MARCH 2026 16 In the Kitchen with Stephani O’ Connor, Culinary Director for Fox Restaurant Concepts 4455 E. Camelback Road • foxrc.com In the Kitchen S tephani O’Connor’s culinary journey has been fueled by hustle, curiosity, and a love for organized chaos. Now the Culinary Director for Fox Restaurant Concepts, O’Connor brings a sharp business mind and respect for technique to some of the Valley’s most well-known restaurants. Where are you from originally? I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve been chasing warm weather, so I made my way across the country and was in Los Angeles for a few years and went back to New York and was like ‘Nope’ [ laughs ]. Back out west to Austin, Texas before moving here around 2.5 years ago to start working with Fox Restaurant Concepts. Did you know you’d end up in Arizona? I’ve always loved the southwest, and my sights were set on New Mexico. It’s so different from anything I’d ever experienced growing up in Brooklyn – I’ve been to Chicago; I’ve been to LA... the culture in New Mexico is so much stronger, the landscape so different and the ingredients are crazy. We did a lot of road trips from Austin to New Mexico, got out there and did some camping and fun things. I never thought I’d end up in Phoenix, but when the opportunity arose, I thought, ‘Heck yeah, let’s go!’ What industries are your parents in? My dad is a retired police detective, but my parents have always been entrepreneurs. They did a lot of real estate and stuff like that, so I grew up watching them hustle and do their thing. My mom is 79 and she’s still working; in our house the talk was work and business and how we’re going to manage. My sister and I were involved so that work ethic was ingrained from a young age. What inspired you to enter the restaurant industry? I never thought it’d be my career, but I grew up working in restaurants. My friend’s dad owned a restaurant, and he would put us to work [ laughs ]. I loved it. I loved the structure, the organized chaos… we got to curse! I stuck with restaurants as a whole, I think, because I watched my parents build their business and a lot of the industry is about the business. Everyone is collectively like, ‘Okay, what’s on the plate and does it make sense?’ It’s fun to have everyone working together toward a common goal. Did you attend college? I did, I went to college to become a librarian [ laughs ]. I was working in kitchens in the morning and doing the prep work and I learned as I went. I was exposed to what other chefs were doing – they all had a strong outlook and knew what they were doing, and I was very drawn to that. Wait… a librarian? Honestly, I enjoy structure. I get asked a lot if I’ve ever been in the Army – I haven’t – but I’m very pragmatic after growing up in a lot of chaos. My parents didn’t work a typical 9 to 5, and we helped them with their business, painting apartments and a bunch of weird stuff; I enjoyed the structure of school and classes. When I discovered the world of restaurants and what they do, it was almost like a little boot camp, you’re in there and learning all the things and someone shows you how to do something and that’s how you do it. It was like an instant gratification. Your experience working in Brooklyn – was that like the stereotypical family-owned pizzeria situation? It was exactly what you think! There are uncles and family everywhere and this one’s got a secret recipe and no one knows how to make anything without the dad being there [ laughs ]. In college, I’d work in the morning in the kitchen. I was still learning and finding out about ingredients and how to handle food. It was intriguing! I wanted to work with the chefs rather than working the line at night. I wanted to learn the techniques and the ingredients. I also did a little bartending and it was crazy. I loved it and hated it. It was short-lived. Did you attend culinary school? It’s hard to put a label on the experience I’ve had in restaurants. I worked in nice places and not-so-nice places, but I couldn’t put down on paper what I know. As a confidence booster, I decided to go to Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago for its nine-month program. That was more so to learn the history and techniques of French cooking. I was like, ‘Oh, I know how to do that…and now I know the French name for it!’ How did the Fox Restaurants (FRC) opportunity come about? I was in Austin and we were looking to maybe get out of there – not necessarily move out of state, but a friend of mine from LA reached out. She was a recruiter for the company and said that they were looking for somebody and, ‘I think you’d be perfect for it.’ So began the courtship between Fox and I, because I wasn’t really looking and they weren’t in a rush, so we were able to all get to know each other and the more time I spent out here, the more I realized how big a part of Phoenix the company really is. His name and the restaurants are so well known. The FRC team appreciates the art of culinary, but there’s expansion and business to it. We want to keep the consistency and standards – and that was two years ago! Tell us about a day in the life of a culinary director. I get this question a lot! My job title says one thing and it’s hard to put it all into perspective. Regional chef is our colloquial term because we have so many brands and types of regional chefs. I have a cohort who helps me with the 13 Blanco locations, but my day-to-day is spent on recipe development – pushing the standard with the current food items we have now – and always looking to make things better. We engage the chefs at each location to make sure they understand the ingredients and understand what to do if things go wrong; really flexing their chef muscles and building them up to be bigger and better. On the grander scheme, we’re in charge of everything culinary for all of Blanco and Zinburger, so I’m either in the kitchen with the team, showing them new recipes or I’m working R&D in the test kitchen.

