A little of our story...

Chris might be the most hardworking, responsible and thoughtful person I have had the pleasure of knowing. He is resilient, kind, creative and is light-hearted. This is why I married him. This is how we met.

Chris and I met in September of 2020 at Castle Hot Springs Resort, only in it's fourth year re-open and with Covid, not yet established. The resort is actually the oldest wellness resort in Arizona, even before Arizona was officially a state, in 1896. Back then, the resort drew the wealthiest families across the United States. Even JFK stayed to recover after the war.

Those first few months, my role was sommelier and manager, helping to establish systems and processes for the dining room service team. I was responsible for uniforms, table linens, ordering plates, silverware, glassware and pool service wares - along with making the team schedule, hiring/firing, training and guest relations. Both myself and my managing partner Sarah Foote had 3-michelin star experience, hers at the French Laundry and my own time at per se - both Thomas Keller's. This shared appreciation for core values and service excellence was what we both hoped to develop at Castle Hot Springs for our team. Sarah built up the wine list, I focused on sharing my experiences through training and coaching our team. Together, we created the foundation of the service environment that Castle Hot Springs is today.

Chris shared his leadership experience as co-chef, developing daily menus from the agronomist team’s harvest and executing elevated services consistently. While many of his teammates we not as experienced, Chris took the time to share his experiences, recipes and cooking techniques to better the overall team. The food was outstanding and guests had nothing but great reviews.

Laying the Foundation 

After two amazing seasons, we left Castle Hot Springs Resort to pursue our yoga teacher training certificates, both becoming 300hr certified in the Bikram style of teaching hot yoga. We are in love with the foundation that bikram yoga provides in discipline, meditation and mindfulness - something we knew we wanted to be at the core of our lives.

Twists & Turns 

Soon after yoga teacher training, we got the opportunity to run the culinary program at a resort club in Idaho, Chis as the executive chef and myself as the food & beverage director. We learned a ton, including smoking meats on a giant Traeger, sourcing fresh ingredients in an area that is under snow for 8 months out of the year, and learning to source wine within the very conservative liquor/wine laws of Idaho. After almost a year, we decided to move back to Phoenix. What can we say - we love the heat! This is when we began cooking for families in the valley, doing our Keto Cooking Workshops at Nature Works Best (A natural cancer treatment center in Tempe) and using our combined experiences and talents to start our business as private chefs and hospitality heroes. 

Now-ish 

A year later, we are actively growing our business, learning what is within our scope and not, as well as dialing in how we can best use our time. We are learning and developing new recipes, cohesive menus and ways we can provide the best experiences for our clients.

A healthy life and work balance is very important to us, as we know our industry can be very physically and mentally demanding. We care about our health and wellness just as much as we care about the “success” of our business. We value working with clients who are kind, respectful and create space and opportunities for us to be professional culinary and hospitality artists. Chris and I have a lot to give and want to share it with love. 

Looking Ahead 

Chris and I are excited to be on this journey of thoughtfully growing our business as we continue to grow together. Our future adventures include combining our love of travel, cooking and yoga - by catering yoga retreats, as well as expanding our business here in Phoenix. We look forward to growing our client-base so that we can grow our team - providing opportunities for other grounded, like-minded hospitality heroes to join us. We are excited to use our chef powers for good, and collab with volunteer efforts to provide nutritious food and service to those in need in our community. We have a lot to look forward to and beyond grateful to be on this journey. 

Thank you for being a part of our journey! 

Chris & Mary