Meet Three Female Chefs Disrupting The Arizona Food Scene (2024)

Scottsdale Arizonahas quietly become a melting pot for incredible cuisine. Home to more than 500 food plants - from edible cacti to local oregano - here you'll find magnificent menus laced with everything from humble organic greens to succulent pulled pork. Thrumming with inviting bars and restaurants, we spoke with three of the area's top chefs - Charlene Badman at FnB, Samantha Sanz at Talavera and Tandy Peterson at The Phoenician's Mowry & Cotton - and about how they've each made a name for themselves on the world stage, how they're incorporating the region's south-western influences into their cooking and how they're each pushing the boundaries on traditional cuisine.

Charleen Badman, FnB

1. Did you have any resistance from financial backers or local competition when you first opened FnB with such a vegetable-focused menu?

We opened FnB in 2009, and at that time in that economy, nobody wanted to lend anybody money. But there was a guest my business partner and co-owner, Pavle Milic, had known for many years who wanted to help us get started. They gave us $20,000, and with that and aHome Depot credit card, plus $1,500 in the bank, we opened our restaurant. We didn’t even have a walk-in fridge, but we still found a way to feed 300 people in a weekend. The reaction was positive right away, and we just stayed focused on getting better every day.

Our menu wasn’t vegetable-focused from the start. I stopped eating meat a year into the restaurant being open – just as a personal choice, and with that change, we started focusing more on vegetables in the kitchen. I think you can always tell what the chef is into by what’s on their menu.

2. Tell me a little bit about you background before becoming the chef at FnB?

Prior to FnB, I worked as a cook at another Scottsdale restaurant called Rancho Pinot, which was where I met Pavle, when I started working there in 1994. Two years later, in January of 1996, I moved to New York , after hearing about female chef, Anne Rosenzweig.

She owned a 3-star restaurant in the city called Arcadia and was planning on opening a second restaurant, The Lobster Club. I had mailed her letters letting her know how much I wanted to come work for her and Pavle called a mutual connection, who said “Anne would hire Charleen if she wasn’t 3,000 miles away.” So I bought a one-way ticket and went out there hoping to get a job.

I called my friend and colleague, Chris Bianco, with New York roots, and told him what I was planning to do. His parents picked me up from the airport and his brother Marco showed me how to get around. When I got to The Lobster Club, I was told there weren’t any openings, so I walked my resume into every restaurant I could find. But I got my wish days later, landing a job working for Anne as a sautee cook, then sous chef, then chef de cuisine. I stayed there for two years, until we opened another restaurant together, called Inside, in 2001.

I came back to Arizona and Rancho Pinot in 2007 and worked there until opening FnB. I’ve always worked for female chefs and it was a team of only women in Anne’s kitchen, which I thought was really cool. It’s unintentionally how my kitchen has ended up today.

3.What are some of the things customers have told you or could tell you about FnB that makes you think 'ah, you got what I'm trying to do?'

The biggest compliment, to me, is when someone loves a vegetable that they thought they didn’t like. Drawing from my own experience as a child, not liking brussels sprouts and the canned vegetables that were available to us, I love changing people’s perceptions of vegetables. It’s the best whenever someone makes a comment, like, “I didn’t expect this to taste this way,” of one of our veggie-only dishes. I also love when guests understand that the menu is set up to be shared. While we do have starters, mains and desserts, it’s really designed for family style, to give little tastes of everything.

4.Why was it important to have an Arizona-focused wine list and how did you go about assembling it?

We didn’t open FnB with an Arizona-focused wine list, but we quickly realized that it was what we wanted to do, to further showcase what Arizona has to offer right in our own backyard. I can’t take credit for the wine list, which has been carefully curated by Pavle, but I love that it complements what we’re doing with the food and it presents an opportunity to engage and educate our guests.

5.What's your favourite dish on the menu and why?

My favorite dish – it’s a “filler” dish, really – is our spaghetti squash with harissa, Campari tomatoes and fresh cilantro folded in. Guests can smell the cilantro warming, sitting on top when it comes to the table and as it’s mixed. It’s tasty and versatile; I’ve done it at lunch with wheat berries before, for dinner with and without butter, all kinds of different variations.

6.What do you find surprises or excites you most about what you can do with vegetables?

