AI Chefs Are Coming: Can They Replace Human Creativity? | Chef Lisa Dahl DSH #1388

Summary

Digital Social Hour — "AI Chefs Are Coming: Can They Replace Human Creativity?"

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Chef Lisa Dahl
Episode: #1388 | May 30, 2025

---

Overview

In this insightful episode, Sean Kelly sits down with award-winning chef and Sedona restaurateur Lisa Dahl to explore the intersection of food, creativity, and the growing role of AI in the culinary world. The pair discuss what sets a soulful dining experience apart from mechanized service, the spiritual and creative energy of Sedona, the challenges (and triumphs) of running multiple restaurants, Lisa’s deeply personal journey, and her thoughts on everything from sustainability to her unique burger concept. The episode weaves together heartfelt stories, practical advice, and a nuanced look at what makes true hospitality irreplaceable.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Can AI Replace Human Creativity in the Kitchen? (00:41, 23:35)

• AI is making inroads: Sean references AI bartenders in Vegas and speculates on the coming of AI chefs, especially in fast food.

• Lisa’s take: She believes AI chefs may be inevitable, but they lack the "energy" and love that transform food into an experience.

  "There’s no way it could have the energy... I feel like if that day comes, I'm done. I won’t be."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (00:47, 23:44)

• Experiential difference: Both agree something vital would be lost, with Lisa emphasizing cooking as an act of love.

---

2. The Sedona Spirit: Inspiration, Energy, and Creativity (01:35, 02:44, 03:46)

• Personal ties: Sean shares that he got engaged in Sedona, and both remark on the area's unique, uplifting energy.

• Creative impact: Lisa credits Sedona’s "prolific" atmosphere for her creative and professional achievements—writing two cookbooks and opening six restaurants.

  "All your creative juices are enhanced... It’s probably in the rocks, embedded in the stones."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (02:48)

• Vortexes and spiraling trees are discussed as symbols of this energy.

---

3. Building a Culinary Legacy in a Tough Industry (03:46, 05:25, 11:33)

• Endurance: Surviving 29 years in the restaurant business, Lisa attributes her success to treating food and hospitality as holistic, intentional experiences.

• Travel as inspiration: Lisa draws heavily from travel, especially her time in Italy and South America, when developing menu concepts.

  "Travel inspires the interpretations of the things that I really love to create."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (04:49)

• Simplicity and authenticity: Lisa insists on simple, soulful, ingredient-driven cooking over trendy or overly complicated cuisine.

---

4. Cooking with Love: Purpose and Philosophy (14:25)

• The mantra: Lisa shares her guiding principle:

  "When you cook with love, you feed the soul."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (14:32)

• Personal transformation: After the tragic loss of her son, cooking became Lisa's "salvation," infusing her food and business with deeper meaning.

• Energy in food: Lisa and Sean affirm the belief that food carries the energy of those who prepare it, a feeling hard to replicate with automation.

---

5. The Butterfly Burger Concept & Expanding Beyond Sedona (16:38, 18:18)

• Butterfly Burger: Launched just before the pandemic, this "couture" burger lounge features diverse options—vegan, vegetarian, seafood, and local, humanely sourced brisket—all with an elevated, soulful twist.

  "It's more than just the burgers. It’s a sexy lounge. Not just about the meat."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (16:43)

• Expansion plans: Lisa hints at major plans for Phoenix and Las Vegas, believing the unique, high-concept burger experience will resonate in larger markets.

---

6. The Human Element: Labor, Mentorship, & Culture (11:33, 12:36, 22:54)

• Labor challenges: Staffing is a constant struggle, especially in small Sedona. Lisa credits her long-standing pastry chef, Marco Soto, as an unsung hero behind thousands of weekly desserts.

• Industry mentorship: Lisa values working with and mentoring young staff, striving to pass on her ethos and maintain the soul of the industry in the face of growing automation.

