Mark Ferguson’s passion for food began as a child while cooking in his mother’s kitchen in Denver . He used the skills he learned there to assist himself through Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, where he graduated with a degree in business.

After graduation, Ferguson moved to San Francisco in 1989 where he worked as a sous chef for the Gilbert-Robinson Company at Houlihan’s Restaurant. He later joined master chef Jeremiah Tower at his renowned restaurant, Stars. While at Stars, Ferguson elevated his cooking ability by training at the California Culinary Academy. It was during his three years at Stars, Ferguson would meet Chef David Robins, who would be a key individual in shaping his career.

Robins, also a chef at Stars, asked Ferguson to join him in launching Chef Wolfgang Puck’s famed Spago in Las Vegas, an opening which sparked the dining revolution in the city which continues today. Ferguson joined the Spago opening team as Chef de Cuisine.

Throughout his eight years at Spago, Ferguson furthered his education and knowledge by cooking alongside some of the greatest names in the culinary profession including Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud, Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse. Together with these world-renown chefs, he participated in numerous charitable dinners and events including Wolfgang’s American Wine and Food Festival, Keep Memory Alive and Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children plus cooked private dinners for high-profile notables such as President William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When Chef Puck embarked on his first Italian restaurant concept, Trattoria del Lupo, he called upon Ferguson for the job. In preparation for his new role as Executive Chef and Partner, Ferguson spent time traveling, cooking and eating throughout different regions of Italy to develop an innovative menu.

During his eight years at Lupo, Ferguson received the 2002 Las Vegas Life Epicurean Award for Best Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas and in 2003 was honored by In Business Las Vegas magazine as one of the top forty rising stars in the city.

Now, nearly twenty years after leaving Colorado, Ferguson has returned home to where his passion for cooking began. As Executive Chef, Ferguson will open Spago, the flagship of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant brand, at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, in the Vail Valley. The menu will feature a fusion of sustainable, natural and organic ingredients that are produced and raised both locally and from around the world. Using premier produce, fish and meats, the restaurant will showcase healthy and lighter fare as well as select signature game dishes.