Highlights
- A woman holds the executive chef post at The Phoenician for the first time, according to reporting by AZ Big Media and phoenix.org.
- The Phoenician chef's style is described as rooted in restraint and clarity across the resort's multiple dining venues.
- Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and FnB in Scottsdale are among the other venues with women in top culinary roles.
- AZ Big Media and azcentral have both identified the trend as a defining shift in Arizona's restaurant industry in 2025 and 2026.
A woman leads the kitchen at The Phoenician for the first time, part of a broader shift that AZ Big Media and azcentral have both identified as a defining moment for Arizona's restaurant industry.
The Phoenician's executive chef, whose return to the Scottsdale resort in 2025 made her the first female to hold the role, oversees culinary direction across the property's multiple dining venues, with a style described as rooted in restraint and clarity. The phoenix.org profile notes her career spanned properties in Arizona, North Carolina, and California before her 2025 return.
The AZ Big Media feature, published Saturday, also names the executive chef at Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess among the five women reshaping the state's culinary scene. Separately, azcentral has tracked the trend across two consecutive years, publishing a chefs-to-watch list in April 2025 and again in February 2026.
In Scottsdale proper, FnB has been a proving ground for the pattern: the restaurant's chef has fed Scottsdale for more than 15 years, with a resume that includes the Lobster Club in New York City and stints as chef and co-owner of a Greenwich Village restaurant before opening FnB in late 2009.
The Women in Restaurant Leadership conference is scheduled for February 6–9, 2027, at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort, a signal that the industry is formalizing around the trend.
AZ Big Media's full list of five chefs is available at azbigmedia.com; azcentral's 2026 chefs-to-watch feature publishes additional names and venues to track through the year.
Where to find them
- Lobster Club · lobster-club.com · Instagram
- Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort · resortgrandhyatt.scottsdaleazhotel.com
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- phoenix.org retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- AZ Big Media retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- womenleadrestaurants.com retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- scottsdale.org retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- Google News retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- Lobster Club (official site) retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
- Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort (official site) retrieved 18/07/2026 15:19
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 18/07/2026 15:19. Every claim traces to a source.