  "Maybe rubbing off on the younger people will keep our industry not going backwards and turning into just like where food is mechanical."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (23:26)

---

7. AI and Mechanized Hospitality—Wider Impacts (24:22, 24:31)

• Beyond food: Sean and Lisa discuss increasing automation in hotels and airports, further highlighting the shrinking space for human connection in hospitality.
• Sedona’s resistance: Lisa notes Sedona's strict ordinances and spiritual culture may delay the arrival of AI-driven hospitality in her adopted hometown.

---

8. Legacy, Documentary, and Honoring Place (21:00, 34:56)

• Short film: Lisa speaks about her emotional documentary’s debut at the Sedona Film Festival, praised for its vulnerability and celebration of overcoming adversity.
• Sedona’s culinary growth: Lisa describes her role in transforming Sedona into a recognized food destination, listing high honors and awards, such as the 2019 Arizona "Food Pioneer."
• Restaurant personalities: Each restaurant occupies a repurposed local building, and Lisa honors the "soul" of each location during redesign and operation.

---

9. Sustainability and Stewardship (25:54)

• Protecting Sedona: Lisa is deeply engaged in community efforts to prevent litter and environmental damage from tourists, underscoring a sense of stewardship and connection to place.

  "The more that we attract those people, the more we have to be very... speaking to the culture of do not trash our environment."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (25:54)

---

10. Family, Foundations, and Personal Influences (31:13)

• Multi-generational learning: Lisa’s approach combines influences from her entrepreneurial mother, grandmother, and a beloved nanny from Georgia, leading to her varied, soulful food.

---

11. Fast vs. Slow Food, Competition, & Recognition (28:48, 29:54)

• Rejecting the "fastest" mentality: Lisa prefers the slow, intentional pace of cooking, despite competitive success in burger battles and appearances on shows like Bobby Flay.

  "Trying to see how fast you can cook something is not the name of the game. Cooking with love takes time."
  — Chef Lisa Dahl (28:48)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On energy in food:

  "When you cook with love, you feed the soul." (14:32)

• On AI’s limitations:

  "There’s no way it could have the energy... I feel like if that day comes, I'm done." (00:47, 23:44)

• On expansion and uniqueness:

  "This is really a next level... I think people will fall in love with it when it gets out into the bigger market." (20:32)

• On personal transformation:

  "Cooking became like a salvation for me." (15:38)

• On stewardship:

  "The more that we attract those people, the more we have to be very... speaking to the culture of do not trash our environment." (25:54)

• On culinary legacy:

  "We kind of help put the culinary on the map in Sedona." (35:31)

---

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:41 | Conversation about AI entering food & hospitality | | 01:35 | Chef Lisa’s background in Sedona, creativity, and restaurant count | | 04:49 | How travel shapes Lisa’s culinary vision | | 07:30 | The challenge and rewards of running six restaurants | | 14:32 | The "cook with love" philosophy | | 15:38 | Lisa’s personal story of loss and healing through cooking | | 16:43 | Butterfly Burger and plans for expansion | | 21:00 | Discussing Lisa’s documentary and public response | | 23:35 | AI chefs and preserving culinary culture | | 24:31 | Observing AI in hotels and airports | | 25:54 | Tourism, environmental concerns, and community stewardship | | 28:48 | Thoughts on food competition and slow, soulful cooking | | 31:13 | Family and foundational influences on Lisa’s cooking | | 34:56 | Sedona’s culinary evolution and Lisa’s industry recognition | | 37:05 | Each restaurant’s unique “soul” and design philosophy | | 38:32 | How to visit and keep up with Lisa Dahl |

---

Final Thoughts

Sean Kelly and Chef Lisa Dahl deliver a thought-provoking, heartfelt exploration of what makes food meaningful in an age increasingly shaped by technology. Through personal anecdotes and philosophical musings, the episode champions authenticity, mentorship, environmental stewardship, and the irreplaceable energy of cooking with love—a timely reminder that even as AI advances, some human experiences remain impossible to replicate.

