AGE
30

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  Culinary degree from Scottsdale Culinary Institute.

EXPERIENCE
In Chicago, sous chef at La Tache, roundsman at Spring, line cook at Vong.  In Phoenix line cook at Christopher’s Fermier Brasserie and other restaurants.

CRYSTAL BALL MOMENT
Played “restaurant” at age 10.  She created a menu, her older sister and friend would order it and Izard would make dishes like chicken cordon bleu and serve them to family and friends.

DREAM COME TRUE
Opening a restaurant with the support and help of family and friends.

CULINARY CREDO
Contrast and complementary elements are essential but balance is non-negotiable.

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
Salt.  It brings out the flavor in foods.  “It’s something you have to add gradually so you can stop once it tastes just right.”

WINNING HAND
Forging familiar flavors that achieve unexpected results.

BIGGEST LURE
Seafood, hands down.  “I love how the same fish prepared different ways – poach, cure, grill, pan roast – can bring out different attributes, flavors and textures.

TOP TIME
“I love the smell of a crisp fall day; the colors of the changing leaves (oranges and browns), and of course the ingredients – varieties of squash, fresh picked apples.”

MIND ALTERING MEAL
Eating at Tetsuya in Sydney, Australia.  “The amazing preparations of seafood – the lightness and intensity of flavors – opened my eyes to working with fish and shellfish.”

FAVORITE FOOD
Crab Rangoon – “There’s something about fried cream cheese that’s irresistible.”

SWOONS OVER
Mushrooms – such a wide variety and so many different flavors and textures.  Just think of sautéed shitake mushrooms, grilled lobster mushrooms, slow roasted shitakes.  Even a raw button mushroom makes me happy.”

LIFE GOAL
To never stop growing, learning and having fun.

WORDS TO LIVE BY
"Once I set my mind to something, I follow through. It always has to be 101%."