Each year The Arizona Republic highlights chefs who haven’t yet been recognized the way they deserve to, from stars on the rise to unsung talents. Several chefs on our who-to-watch lists were later recognized as James Beard semifinalists — Christian Lowe for Emerging Chef and Wendy Garcia and Roberto Centeno for Best Chef Southwest in 2023, Roberto Centeno for his restaurant Espiritu, Wendy Garcia for Tumerico in 2024 and Cory Oppold and Roberto Centeno’s latest restaurant Santo in 2025. Racan Alhoch, who made it on the chefs to watch in 2023, opened his Saint Pasta brick-and-mortar in 2024.
This year, several exciting women chefs are making waves in metro Phoenix. Here’s a look at five to watch in 2025.
Vivid Chu, currently cooking at LeDu Thai
Vivid Chu is the chef and co-owner of LeDu Thai in downtown Phoenix. She worked in the restaurant industry in Phoenix before becoming a flight attendant, but her heart was always in hospitality. When she met her now business partner, Allen Shumway on flights from Phoenix and Dallas, her dream of opening a restaurant to showcase family recipes began to take shape. “We have a big family in Thailand and food is very important for Thai people,” Chu said. She named the restaurant LeDu (pronounced reh doh with a rolled r) or seasons, and the southern Thai menu changes seasonally.
Chu is a chef to watch for her homestyle southern Thai cooking that stays true to the seasonality of Thai ingredients.
Details: 915 N. Fifth St. Phoenix. 480-590-4116, leduthai.com.
Antonia Kane, currently baking at Essence Bakery
Chef Antonia Kane poses for a portrait on Jan. 15, 2025, in Phoenix.
As a child, baking was Antonia Kane’s thing. In high school, she signed up for cooking classes and went on to attend Arizona Culinary School, which helped her land a job at the iconic Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. In 2020, she returned home and joined Valentine as one of the first five staff members, baking treats and desserts for the new restaurant. In 2023, chef Cory Oppold recruited her to make creative desserts for his prix-fixe fine dining restaurant Course. Her plated desserts were stunning in concept (think mushroom ice cream), flavor and presentation and landed her on the 2025 James Beard Award list for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. But her heart was still in baking pastries, so she left Course to work at Essence Bakery, where she is finetuning her bread-baking skills. Her ultimate goal is to open her bakery and offer both breads and desserts.
Kane is a chef to watch for her layered flavors, unexpected perspective on pastry and her upcoming bakery.
Details: 3830 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. 602-296-4958, essencebakery.com.
Kristen Martinez, currently cooking at MB Foodhouse and Thundercat Lounge
Find Kristen Martinez’s Brekkie Tacos at Coronado’s Cartel Coffee.
Kristen Martinez, a singer in the band Moodie Black, started making Tex Mex tacos from her home in Minnesota during COVID, garnering the attention of Jose Ralat, who wrote “American Tacos: A History and Guide.” Since then, it’s become her career. In 2023, she moved to Arizona, where her parents reside, and opened a taco shop inside Yucca Tap Room. In 2025, she opened MB Foodhouse at Coronado’s Cartel Roasting Co. in Phoenix, where she serves everything-from-scratch “brekkie tacos” with creations like the Dinky Tower taco made with bacon, egg, potato, cheese and homemade salsa verde and Vegan Death taco, made with fried cauliflower, salsa, fried Brussels, garlic Japanese peanuts, slaw and crispy hatch chili quinoa.
She’s also started to serve food at Club Contact from 8 p.m. – midnight, Wednesday to Sunday.
Martinez is a chef to watch for her appetizing Tex Mex breakfast tacos.
Details: 2201 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. @mb.foodhouse on Instagram, cartelroasting.co, and 747 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. @Moodieblacks on Instagram.
Tamara Stanger, currently cooking at Shift
Cotton and Copper’s head chef Tamara Stanger talks with guests during Devour 2020 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 23, 2020.
Tamara Stanger has returned to Arizona after an almost four-year stint in Utah to serve as the executive chef at Shift in Flagstaff. An avid promoter of sustainability, Stanger farms, forages and composts in her personal and professional life and she’s incorporating those skills, along with new-to-her local ingredients like juniper and wild berries, in Shift’s menu. Stanger is already working to give back to her new community, bringing the Blue Watermelon Project to Flagstaff schools to teach students how to make and eat healthier meals.
Stanger is a chef to watch because of her love of food history, community involvement, and dedication to cooking locally.
Details: 107 N. San Francisco St., Flagstaff. 928-440-5135, shiftflg.com.
Jonalyn Valdez, currently baking at A Flour Shop
Alaska-born Jonalyn Valdez moved to Arizona to attend culinary school and never left. After being exposed to savory and pastry, she said she fell in love with baking’s precision. Her experience includes working at Scottsdale fine dining restaurant Cafe Monarch. At A Flour Shop, she bakes savory and sweet viennoiseries, cookies, cakes and chocolate desserts. Pro tip: don’t skip her almond croissant.
Valdez is a chef to watch for her delicious, innovative pastries.
Details: 803 N. Seventh St., Suite 102, Phoenix. 602-274-2253, aflourshop.com.
Donna Yuen, currently baking at L’Auberge de Sedona
Chef Donna Yuen plates a dessert inspired by the creek.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (basically, Harvard for chefs), Donna Yuen’s dedication to her craft helped her ascend from pastry assistant to executive pastry chef in a year. Her experiences include working at Menton, one of Barbara Lynch’s restaurants, and Ocean House in Rhode Island. After moving to Arizona, she worked at Tia Carmen before Ryan Swanson recruited her to work with him at L’Auberge de Sedona. “I said yes to L’Auberge because I wanted to go back to a smaller, luxury property that focuses on details, luxury elements and guest experiences,” she explained. Swanson has left since, but Yuen continues to make magic at the swanky resort.
At L’Auberge, she finds inspiration in her surroundings, with desserts taking cues from the creek that runs through the property. Sustainability and seasonality also play an important role in her creative process.
Yuen is a chef to watch for her leadership, attention to sustainability and sublime desserts.
Details: 301 L’Auberge Lane, Sedona. 855-905-5745, lauberge.com/dining/cress-on-oak-creek.
Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @baharcreative on Instagram.
Read the full 2024 chefs to watch list: 12 Arizona chefs are the rising stars you need to know
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Top Arizona women chefs are making tacos, Thai food and pastries