---

To learn more, visit cheflisadahl.com or follow Lisa on Instagram: @lisadahlsedona.
Chef Lisa invites listeners to experience Sedona in the winter for a magical, less crowded visit.

Transcript

[A]

The wait is over. Dive into Audible's most anticipated collection, the best of 2025. Featuring top audiobooks, podcasts, and originals across all genres, our editors have carefully curated this year's must listens. From brilliant hidden gems to the buzziest new releases, every title in this collection has earned its spot. This is your go to for the absolute best in 2025 audio entertainment. Whether you love thrillers, romance or non, your next favorite listen awaits. Discover why there's more to imagine when you [e-mail] BestOfTheYear I actually like that because there's.

[B]

There's AI bartenders in Vegas now, and soon there'll be AI chefs, but the food won't have the energy.

[C]

There's no way it could have the energy and that, you know, I feel like if that day comes, I'm done. I won't be.

[B]

It's coming. It's coming.

[C]

It is coming.

[B]

Fast food's going to be first, I think. Guess they're going to go first and then eventually restaurants.

Okay, guys, very special guest today from Sedona. Took the drive out here, Chef Lisa, One of my favorite restaurants in the world right now, Mary Poso. So thanks for coming on.

[C]

Oh, I'm honored. Thank you.

[B]

I was just telling you before we started, I. I had one lunch reservation there. It was so good. I ended up going every single day in my whole trip.

[C]

So, you know, I told you I wish the that you had tried a few of the others, but next time you will.

[B]

Can't wait.

[C]

I'm so happy.

[B]

You got six restaurants, right?

[C]

Six, yes. All concepts. They're all in Sedona.

[B]

That's amazing. So you really like that market?

[C]

Well, it wasn't that I planned to be a restaurateur in that market and have six restaurants, but it did happen over a period of 29 years. So it's lovely. It's incredible. It's very different. But when you think of all the guests that come to us from all over the world, it's pretty amazing.

[B]

Yeah, Sedona is a beautiful spot. I actually got engaged there.

[C]

Oh, did you? Where?

[B]

Lovers Knoll.

[C]

Is that up on Schnumber Hill Road.

[B]

It was high up because there was a beautiful view.

[C]

That's an amazing. I think it's up on Stumble Hill Road that you have to kind of climb up to the top.

[B]

Yeah, I played it off. I was like, you want to go hiking? And then pulled it out.

[C]

Oh, brilliant. Brilliant.

[B]

Pulled it off. But Sedona will always hold a special place in my heart because of that.

[C]

When did you get engaged?

[B]

Two years ago, and we're getting married this year.

[C]

Oh, what about Sedona?

[B]

No, no, no, no, no.

[C]

Where are you going?

[B]

We grew up on the east coast, so we're taking it back home, but.

[C]

Fabulous.

[B]

I wouldn't be opposed, but. Yeah. Jersey.

[C]

But maybe an after celebration.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That we could, you know, do something magical for you.

[B]

Yeah. The energy there is.

[C]

It is.

[B]

For people that haven't been. It's hard to explain.

[C]

It's kind of prolific.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Really? It's a place that all your creative juices are enhanced.

[B]

I just feel like. It's really hard to describe, but I just feel much better out there.

[C]

See?

[B]

Yeah. Just something in the air.

[C]

Yeah. I think it's probably in the. Like, in the rocks embedded in the. I always feel like there's a mineral content or something that just makes everybody really alive and open to. Just to their creative forces.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And say, it's been very good for me. I've been able to write two cookbooks.

[B]

Nice.

[C]

Since living there. And I'm birthing restaurants. Not on purpose, but they've happened. It is amazing energy.

[B]

Yeah. Well, they say the vortexes. Right. There's a lot of those out there. The trees are like spiraling.

[C]

Oh, exactly.

[B]

Yeah. There's something special out there.

