Given that I normally spend my time sitting on a couch watching endless hours of Law & Order, this has been a pretty adventurous few weeks. I went to three, count 'em, three events, so I can spot some of the trends that local chefs are pulling out of their toques.

• Observation No. 1: If you want to know what makes a really great chef, check out the smallest details of the food on your plate. He or she leaves nothing to chance.

And so it was at the Iron Chef cookoff celebrating the 115th birthday of the Brown Palace Hotel. Curtis Lincoln, chef de cuisine of the Brown Palace's Ellyngton's, and Thanawat Bates, chef de cuisine of the Brown's Palace Arms, faced off in a competition, complete with the lights and music that gave it that something-exciting-is- happening-here feeling.

To the credit of both chefs and their sous chefs, no detail of plate design was overlooked in preparing the food, even under pressure. Bates, who was like an alchemist with his powders and potions, whipped up a carbonated fruit gelatin for a garnish. Lincoln ended up cutting his pasta by hand because his pasta machine wasn't doing the job the way he wanted.

• Observation No. 2: Colorado lamb is no longer an also-ran. Branding and marketing lamb as "Colorado lamb" has given it the kind of cachet that makes it a desirable addition to a menu.

Not only was it the mystery ingredient at the Iron Chef competition, but it was also one of the featured choices for the evening at a preview dinner at the just- opened French 250 in Cherry Creek North. It's worth noting because a few years ago lamb would have been a walk-on-the- wild-side choice, still fighting its reputation for gaminess.

• Observation No. 3: Is consommé making a comeback? Once considered an elegant starter, consommé fell out of favor in an age of more casual dining. French 250, an intimate white-tablecloth dining space, may have brought back this classic. The mushroom consommé with a soft poached egg was a flavorful, non-filling start to dinner.

• Observation No. 4: When you want to impress New Yorkers, go forth armed with Colorado peaches. Executive chef Matthew Mine of the newly opened Oceanaire Seafood Room, next to the Curtis Hotel downtown, will do a "peachy" dessert for a dinner at the James Beard House in New York City on Sept. 5.

Mine also will prepare his rock shrimp appetizer with a red fresno chile sauce as he joins other Oceanaire chefs from across the country for the almost-all-fish meal at the prestigious venue. His dessert creation is a creamy vanilla tart with a fresh half-peach front and center.