I went to college in Connecticut, and I’ve skied all my life, but I’m chagrined to admit I never heard of Powder Ridge until I started watching Hell’s Kitchen.

Yes, that Hell’s Kitchen: the TV cooking show where Gordon Ramsay terrorizes, humiliates, and outrages the chefs under him as they try to outlast one another and win a job at a famous, world-class restaurant.

Powder Ridge’s Kevin Cottle is Hell’s Kitchen royalty: runner-up in season 6, recipient of a coveted Black Jacket, (the highest badge of honor the show offers bar winning), and star on a Returning Veterans team during season 18. Tempered in the crucible of Gordon Ramsay’s fiery demands for absolute perfection, Kevin is now food and beverage director for and an investor in Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort in central Connecticut.

Powder Ridge looks to be a great snapshot of life in the age of Coronavirus for a smaller operator and – happily – they are thriving, not just surviving. They are touting state-of-the-art, Covid-streamlined services for everything this season, soup-to-nuts. They want the mountain experience to not miss a beat, just have some different things for you to enjoy. Best of all, finally someone uber-talented is bringing first-rate food to the skiers on the mountain.

It seems Powder Ridge is showing that the little mom-and-pop places might be better suited to adjust more quickly and creatively in a Coronavirus landscape than their much larger counterparts. And any time a mom-and-pop place does well, the whole winter sports world wins.

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