[C]

Yeah, it's there. Did you see those spiral trees?

[B]

I saw a few where I stayed. Yeah. I got an Airbnb. Beautiful.

[C]

Wonderful.

[B]

Now, the restaurant industry is a tough industry, right?

[C]

Very tough. Very tough.

[B]

So to make it for 30 years is very. That alone is impressive, but to have, like, some of the top restaurants is even more impressive.

[C]

Well, I'm. I'm. I'm very blessed. I never try to say that it's an easy business, but it is such a rewarding business. I mean, you meet amazing people, and it offers us to give service to people in so many forms.

[B]

Yeah. Because food is more than just actual food. It's an experience.

[C]

Exactly. It really is. You know.

I try to design the whole package for the guests that are visiting, and the menus and the food quality are everything, but also the environments and the ambiance and the way that each restaurant speaks to individuals in a different way is. Is really something that I love.

[B]

Yeah. Where did you learn those skills? Because that's really. That's kind of what I think separates you from other restaurants where you could just tell. It's like a cookie cutter menu.

[C]

Yeah. People just copy each other, you know, I don't. Well, that's a really interesting thing you're saying. Because I think we all get ideas from other restaurants that we go and other chefs. But I feel like travel inspires the interpretations of the things that I really love to create. And when I go to other countries or to other places, I fall in love with the culture of their food and I try to interpret it in my own way and just be authentic to what what I feel the food wants to say to the guest.

[B]

So you do a lot of traveling to get inspiration?

[C]

I I wish I could say I got to do as much as I really want, but I'm allowing more for myself. We went to South America before building Mariposa. I've been to Italy quite a few times.

[D]

From Shout out to Today's sponsor Kinsta if you run anything online, an ecom brand, a podcast site, a service business, you know hosting is one of those things that can either run quietly in the background or completely wreck your momentum when it goes wrong. I've been there. Pages not loading during launches, site crashing when traffic picks up, support tickets going nowhere. You end up wasting hours trying to fix problems that shouldn't exist in the first place. That's why I moved to kinsta. They're a WordPress hosting company that's actually built for people running real businesses. Fast speeds, solid uptime, enterprise grade security, and a dashboard that doesn't feel like it was built into 2008. Everything just works and it runs fast. Before Kinsta, I had hosting that couldn't keep up. It hurt SEO and slowed down conversions and made simple tasks way harder than they needed to be. What I like about Kinsta is that it's all handled. I don't think about updates, backups, traffic spikes. It's covered when something comes up, which is rare. I'm not stuck in support loop talking to some chatbot or outsourced team. I get real people who know what they're doing. That's worth a lot more when you you're moving fast and performance matters. Faster load times, help with rankings, with retention, with your entire customer experience, it all adds up. Not only that, you get a 30 day money back guarantee to try it risk free. So if you're tired of managing your own hosting problems or relying on outdated tools, check out kinsta.comDSH Go to kinsta.comDSH that's K-I-N-S-T a.comDSH first month's free migration is done for you and your site will actually feel like it's pretty built for 2025.

[C]

Inspiration for my Italian restaurants. I love traveling More than anything I can think of. But with six restaurants and over 300 employees, I don't just get to go whenever I want, but I choose the times when business is slower, and I know that I can get away and really inspire new ideas.

[B]

I love that. I gotta get out to Italy. I heard it's amazing out there.

[C]

Oh, you would love it. You and your fiance should go there for sure.

[B]

Yeah, we're looking at honeymoon spots. That's an option.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Oh, and it's. It's. There's so many different regions, but my significant other and myself got to go in September, and we focus mostly in Tuscany and in Umbria, and those are the areas that I just. I love. I resonate with the. With the culture of the food, the earthiness, the. Just, you know, I'm a chef that really likes simpler foods. I like very simple, soulful foods. No matter what type of food I'm doing, I'm not as trendy as many other chefs out there that, you know.

