“I’m going up against some talented chefs, especially in Las Vegas.”
Rochelle Daniel of Atria restaurant in Flagstaff is widely considered to be one of Arizona’s top chefs. She’s been twice nominated for a James Beard Award as an “Emerging Chef” in 2022 and as the “Best Chef Southwest” this year. These coveted awards are often compared to the Oscars for the culinary crowd.
“Just to be nominated for Best Chef Southwest is amazing,” Daniel said. “I’m going up against some talented chefs, especially in Las Vegas.”
The Southwest region includes Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Earlier, Daniel was inducted into the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame in 2017 as “Best Upcoming Chef” for her work at Fat Ox restaurant in Scottsdale. Her latest recognition came together last fall when she was one of 16 top chefs invited to compete in “America’s Culinary Cup,” a CBS reality TV show with a top prize of $1 million. The premiere was March 4. The show airs on Wednesday evenings.
The top chefs included two James Beard Award winners and 14 nominees, plus six chefs from Michelin Star restaurants. Michelin Stars are among the most prestigious worldwide culinary awards.
Unfortunately, the Culinary Cup judges eliminated Daniel after two rounds of competition. Daniel made fried buttermilk chicken thighs with pickles and mustard aioli. Only one of the three judges picked her dish.
“I thought my dishes were great and I really thought I was going to win both of those competitions,” she said. “I did my best and I felt like I showed a lot more technique. It just didn’t work out.”
“I think I’m a little bitter about it because I had more to show.”
It didn’t help that she postponed her September wedding for two months to accommodate the CBS production schedule for the Culinary Cup.
“I met some great people. I still talk daily with the cast. I’m grateful for that.”
The cooking show did provide valuable exposure for Flagstaff’s culinary scene, she noted. “I do feel like not a lot of people realized where I was from and that brought some notoriety to Flagstaff, definitely.”
She believes Flagstaff’s food scene is evolving. “I do see it changing for the better. We have some great chefs that are coming to Flagstaff and doing things and trying to push the limits, which is great. I didn’t see that 10 years ago.”
She opened Atria downtown in 2022. It’s touted as “farm-fresh modern American fare.”
Daniel has impressive credentials. She was sous chef at Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale, executive chef of Fat Ox and later at L’Auberge de Sedona Resort.
Daniel got an early start cooking, working in the kitchen at Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute of Scottsdale.
She knew she wanted to be a chef at age 14.
“I really liked how food brought my family together. We sat at the dinner table every night. Every holiday the whole family would get together. It always made people happy. Something about that was special and cooking with my grandma and my mom for the holidays, it just felt so natural.”
Daniel plans to open two new food and beverage venues downtown in June, next door to Atria. That includes Pompette, a bistro and bakery, and a speakeasy with a playful name, Little Rich Girl. A private dining room is part of the expansion.
The James Beard Award semifinalists were scheduled to be announced March 31. It was not known at press time if Daniel was a semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest.
The winners are set to be revealed June 15 at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. FBN
By Peter Corbett, FBN
Photo by Austin Corbett: Atria Chef Rochelle Daniel at the March 4 watch party for the premiere of “America’s Culinary Cup” on CBS. Padma Lakshmi is the show’s host.