I want people to see vegetables as the focus of the plate, rather than the protein as the focus. They can stand on their own. And of course, it’s also all about recognizing the people here who make it happen for us. From beets and brussels sprouts, to lesser-utilized vegetables like rutabagas and heirloom cauliflower, our talented Arizona farmers are always up to the challenge of growing new things and making it possible to show people how much is growing right here in the desert.

7.What to you defines Arizona cooking/cuisine?

Arizona is an agriculturally rich state, and that’s what I feel is the focus of Arizona cuisine. It’s such a blank canvas leaving so much opportunity. Chef Chris Bianco takes our locally grown ingredients and makes them Italian, Chef Nobuo f*ckuda will take some of the same things and find his Japanese flavors. I take them and do something else totally different; everyone has their own take. So much is growing here and staying here now, and there are so many chefs here doing interesting things with what our local farmers are growing.

Samantha Sanz, Chef de Cuisine, Talavera at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North

1. What are some of the most unusual ingredients and spices you source and serve at Talavera and where do you find them?

I think they are not unusual ingredients that we use, but some very special ingredients. The king of the special ingredients has to be the Jamón Ibérico de Bellota along with the Secreto Ibérico de Bellota. We get these two beautiful products from Bellota, Spain. I also use traditional sal de gusano on our fried crispy chickpeas. Sal de gusano translates into worm salt. The worm salt is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and the worm comes from the Maguey plant. We also use Ras el Hanout, which is a Mediterranean combination of spices. Our Executive Chef Chuck Kazmer spent time in the Middle East and has taught us how to make it. We also make arepas with duck confit and chile Colorado. It is a combination of things, arepas being Colombian, duck confit made in the French traditional way and chile Colorado puree that is a recipe from my Sonoran (Mexico) roots.

2. What is the significance of/meaning behind the name Talavera?

Talavera is very colorful Spanish pottery that was brought from Spain into Mexico. Currently Puebla, Mexico is the main producer of all the traditional talavera pottery. We had our local artist Gennaro Garcia fly to Puebla and make for us a big beautiful mural that is in the entrance of our restaurant.

3. Tell me about designing the menu and getting the right balance of fish, meat and vegetable dishes on the menu?

Designing the menu was a very fun time. I would spend hours looking at other menus, cook books and photos of food. I was trying to source as much inspiration as possible. I feel that today it is very important to have menus designed with plates that could please all people, from vegetarians or pescatarians, to meat lovers, or just people that really enjoy eating and sharing different things with friends or family. I wanted to provide an exciting menu that was interesting for everybody.

4. Tell me a little bit about you background before becoming the chef at the Four Seasons?

I grew up in a small Mexican town called Nogales, where my family has owned a restaurant for 60 years. I spent all my afternoons running in the restaurant with my cousins and getting into all sorts of trouble. That’s where I developed my love for food and hospitality. I moved to Scottsdale after graduating high school and went to Le Cordon Bleu. My first cooking job was at Elements at the Sanctuary at Camelback Mountain. I worked and went to school every day until I graduated. I worked really hard at Elements and started moving up the line quick. After reaching my goal of cook one there, I decided I wanted to take a break, so I sold all my belongings and moved to Paris, France. I lived there for a year as a nanny, and I fell in love with the food culture. When I came back to the U.S., I landed my first sous chef job at a restaurant called Virtù Honest Craft. It was an amazing time. We earned a James Beard nomination and made it to Esquire magazine’s best new restaurant list. Once my time was done at Virtù, I was ready for a new challenge and applied for the position at Four Seasons for Chef de Cuisine of Talavera and here I am, with a brand new restaurant concept and having so much fun!

5. Who are and have been some of your idols while coming up in the Arizona food scene?

Some of the people that I have the most appreciation for and gratitude have to be my amazing lineup of mentors. Starting with Chef Beau Macmillan of Elements, Chef Gio Osso of Virtù, Chef Mel Mecinas, formerly of Four Seasons and current Executive Chef Chuck Kazmer. They have built me to be who I am as a chef now. I also am very thankful for the upcoming younger generation of chefs in the valley. We are excited for the Arizona food scene, and support and motivate each other as we build a brilliant food community.

6. How does your heritage and culture influence your cooking and menu?

I’m constantly thinking of recipes or ingredients I grew up eating. I always try to incorporate at least something that I think of in an innovative or different way to use on new dishes and recipes. I love my culture and my heritage, so I claim it really proudly and really try to show it off as much as I can.