Just combine so many different ingredients. I really focus on the quality of the sourcing of where everything is grown and try to keep it as close to where we live.

[B]

I love that.

[C]

Yeah. And you probably tasted that when you were at Mariposa.

[B]

I could tell.

[C]

Did you have a lot of great salads? What did you.

[B]

Yeah, I made sure I got a salad every. Every time. Got the burgers good. Sandwiches were phenomenal.

[C]

Oh, great.

[B]

You had one dish with scallops. Oh, my God, yes.

[C]

Scallops on the aji amarillo.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And with the mango salsa.

[B]

And by the way, best cheesecake I've ever had. Oh, you're cute.

[C]

Yeah. Picky Pearl.

[B]

My best friend is a cheesecake lover, and we try out cheesecakes from across the country, and I sent him that one to try out.

[C]

Oh, did you send it to the restaurant?

[B]

Yeah, like, I sent him the restaurant.

[C]

Oh, yes.

[B]

So when he's in Sedona, he's going to try it.

[C]

Oh, wonderful. Now you have to give him my contact because we have a lot of different cheesecakes. My very favorite one is in my Italian restaurants. It's a limoncello cheesecake. That is amazing. It's, like, just supercharged. Everyone says it's. It's, like, their very favorite. So you have to come back. You've got a lot more food to try.

[B]

I do have to come back. Wow. How'd you learn how to make a good cheesecake? Because that's a hard.

[C]

You know, I do. Well, what I actually do is I take things that are like, tried and true. So I've had the same cheesecake base for years, and I took my mother's original cheesecake, which was really a New York cheesecake or just absolutely perfectly balanced. And then seasonally we do different variations and you know, each restaurant, it has a flair of its own. So doing the limoncello in Italian restaurant is perfect. Doing prickly pear in a Latin inspired restaurant works great. And then we just change throughout the seasons to just have fun. A dulce de leche cheesecake is amazing. A butterfly burger. So but if you have great bases, then you make a canvas of different things. But it's not like you have to redesign the entire thing. And that's kind of how I choose to do my, my foundations in my six restaurants. Because if we were constantly changing, it would be very difficult, especially in the world.

[D]

Shout out to today's sponsor, Notion. Your time is for building, not emailing. Countless incredible tools exist to help you build your next big idea. But your inbox has not kept up. What started as a revolutionary way to connect with customers, hire your team and run your businesses has become a time sink that pulls you away from what matters. Notion Mail is the inbox that thinks like you. It uses AI to automatically sort what's important, drafts, replies, and even helps schedule meetings without you lifting a finger. I've set mine up with custom views so I could see what matters by topic or urgency and their snippet features. I use it daily to knockout repeat emails, follow ups, intros, quick thank yous in one click. It's fast, clean and smart. If you already use Notion, it integrates seamlessly. And if you don't, this is a great reason to start. Try Notion mail [e-mail] all lowercase. That's notion.comDSH and using our link helps support the show.

[C]

Well, now where labor is very challenging, right?

[B]

Yeah, that's an issue right now of finding good labor.

[C]

Oh, it's always been a big issue in a small town like Sedona, right.

[B]

Cause only 10,000 people live there, right?

[C]

Exactly, exactly. But it's exacerbated a lot since the pandemic. And you know, it's coming back. But still, for the volume of the guests that we serve every year.

We'Re always looking for great people, to say the least. And pastry chefs are, you know, I've got the greatest pastry chef ever. He's been with me 10 years.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

He's very young. He was taught by two master pastry chefs that were kind of his mentors and he and I, you know, we just jive very well together. We always think in the same way. I was just thinking about it the other day that, you know, in 10 years, I've never even had an argument with him. I mean, we are just really kind of like soul.

[B]

Might be soulmates.

[C]

Yeah, we could be.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

He is married to someone that works in my company, but he's. He's brilliant. But what he does that's amazing is to imagine with a crew of only three other people that work with him to. To facilitate that the amount of desserts that we offer in our six restaurants is quite a lot of volume. And you have to really know how to do the production in a way that is. It's organized, but you're still putting that love into each and every item. And so he's a very rare character because pastry chefs are known to be a little. A little bit.

