Guess who was cooking at the Niman Ranch Appreciation Dinner?

I caught up with chef Charleen Badman, while she was on vacation in Idaho and on her way to a local farmers market there: Not surprising at all for a chef known to her loyal Instagram followers as @veggiebadman. Badman’s devotion to sourcing the finest ingredients available is well known by devoted fans of her cooking and is also what undoubtedly has brought her so many Best Chef nominations from the James Beard Foundation, an accolade she brought home in 2019. Her win marked the first time in 12 years the coveted award was won by an Arizona chef.

Badman admits that when growing up in Arizona, food wasn’t all that important to her. “You just ate and then went back out to play or to ride your bike.” Her mother, who is of Hungarian descent, is an excellent baker so Badman’s most beloved food memories are of the desserts her mother would indulge her family with during the holidays. She also loved Mexican food, although she’s quick to add “but Mexican food in Arizona is nothing like what you get in Mexico City or New York!” Today, she’s primarily vegetarian although she regularly tastes every meat dish on her menu to ensure it’s up to her standards of quality and flavor.

When you learn that the legendary Anne Rosenzweig, of New York’s Lobster Club and Arcadia, whose cooking revolutionized and defined New American Cuisine in the 1980s and 90s, is Badman’s mentor, everything suddenly comes into focus and makes sense. In fact, it was from reading an ad Rosenzweig had placed in the back of the Women Chefs and Restauranteurs newsletter, saying she was hiring cooks that compelled Badman to give notice, hop a plane and move to New York without a second thought, on New Year’s Day in 1996. Upon arrival, Badman was hired as Rosenzweig’s sous chef, which eventually led to a chef de cuisine position and six years of incredible experiences.

Badman credits Rosenzweig with teaching her more about the business than just food. “She taught me to make sure you know how much money is in the bank, how payroll is done, what the electric bill is each month. In this business, you have to align yourself with people who will teach you how to do it right. Anne taught me all of these things. She taught me how important your bookkeeper is, how important your lawyer and accountant are. Having the opportunity to work for her and learn these things has helped me be successful ever since.”

Known for her ability to bring out deeply complex and satisfying flavors from vegetables, which are often featured at the center of the plate, Chef Badman is quick to credit some of Arizona’s best farmers for doing most of the work. “Arizona’s seasonality is so different than other places. By May, much of our farms have come and gone, and by July, we’re really done. The farmers I work are always trying their best to improve things, to lengthen a season, to grow something different. This can be a challenging environment.” Her compassion for some of those challenges are obvious, “every now and then a farmer comes in to say he’s lost an entire crop due to flooding, or that 150 of their chickens were killed by a bobcat. It’s getting hotter and it’s affecting us all. Wild animals are hungrier. There’s less rain, it’s hotter. Seeing a farmer lose a whole season that way is just heartbreaking.” Thankfully, there are chefs like Charleen Badman there to support them in any way she can.