing, food justice, live-fire cooking, and careful use of organic, locally grown, ethically raised, and sustainably produced ingredients.
What are Daniel Asher's signature releases or dishes?
At Argan in Doha, Qatar, tagine and couscous anchor the Moroccan cooking, with careful spicing.
What is Daniel Asher known for making?
He is known for farm-to-table cuisine in Denver, Colorado Comfort Food at River and Woods, modern Israeli and Middle Eastern flavors at Ash’Kara, and regional Mexican and Latin American cooking at Barrio 75.