What is the word? I would say temperamental.

[B]

Are they? I didn't know that.

[C]

Oh, they are. Well, they get up at the crack of dawn. You know, who wants to do that? They get into the restaurants at like 4 or 5 o' clock in the morning to get out. And then in our case, our pastry chef is working out of one of our kitchens, so we don't have a separate commissary. When you think of the diversity that we do on the menus, with everything from specialty panna cotta, tiramisu, different cheesecakes, all kinds of seasonal things, it's a lot. And yet he's never in a cross mood. He's always just very like a little boot.

[B]

Wow. Shout out to him. That's impressive. Managing six restaurants with a staff of three, that's hundreds of desserts a day.

[C]

I would say that we definitely have over a thousand, maybe two thousand desserts in the high season going out every week.

[B]

Holy crap.

[C]

Oh, yes. And he makes a dough for the focaccia and he makes the dough for the empanadas. So it's a lot. Yeah.

[B]

That's insane. Shout out to him.

[C]

I will, I will. His name is Marco Soto.

[B]

Shout out to you, Marco.

When I was reading the. You have like an information thing at Mariposa, and I remember you said, like, you cook with love.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And that really stuck with me. I believe there's an energetic component to food.

[C]

Oh, I really do. The mantra is, when you cook with love, you feed the soul. And that's really, you know, it sounds very woo woo, but it actually is very intentional. And I do think that you can really Feel and taste the energy in the food. You know, I've. I've been doing this for nearly 30 years. Last year, in our restaurants, we served 500,000 guests. Wow. And we had such incredible reviews, and so many people just. They love it. They love the restaurants. They love Sedona, and they love the energy of the food because they know what they're going to get, and they know it's truly infused with love. And I'm sure that, you know, that I lost my son in the Bay Area, and that's what guided me to come to Sedona and really review my life and start over with meaning in a way that I never had. So cooking became like a salvation for me.

[B]

Wow. I love that. He'd be so proud of you if he saw what you were doing now.

[C]

I just know. I honestly think he does see what I'm doing. I mean that in the bottom of my heart. I think that he's kind of, like, on the other side, guiding me through many of the things that I've fortunately accomplished through the love that comes through me from him.

[B]

Spirit, God.

[C]

Yes. I do believe so much.

[B]

I believe in that, too.

[C]

And, you know, I mean, I was told many years ago that we've had multiple lives together, and it kind of makes sense that, you know, he is and I have aligned together over many lifetimes. And, you know, I. I don't doubt that. It just kind of feels like it fits.

[B]

I just found that out with my mother, too. Yeah. My psychic told me we're. We're like soulmates. We've had, like, 100 lives together. Something like that.

[C]

My God.

[B]

Yeah. Like, I was her parent in a past life. Now she's my parent.

[C]

And I heard that too.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, and I'm not surprised, because he's teaching me every day.

[B]

Mm. I love that. So is the goal to keep expanding? I know you have a new concept you're working on, right?

[C]

Well, I have Butterfly Burger, and it's amazing. And it opened right before COVID six months before. It went through a hardship like all the restaurants around the country, but in a small town like ours, when all your employees are gone and you have to kind of regroup, start over, and now it's just never been better. People come from all over and just. They're in love with it. It's very unique. It's not just the burgers. It's. It's more. It's a very sexy lounge. I call it Couture. It's next level, and it has something for everyone. It's not just about the meat, but the meat that's sourced is the best quality. And we have wonderful lettuce wraps with mahi mahi teriyaki. There's something for everyone, vegan vegetarian burgers and things like that. But it is a unique concept that I haven't really seen out there. And we're feeling like we're really ready to start stepping out of Sedona.

[B]

I love that. So you can.