17 MARCH 2026 How often do the menus change? We do formal changes twice a year, but we tweak things if we get a wild hare. We do lots of promos like holiday menus and we have specials for certain days. The Peoria location will have a specialty lunch menu for Spring Training, and we’ll do something for Happy Hour. That’s the beauty of it; it’s not cookie cutter and we can change when we see fit. When you’re developing these recipes, what do you use for inspiration? We look at seasonality but before we start putting parameters on things, we just want to make delicious food. We look at what the needs of the menu are, what gaps we might be trying to fill… you look at the entire menu. Maybe you want to fill out the appetizer section, so you make food pertaining to what you’re inspired by. We start big and get narrow. My travel is mostly food related so I also use that for inspiration. We’ll maybe do a few activities while we’re there but mainly I just want to eat! Tell us about a recipe that you created when first starting out that you still think about today. In Austin, we did a lot of activations because they had South by Southwest, and I can never escape the fancy milkshakes that we made specifically for one of the events. They went viral and it was a whole thing and people bring it up every time I visit. I also did a dan dan noodle dish for The Peached Tortilla (in Austin); it was something we worked on for a long time and they’re still selling them today. I’m proud of that one. In terms of recognition, my job is recognizing talent and building teams, and I can tell you on a daily basis, I feel like I’m winning an award because I get to work with these people and be proud of their growth. What’s one kitchen item you find yourself using all the time? It’s very boring, but the answer is a very sharp knife. It’s basic but the basis of great food is starting simple. You don’t need any fancy tips and tricks… just a good knife. When I have time to cook, nothing beats roasted chicken, so that’s what I’m cooking when I’m able. I don’t really use ‘crazy’ ingredients – I’m more taking your everyday items and using them in ways you might not expect. Name a few chefs who inspire you. Sam is definitely up there [ laughs ], but also, I think of the women in this industry. It’s rare to see women in leadership roles. Dominque Crenn is one, she’s based out of San Francisco, and she is just a wonderful food storyteller. She’s one who reshaped leadership for women in this industry and did a lot of work for us. If you could cook for anyone, who would you cook for? Oh man… well, the cheesy answer is my grandmother. She was the cook. I’d like to say she taught me things, but she wouldn’t let me near anything when she was in the kitchen [ laughs ]. I watched her a lot. I’d love to give her a feast! If you were going to suggest a restaurant to a Valley newcomer, where would you suggest? Lom Wong. It’s so good and they’re just so proud. I love their use of ingredients and their story is amazing. They’re not afraid to change it up and keep things interesting on their menus. When you’re not working, what are you doing? I’m running; I’m an avid runner. I also think that keeps me calm. I run early in the morning and it’s the first thing I check off my list. I like to think anything else that happens in the day won’t be as hard as that first run. I love to travel and love the outdoors, too. What is your favorite and least favorite part of the industry? Least favorite is turnover, but that’s the nature of the beast. We’re usually a pit stop for people on their career paths. But I get sad when people leave. The part I love is the mix of people. You’re learning something about someone or learning a new recipe from someone. We’re here because we want to share food with our guests, but we also love to share within the team. I love to lead by example. What’s next for Chef Stephani O’Connor? Oh man… can I retire yet? [ laughs ] Just kidding. I’m going to continue pushing my knowledge base and getting to know the Valley more, and opening myself up to more events like Savor the Symphony (which took place in February). I’d like to get some more travel under my belt, keep things fresh and learn as much as I can! I can tell you on a daily basis, I feel like I’m winning an award because I get to work with these people and be proud of their growth. pipertrust.org/2025fellows © 2026 Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Congratulations 2025 Piper Fellows! Celebrating excellence in 13 Maricopa County nonprofit leaders. P I P E R F E L L O W S