James Beard Award-nominated chef Jason Franey has an impressive résumé that includes gigs at Eleven Madison Park in New York City and Canlis in Seattle, where he won a Best New Chef nod from Food & Wine magazine in 2011. Today, Franey serves as Alliance Hospitality Group’s culinary development officer, responsible for the recent opening of Sexy Roman, a Modern Italian restaurant at W Scottsdale; and three restaurants at The REMI Scottsdale, including Kauboi Japanese steakhouse. He recently dished on using cookbooks as a source of creative inspiration and Phoenix’s overlooked strengths as an emerging culinary city.
What sparked your interest in cooking?
I started cooking when I was 15, and by the time I was 16, I told my mom I wanted to be a chef… I liked the action in the kitchen – I was never good at sitting still in school. In 1993, I started at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, and that’s where I was introduced to the kitchen brigade system and fine dining.
What’s been your greatest accomplishment as a chef so far?
[Opening] four restaurants in two months. Awards are great for your résumé, and they were more important to me when I was younger… that’s the gateway drug to the rest.
What’s the most important skill or quality for a chef?
Patience. It’s taking the time to mentor the staff. At the end of the day, that’s who is doing the work. I always say cooking is easy, people are hard.
Do you use cookbooks or do you wing it?
I have tons of cookbooks, not to follow recipes, but to get ideas from and build off of that. Larousse Gastronomique was my first cookbook. It’s the encyclopedia of French cooking… The recipes are pretty outdated, but the information in that book can take you really far.
Can you share your favorite aspect of living in Arizona?
I’ve lived in cities my entire career – New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles. I like that Arizona is spread out and there aren’t people on top of you like on the subway.
Dining and Cooking