Bärlauch - the German word for ramp, or wild garlic, is most closely translated back to English as “BearLeek.” Found growing wild throughout Germany in the spring, foragers will often use the leaves of the plant to bolster salads, chop into pesto, or blend into a savory butter concoction. Somewhere along the line is the inspiration for a restaurant concept, and an introduction to Denver’s newest restaurant, BearLeek.
Found in a basement in RiNo, BearLeek hosts an intimate dining room and bar area. Walking down the stairs, you walk into an open concept and welcoming staff, immediately feeling at home and ready to try anything the team has on the menu that evening. Originally conceived by Harrison Porter, the Executive Chef and Co-owner, the team was quickly expanded to include Rema Maaliki, Chef de Cuisine and Co-Owner, Carlos Hugo Meza, Beverage Director and Co-Owner, and Tara Marcellus, General Manager. For all owners, BearLeek is their first independent venture, but supported by their expansive experience in the Denver and global hospitality industry. Alumni of restaurants like Mercantile Dining and Provision, Brasserie Brixton, Wolf’s Tailor, Quality Italian, and the now-closed Fruition, the team is constantly blending their experience. When visiting the restaurant, you feel this blend, from the Garden Grove cocktail and seasonal ButterBear, to the Tomato and Melon in Bear Cham, and handmade Pierogies, you can see and taste their wide berth experience mixing into something that, put simply, works.
A team that has known each other for years, first as colleagues, and later as friends, found its inception at a table in Phở Duy on Federal. Harrison first approached Rema with his concept of BearLeek written on a legal pad full of ideas and numbers. Rema expressed being hesitant at first, “I was just scared, honestly,” but was quickly convinced to take a chance on herself and Harrison.
With this being her first venture, not much is known about how Rema came onto the scene, and all the experience that contributes to the execution in the kitchen at BearLeek. Explaining how her love for the kitchen began at home, “I had always gravitated towards the kitchen, my family has a strong culture in the kitchen, always watching Food Network growing up, and doing Iron Chef competitions with my friends.” This passion was honed early on, watching legends like Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, and Ina Garten on television, showing her women that were unapologetically “crushing it.” Their influence manifested itself when she decided to start working in kitchens her final semester of college, getting a job at EpiCurean Catering. She reminisces fondly on these earlier times, making 50 gallons of mashed potatoes, and stating, “It felt so good to be like, OK, this is where I belong, it felt right.”
While working at EpiCurean, Rema decided to pursue her culinary degree at the Art Institute of Colorado, a program that has since shut down in 2018. Itching to get into a more formal kitchen, instructors pointed her in the direction of Mercantile Dining and Provision. Mercantile has been a staple in Union Station since 2014, and is where Rema and Harrison first met. “We quickly became buddies.” Following Mercantile and the completion of culinary school, Rema “wanted to see what was out there,” and traveled Europe for a few weeks, then took stage* positions in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Upon return, she started to work with her good friend, Keturah Fleming, owner and Pastry Chef of La Fillete Bakery on East Colfax. “It was fun to make croissants, and see something that takes three days, compared to cooking that is so fast-paced and not exact at all.” Through Keturah, a now close friend, she began to see what it looked like for a woman to be in a leadership role in the kitchen, and the extra work required for outsiders to see them as leaders, even in their own establishments.
From La Fillete, to next Wolf’s Tailor, and a Master's in Business from CU Denver snuck in there, Rema decided it was time to take a little break from the front range, and moved to Australia, where she established herself in Melbourne and helped to open the restaurant, Poodle Bar and Bistro. A still-open restaurant in the heart of the city, where she was first able to put her own dishes on the menu.
Returning from Australia, Rema decided to move to Seattle and work at the well-established Canlis for six months before finally feeling the pull back to Denver. She found herself being recruited to Brasserie Brixton by Harrison, where she stayed for two years as the Sous Chef, with Harrison as the Chef de Cuisine. With Brixton coming to a natural end, combined with all the years of traveling and working, Rema had come to realize that, “It is not in my blood to be a ‘lifer’, working for someone else forever, whatever is next, needs to be for myself.” As she sat on this, she took a break from kitchens and helped out in the office of her family’s car dealership in Aurora. It is here that Harrison comes once again into the picture, inviting her to get phở.
Women have been historically underrepresented in the food industry. An industry report by Chef’s Pencil, an international food magazine that also reports on industry trends, shared in 2022, at the time, only 6% of the world’s 2,286 Michelin-starred restaurants were led by women. When discussing women in the industry, Rema shared, “When I was coming back to the industry, I would look around the kitchens and think ‘Where are all the girls?’ It makes me sad to not see as many women in the kitchen.” While it has been difficult, she is quick to mention how far women have come as leaders in the industry, and those locally who have set the stage for her. “Especially in Denver, when I was getting into the industry Jen Jasinski, Dana Rodriguez, Kodi Simkins, and to see Caroline Glover in what she's done, and of course, Keturah, my friend and owner of La Fillete.”
She also comments that with BearLeek, she feels incredibly grateful to be doing it with a partner in the kitchen whom she trusts, and to be building a team she has known and respected for years. “It is great to have a partner in it, but also to know that regardless of who is in the kitchen with us, they respect both of our opinions, and trust both of us.”
Carly - Do you think you had to fight harder for that respect?
Rema - Brixton helped me get to that point; it definitely was not easy. It did take time to get comfortable demanding that respect, and having the confidence to trust myself, so they can trust me. I do try not to take myself too seriously, but I eventually realized that I need them to take me seriously, so I have to take myself seriously.
C - What advice do you have for women getting into the industry?
R - There are lessons I have learned along the way that I wish I had learned earlier. Make sure you stand up for yourself, even if it's terrifying. You have to stand up for what you want, and what you need, and what everyone else is getting. That is the bare minimum that we should do for ourselves. It seems so scary, but guys do it all the time; it can’t be that scary. Also, I hope that as a city and as a country, we put more importance on this industry. With all the culinary schools closing, it has been sad to see the education part of our industry slacking. But luckily, you don’t have to have a degree to be successful in this industry. If it is something you are interested in, you can just go stage and see if it's something you would want to do. There is no pressure, and everyone is so welcoming.
C - What women chefs are inspiring you?
R - I think of all the places I have staged around the world, there is at least one woman crushing it in the kitchen, who doesn’t necessarily get the credit she deserves. You can see and feel that she is the backbone of the kitchen.
*Staging (stah-jing), in the food industry, is often a short-term apprenticeship, in which the individual can learn and observe from the team on staff. It can also be used to see if an individual may be a good fit for a kitchen.
BearLeek is open Monday to Saturday, 4:30 to 10:00 p.m. Make a reservation online at BearLeek.com.