BIO

Kristy Bates, RDN, received her BS in Dietetics from Michigan State University. After graduation she traveled throughout Europe before moving to Colorado for the mountain lifestyle. During this time, she focused mostly on her culinary skills while volunteering with Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters program to educate and empower low-income families to cook nutritious meals on a budget. These experiences inspired Kristy to pursue a post-graduate dietetic internship in Pittsburgh, Penn.

After completing her internship, Kristy worked as a clinical dietitian and director of nutrition in Denver for two years, but missed mountain life. After another stint traveling in Europe, she landed a cooking job at a five-star restaurant in her dream town, Aspen. She wanted to look to the next step in her career and was thrilled to see the Director of Nutrition position posted at Aspen Valley Hospital.

As the Hospital’s Director of Nutrition, Kristy is pleased to be able to combine her passion for medical nutrition therapy with culinary arts and management. She enjoys working with fellow dietitians, Lauren Mitchell and Laurie Osier, in the clinical realm along with her talented team in the kitchen. She strives to revolutionize what is “hospital food” with her passion for recipe development and knowledge of nutritional pathophysiology. The Castle Creek Café is known for offering affordable, nutritious meals not only to patients and staff, but also to locals who tout it as being the “best kept secret in town.”