2025 September issue of InMaricopa Magazine

Food & Beverage

20 25

People behind the plates BY MONICA D. SPENCER

Mandy’s Wine Bar

Step through the swinging double doors of any restaurant, and you enter a world most diners never see: the back of house. For some, it exists only in the heightened chaos of shows like The Bear or Hell’s Kitchen . For others, it’s the muse and playground of culinary icons like the late Anthony Bourdain. For most, though, it’s a workspace where the daily grind is king and the drama is far less theatrical than the media suggests. Every kitchen has its quirks and personalities, but the cast is often familiar: chefs, line cooks, dishwashers, bussers and servers working in rhythm to meet relentless customer demands. Here’s a glimpse into what life looks like behind the scenes in two Maricopa kitchens.

Much like the neck of a wine bottle, the kitchen at Mandy’s Wine Bar is slim and narrow. That’s partly because wine is the emphasis here, but food elevates that experience. With more than 20 years of restaurant experience, Chef John Howard heads the small kitchen crew here. He said, no matter the size, working back of house is almost always the same: “Demanding, but completely fulfilling.” “You have tickets that come into your window, and you have four items to knock out right away. So, you have to think, ‘How am I going to tackle all these different tasks?’” he said while plating dishes. “That translates to the same stresses in everyday life. The stress and the demand that you learn here in the kitchen, you take it home and translate it to life.”

Silver Spur Grill “You might see a hurricane back there,” Kitchen Manager Chris Semaan warned a photographer who ventured past the lush greens and elegant country- club dining room into his culinary command center. He leads the back-of-house crew at Silver Spur Grill, the bistro that services The Duke at Rancho El Dorado golf club. A sprawling kitchen gets hectic when large parties come in, even in the offseason. “For the most part, I set myself and I set the team up for success. I try to avoid a whole situation of chaos,” Semaan said. “It happens anyhow though. It just depends on the day.” On this August day, the kitchen staff were prepping for a large engagement party expected to arrive any moment. In the remaining quiet minutes, the crew put the finishing touches on a massive catering order while servers moved in and out, ready to start running dishes to the dining room.

InMaricopa.com | September 2025

September 2025 | InMaricopa.com