[C]

For many years, I've been asked to go into the Phoenix marketplace, which is huge for years and years, but I think I just kept falling more in love with locations in Sedona. But now I really think that it's a new time. It's a very special paradigm right now. And everything is telling me intuitively that it's a good time to get it out there before I love it. Anything happens.

[B]

I hope you come to Vegas one day, personally, selfishly.

[C]

And I'm going to tell you this. And I'm kind of upset, of course, that you didn't get to try it, but I know you're just four and a half hours away. But Vegas really speaks to me for this concept. It is meant for Vegas. It really is such an amazing.

Concept of everything. It has, with a incredibly gorgeous, sexy bar. But it's the food. The food is off the charts. It's different. It's not like a typical burger place that you would imagine. I have probably about 12 different burger styles so far, and they're all unique and they have ethnic influences to each one of them. But they. They are served with what I call my buddy sauces and buddy sides. So every time that you get any type of sandwich, it comes with one of our signature sides that are really. They're just delicious. They're like most wonderful homemade, like the best potato salad or marinated butter beans and things like that that come with it and make it really just, you know, you walk out of the place and you're like, oh, my God, I love. It's like the meal of the day.

[B]

We need that in veg.

[C]

Yes, it is. And because the beef is. It's my favorite beef that I'm using, the blend is a brisket blend, but it's also all natural so you don't feel weighted down. And also, I put a lot of thought into the beef choice being humanely slaughtered so that you know that the animals did not suffer when they were tough.

[B]

Stress.

[C]

That's right. And that.

[B]

And that.

[C]

That goes right to all the hormones shooting through the system.

It's a Different feeling. So you can eat a burger once in a while and feel really good about it. But the neat thing about this place also is that.

There'S just wonderful other options in case someone doesn't want meat at all. So that's one of the other things I think that people would love in Vegas.

[B]

Please bring out here, because I am getting a little sick of In N Out.

[C]

Well, we couldn't be any different. And I really admire the model of restaurant chains that keep it very clean, that are those type of concepts that have multiple units, you know, like an in and out. I think it's. I think it's one of the best that's out there. But this is so different. This is really a next level. And, yeah, I think people will fall in love with it when it gets out into the bigger market.

[B]

Yeah, I can't wait for that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You have a documentary, right?

[C]

A short film documentary just came out for Sedona Film Festival.

[B]

Nice.

[C]

That was in February, and it. It's really. It's really poignant. Did you get a chance to.

[B]

I did watch it, yeah.

[C]

Did you enjoy it?

[B]

Yeah, I was tearing up. I mean, what. What a journey. Yeah. You've been through a lot.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. And.

You know, it's inspiring. People. People are telling us that they just. They, you know, that broke him down, but yet it lifted him up at the same time.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You didn't. Whoever, like, made that did so well with the cinematography on it.

[C]

That's the photographer and cinematographer. Eric Wolfinger is a genius. He's an. He's an amazing food photographer, especially. I. I don't know if you felt the way others have said, but they got starving watching that film. I can see that.

[B]

I might have got a little hungry now, I think about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Watch it again. You'll get very hungry. But he is. It was magical working with him and very intimate. A lot of the interviews were very emotional, but we were in all the kitchens together. It was really quite something. And you saw that his cinematography of Sedona was absolutely breathtaking.

[B]

Yeah, it was. Yeah. I like how honest and vulnerable you got. You know, you showed all the ups, all the downs. Because a lot of people glorify. They don't show the downs ever.

[C]

Sagging. Yeah.

You know, my backstory stays with me every day. And I really feel that I'm blessed to be able to do the work that I do in this business. And the business is very demanding. It's like, I sometimes feel like we need an eighth day of the week.

[B]

Quite honestly, it's probably one of the toughest industries.

[C]

It really is. It really is. But it's an industry and a business that just continues to give back. You know, you're always getting to work with young people and mentor them. I'm always hoping that maybe rubbing off on the younger people will keep our industry not going backwards and turning into just like where food is mechanical, you know.

