Art on the Body — Art on the Plate

While visible tattoos are still taboo in many fields, in others they are not only accepted but welcomed. Often, they create bonding and camaraderie among teammates and industry colleagues. In the culinary world in particular, tattoos have become more common—from line cooks and celebrity chefs to craft bartenders and baristas.

To celebrate this display of personal expression and explore the connections between the creative processes of choosing body art and crafting food, we present seven colorful Valley hospitality professionals.

Charleen Badman
Restaurant FnB | Chef/Co-Owner
Blue Watermelon Project | Founder & President
 fnbrestaurant.com
@veggiebadman @restaurantfnb

James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest 2019

James Beard Foundation Semifinalist 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

Badman has a reputation for making uncommon vegetables delectable and for her vegetable tattoos—which include artichokes, tomatoes and leeks. Her enthusiasm for feeding people globally inspired dishes, prepared using the best seasonal, local ingredients, is an award-winning recipe and tattoos are such a strong part of the culture at FnB that Badman ends her job postings with “Tattoos a plus.”

EDIBLE PHOENIX: Which tattoo has the most meaning for you?
CHARLEEN BADMAN: “My left side is my ‘yoga side,’ with Ganesh [the Hindu deity representing new beginnings, wisdom and luck; remover of obstacles] and the Om symbol [representing the essence of consciousness and humanity]. I’m left-handed, so while I’m cooking all that powerful, positive, spiritual energy is flowing into my cooking.”

EP: Have you enhanced or covered up any older tattoos?
CB: “I had my leeks redone, because people kept mistaking them for green onions. I’m going to have a whisk made into a citrus situation, possibly with the words ‘Needs more acid,’ my typical answer when one of my cooks asks me to taste something.”

Tattoo artist: @ChristineVArt

Cory Oppold
COURSE Restaurant | Chef & Co-Owner
courserestaurant.com
@coryoppold @courserestaurantaz

It’s surprising to learn Oppold claims only three tattoos, but as he says, “two of them are pretty large.” He was 17 and visiting Arizona to get settled in before college when he first got inked. While his grandmother and sister were barhopping, he snuck out and got a tattoo of the yin/yang symbol.

EP: Is there a correlation between your Japanese body work and your cooking?
CORY OPPOLD: “I have always loved Japanese art. Love how simple yet very intricate it is. Maybe that’s how it corresponds with my flavor profiles: They’re complex, yet everything still is approachable.”

Tattoo artist: @lordzeptattoo

Hannah Wolvos
Vintage 14 | Front of House/Support Staff
Moxies | Prep Cook
@hkwolvos

Wolvos takes the cake for most tattoos among the group; she currently has 56 designs with only two food-related pieces: a bundle of strawberries and the cartoon character Woodstock wearing a chef’s toque, a gift from her tattoo artist upon her recent graduation from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

Wolvos plans to continue honing her culinary and hospitality skills with hands-on experience, and hopes to eventually open a private meal prep business.

EP: Do you have any words, quotes or lyrics?
HANNAH WOLVOS: “On my left hand: ‘There are places you haven’t been where you already belong.’ It’s usually a great conversation starter because it’s so visible.”

Tattoo artist: @sparkprojecttattoo

Jeff Kraus
Crêpe Bar | Chef/Owner
crepe-bar.com
@chefjeffkraus @crepebar

Tattoos are closely tied to Kraus’s culinary life. He says his tattoos are 95% food and cooking–related. Repeatedly told opening a food truck was a bad idea, the flying pig on his arm reminds him “the impossible is possible and, you don’t need all the odds in your favor to win.” His shopping cart and movie clapperboard with the words “Soup du Jour” and “Las Vegas,” respectively, pay homage to his competitive experiences on Food Network, “a dream come true,” he says.

EP: Any tattoos created from your own artwork?
JEFF KRAUS: “I vibe best with a tattooist when they have freedom to create something based on my ideas. I love the creative process they go through to get to the final piece.”

Tattoo artist: @pamsanderstattoo

Susie Timm
Knife & Fork Media | Principal
knifeandforkmedia.com
@susietimm @knifeandforkmedia

Before becoming a marketing and public relations professional focusing on restaurants and specialty foods, Timm was a banker—in fact, the youngest bank president in Arizona history at age 27. In that conservative world, she had “zero” tattoos, she says. Now, “My entire right arm sleeve is like a travel diary. It really tells the story of my travels, my most favorite places on Earth and my favorite season. After the Lahaina fires, I added a memorial ‘Mahalo Lahaina’ tattoo.”

EP: With your many food-centric clients, are you aware of a tattoo-focused camaraderie between staff at a particular place or from different businesses?
SUSIE TIMM: “Those of us in the industry with a lot of art do share experiences and designs with each other. My local tattoo artist has done a lot of work on chefs in the Valley as well, and she always has fun photos and designs to show me.”

Tattoo artist: @ladyluckphx_heather

Crystal Kass
Valentine Phoenix | Pastry Chef
valentinephx.com
@crystalkasserole @valentine_phoenix

James Beard Foundation Finalist 2024, Semifinalist 2023

Kass has two full sleeves—one entirely comprised of food tattoos. Both sleeves and one of her thigh pieces were created by the same artist. Among her 11 other designs, five are food-related and one is an image memorializing her first cat, aptly named Brioche.

EP: Which design has the most meaningful story or inspiration for you?
CRYSTAL KASS: “A roadrunner in a desert background was inspired by the coffee mugs at Valentine. This piece was meant to honor Arizona and, more importantly, my career at Valentine. I got it after being named a finalist for a James Beard Award. It will always be a reminder of an important moment in my career.”

Sammy DeMarco
Weft & Warp Art Bar + Kitchen | Executive Chef
andazscottsdale.com
@chefsammyd @weftandwarpaz

We used a discussion around tattoos to get to know Chef DeMarco. He relocated to Metro Phoenix after cooking everything from fine dining to comfort food on the East Coast and in Australia, Amsterdam and Las Vegas. Asked about his artwork choices, DeMarco says his one sleeve is “like the southwestern desert on acid”; the other is all Asian/Japanese art.

EP: Which has the most meaning for you?
SD: “I really do love the Japanese work; it’s almost never finished; it’s meant to be an ongoing mural on the body.” Also, he notes, “I enjoy the intimacy of going through the process and leaving with something I’ll have forever.”

Thanks to open kitchens, dining out today is possibly more theatrical than ever. We can enjoy seeing the blank canvas of plates being layered with color and texture and feel the excitement of mixologists stirring and shaking with dramatic flair. So too, tattoos in all their tremendous variety of hues and shading—and whether fun and entertaining or beautiful works of fine art—are often now part of the show. Whether commemorating career milestones, memorializing those who first taught them to love food or celebrating hard-won awards, much of the food community here in the Valley is united by wearing their passion on their sleeves.