7. What are some of the things customers have told you or could tell you about the cuisine at Talavera that makes you think 'ah, you got what I'm trying to do?'

I think the biggest compliment I have receive is when people tell me they have traveled throughout Spain and that Talavera’s paella is the best they’ve ever had!

8. What to you defines Arizona cooking/cuisine?

Arizona’s food scene is going through a very special time of transition and innovation. There is a younger generation of chefs that are ready to take over. I think is safe to say that what defines Arizona cuisine is that it’s always moving and always in transition. It is fresh and exciting.

Tandy Peterson, Chef de Cuisine, Mowry & Cotton at The Phoenician

1. What are some of the things customers have told you or could tell you about Mowry & Cotton that makes you think 'ah, you got what I'm trying to do?’

When creating a new dish, I always want to challenge the five senses of my guests and give an element of surprise. When I talk to a table and they say, “Ah, I would never have thought to put those ingredients together, but it really worked and the flavors all balanced out,” that really makes my day. I think most people stick to flavors and foods that are “normal” and comfortable to them, but when I introduce new food ideas and combinations, I feel like I made an impact on their experience and they may be more willing to try new things.

2. Tell me a little bit about you background before becoming the chef at The Phoenician?

I grew up in a tiny town in Wyoming and my family had a ranch with 100 cattle. Most of my time was spent feeding them, and riding four-wheelers around the ranch to make sure they were healthy. After high school, I went to college for Animal Science and Livestock Judging. I was always the one cooking for parties and getting everyone together, so after graduation I decided to go to culinary school and turn my passion into a career. Once I began culinary school, I started working for Kevin Binkley and continued to work for him for the next five years at all of his restaurants before coming to The Phoenician.

3. Who are and have been some of your idols while coming up in the Arizona food scene?

My all-time idol has always been Ferran Adria of Spain. He had one of the most monumental restaurants when it came to pushing the boundaries. El Bulli was known as the top restaurant for years, and it set the tone for the entire culinary industry. I met him while I was in Spain on one of my first traveling adventures. I was eating at his brother’s restaurant, Tickets, in Barcelona, and I have no idea what four of my courses were that day because he was standing right behind me! For local chefs though, both Kevin Binkley and Brandon Gauthier trained me from when I was a “pup” in the field. Kevin is an icon in the Valley and he has always been progressive and unique with his menus– there was never a dull moment working for him, and he instilled very high standards in me. Brandon was the person whom I worked beside most of my five years with Binkley’s, and he has long been my idol. I remember watching him work a station while expediting and running the kitchen, and it was like he was dancing – he never stopped moving and every motion was thought out and efficient. His style of teaching and skill set always set the bar for who I wanted to become as a chef.

4. What's your favourite dish on the menu and why?

My favorite dish changes every day! I have to say the dish that defines my style is the blueberry glazed hanger steak.I am taking non-traditional ingredients and combining them into a very fun dish. From the intense meat marinade to the bright green sunflower sprout pesto, to the lavender pickled blueberries – it is just surprising and delicious!

5. What are some of the most unusual ingredients and spices you source and serve and where do you find them?

I don’t know that I really source unusual products, more of what fits this question is my use of unusual techniques. I am constantly challenging the status quo when it comes to how to cook something, or what is the “right” way or the “wrong” way. At Mowry & Cotton we burn/char ingredients often and use uncommon items, like co*cktail bitters, in recipes. I think bitter is the most overlooked taste and it really adds complexity to foods. I learn new techniques by reading cookbooks, traveling to new countries, and by asking my cooks, “Why is that the only way we were taught to do that? Is there a better way or just a different way to cook that?”

6.What is the significance/meaning of the name Mowry & Cotton?

George Mowry and James Cotton were two settlers who came to Phoenix in the late 1800s, opening a high-end liquor establishment at Washington and 1^st Streets.They used glass bottles to create walkways - turning the bottles upside down and burying them in the dirt so that only the bottom showed, which was unheard of at the time. The bar soon became a local gathering place for friends and family.We have honoured them through our own interpretation of their story, creating a communal and social dining experience for our Mowry & Cotton guests.Not only are we using some “old-fashioned” cooking techniques, but we are also encouraging guests to order many dishes to share, instead of traditional coursed dining. We have fun tidbits in the restaurant that speak to this story, from the glass bottles decorating our walls to the names of the drinks on our co*cktail menu.