Chef Tamara Stanger left Cotton & Copper in 2021 to work at Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm in Utah. Now, she has returned to take over as executive chef for the Flagstaff shift. Chef Christian Lowe, a 2023 James Beard Emerging Chef semifinalist, has retired due to a hand injury, leaving the restaurant open without a replacement for six months.
“Ever since I left Phoenix, I felt like I was doing something important, but I also felt very sad,” Stanger said, adding that she had been thinking about returning to Arizona. However, he added that he never imagined something like this would happen to him. One thing she was sure of in Flagstaff was the need for a farm. “That’s what I’ve always done and what I want to continue to do.”
When Dara Wong, owner of Shift, approached her, Stanger realized their philosophies about sustainability and using local ingredients aligned. “The idea of local means a lot to me,” Stanger said. “What does the flavor of this region taste like, what is the culture here, and how do you perceive it?”
How Tamara Stanger fell in love with desert ingredients
Stanger said she was always outside collecting plants as a child in Mammoth, Utah, which she called a “ghost town.” Her love of foraging began at the age of eight when she collected wild rhubarb and used it to make ice cream.
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She moved to Phoenix early in her career and opened Pig and Pickle alongside chefs like Joshua Reisner and Keenan Bosworth. “I started learning about ingredients like mesquite and how to use and source them.” When she went to Helio Basin, she focused primarily on Arizona-grown ingredients. “Even if we were making tacos, we tried to showcase what we grew here.”
In Flagstaff, we’re enjoying acquiring new ingredients like juniper and mountain berries, and plan to incorporate them into our dishes.
what are her shift plans
“On my shifts, I try to produce zero waste,” she says, adding, “I have chickens, so half of the waste goes to the chickens, and in return, the chickens give us… They give me eggs,” he explained.
Stanger plans to revamp Shift’s menu to incorporate his own style, but some of the classic comfort foods like pork chops, pickle fries and burgers will remain on the menu.
Wong will continue to create mouth-watering desserts, but Stanger, known as the Queen of Pies, has already created a chocolate root beer pie and has many more on the way. (She has an Instagram account dedicated to pie, @Pyrule everything around me) and she’s working on an a la carte “spooky Romeo and Juliet menu” for the Valentine’s Day menu, including pastrami mushroom coq au vin, eggplant with brown butter, and pomegranate and lemon verbena “gin” semifreddo. Masu.
“I’m planning on brewing a lemongrass koji IPA with Mother Lode for the event,” she said.
Return the favor with blue watermelon
Stanger is also part of Blue Watermelon, a program led by Charlene Badman, where she works with other chefs and restaurateurs to teach children how to eat healthily. He is teaching the next generation of chefs.
This year, she is serving as a mentor for Blue Watermelon’s Feeding the Future cooking competition. This contest challenges teams of students to create a healthy, delicious meal that meets the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program on a budget of $1.50.
In addition to Stanger, mentor chefs include Stephen Jones of The Larder & The Delta, Doug Robson of Gallo Blanco, Dina Altieri of Catalyst Kitchen, and Tracy Dempsey of TDOriginals and ODV Wines. Included.
Stanger plans to bring the program to Flagstaff schools.
“The food scene here is really changing,” she said of Flagstaff. “I feel like people really want to see more of the culturally influenced food here that shows what’s special about this place. And we want people to come to Flag and see that food. I want you to experience it.”
How to access shifts
Shift is open for dinner service from 5pm to 9pm daily. The restaurant holds a bake sale on the first Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
detail: 107 N. San Francisco S., t #2, Flagstaff. 928-440-5135, shiftfrog.com.
How to participate in the Blue Watermelon Feeding the Future contest
Sample student dishes and enjoy a day of cooking competitions.
when: Saturday, January 25th, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
where: 6106 S. 32nd St., a farm on South Mountain in Phoenix.
Tickets and information: Adults $100, ages 16-18 $75, ages 6-15 $25. Each ticket includes a sample of the competing team, dessert and two drinks. eventsbrite.com/e/feeding-the-future-2025-tickets-1005218624967.
Here’s where to contact the reporter: BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on X. Twitter.
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