The renowned Parkway Grill will feature its first guest chef experience in more than four years when the acclaimed restaurant hosts one of Arizona’s top award-winning chefs for dinners from Tuesday, Oct. 3 through Thursday, Oct. 5.
Rochelle Daniel is the chef/partner at Atria, a premier Flagstaff restaurant and nominee for the prestigious James Beard honor. Her awards include “Best Sous Chef” from the Arizona Republic newspaper, winner of the top chef at Foodist Awards 2023, and she is a member of the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame.
“She’s a great chef; she has made a name for herself,” said Parkway Grill co-owner Gregg Smith. “She has won a lot of awards and [my brother and restaurant partner] Bob has eaten at Atria many times and thought her food was superb, imaginative and creative.”
Daniel is overhauling Parkway Grill’s regular menu as she and Smith have decided on offering many of the dishes that have made Atria so popular in Arizona.
“I’m going to give [Parkway Grill patrons] food that people here love,” she said. “We will have homemade pastas; we’re going to do fish. We will have a lobster ceviche with aguachile sauce and fermented plum — it’s delicious. We’re going to bring out live, whole lobsters.
“We will offer pappardelle pasta with fresh ground pork and different salamis ground into it. It’s a ‘flavor bomb’ — very delicious,” Daniel added.
Duck breast is another popular entrée “that everyone loves at Atria. We slow roast it and glaze it with our sauce,” she said.
Other offerings include Linz New York strip, halibut and a slow-roasted short rib.
Among the special desserts being offered are an apple tart, which is “full of apples with a spiced cheesecake mousse,” Daniel said.
There will also be a rum cake, which she said is “one of our staple items. It has roasted fig gelato, caramel and almonds.”
For chocolate fans, she will have a chocolate pot de crème. “It’s like a mousse that also has peanut butter in it.”
Daniel is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and previously served as the executive chef at Fat Ox in Scottsdale and, before that, at Etch Kitchen & Bar at L’Auberge de Sedona.
“What separates her menu from others is the ingredients she uses, which are unique with wonderful flavor profiles,” Gregg Smith said. “They come from small farms, they’re unusual, and most restaurants don’t have them on their menus.
“I ate at [Rochelle Daniel’s] restaurant and it was fabulous. She has worked in noteworthy high-end restaurants and she has received all of these accolades. We’ve only had 20 guest chefs over the past 40 years, including some of the best in the country. She certainly has the credentials.
“It’s going to be a special three nights that we are bringing to Pasadena. You don’t have to get on a plane and fly somewhere; it will be right here in our backyard.”
Space is limited and reservations will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For reservations, call (626) 795-1001 or MAKE RESERVATIONS ONLINE.