We want to keep our passion, you know, as why we do what we do and keep the culture to be real.

[B]

Yeah. I actually like that because there's AI bartenders in Vegas now, and soon there'll be AI chefs, but the food won't have the energy.

[C]

There's no way it could have the energy and that, you know, I feel like if that day comes, I'm done. I won't be.

[B]

It's coming. It's coming.

[C]

It is coming.

[B]

Fast food's going to be first, I think. I think they're going to go first, and then eventually restaurants.

[C]

Of course it's going to happen. But I think that they'll always be the people that really want the most wholesome food to digest. And these box concepts, you know, they're. They're taking up so much of the real estate of. Of the ecosystem, you know, and. And really, I. I just hope that I don't see that day.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Anytime soon, at least.

[B]

No, it's scary because I just checked into my hotel in Miami. I was there for F1 Miami last week, and it was AI.

[C]

Oh, my goodness. Yeah.

[B]

It gave me a blank hotel card. I scanned it on the computer.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

No one helped me.

[C]

That's. That's. That's where we're getting. That's where it's going.

[B]

And I was at the airport on the way home to Vegas. The wheelchairs are AI now, so there's no one pushing it anymore. The wheelchair shows up to your gate automatically.

[C]

Unbelievable.

[B]

Isn't that crazy?

[C]

Like really crazy. But cars are AI.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Waymo self driving, you know, I mean, we shouldn't doubt that it's happening.

[B]

Sedona will probably be hit the lot.

[C]

Like last, I would imagine.

[B]

Yeah. Because you guys are very spiritual over there. You don't really like that stuff.

[C]

Very strict. I mean, our city council is very strict even about light ordinances and sound ordinances. We're very protective.

[B]

Yeah. You guys shut down early over there.

[C]

Well, we don't shut down as early as you might think. My restaurants actually stay open till 10. Sometimes I can't even get a reservation in New York as late as we will Stay open. But it's not that, you know, we have so many visitors. We have almost 4 million, 3 to 4 million a year that pass through. Not all of them are staying over, but our biggest concern is that they don't litter our trails and that they honor our beauty and, you know, pick up their trash and all the things that we see.

The more that we attract those people, the more we have to be very.

Speaking to the culture of do not trash our environment.

[B]

Yeah, I didn't know that was an issue. People are just leaving their trash.

[C]

I was really shocked when I was on the Sedona Chamber of Tourism for a period of time and unbeknownst to me, people would be like leaving bags of dirty diapers and all kinds of things. I've noticed lately there's a little Tesla station in one of the plazas and by my restaurant, Cucina Rustica. And every time I walk by, I notice that there's more and more trash that people just feel that they can just dump and leave.

[B]

Wow. It's really mind blowing to me.

[C]

It is. It's really, it's really sad.

[B]

That's a shame. Yeah. Because I believe in karma, so I don't believe in harming nature because that's going to get back to you.

[C]

Better believe it.

[B]

Yeah, 100%. That blows my mind.

[C]

Yeah. And there's actually, you know, through the chamber of commerce, they have different volunteers that actually go up into the canyon and they go out to all the beautiful trail sites and they pick up bags and bags and bags of refuse. Yeah. You wouldn't imagine that people would be that mindless.

[B]

That's crazy. It's so ironic because you're hiking in nature. Why would you want to destroy it? You know what I mean?

[C]

I can't imagine that's a shame.

[B]

Well, let's. We'll link below some charity stuff for the people. Want to volunteer?

[C]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

Next time I come out there, I'll help out.

[C]

Oh, that's amazing. And I'll introduce you to this woman that I've met recently and hoping that she will join forces with me on my non for profit. But she actually has volunteers that travel and come from around all over the country, from the world. And she gets them involved in things like this, like picking up trash and things and they, they actually feel so good that they're coming to a place that they can make more beautiful. Kind of a great concept. I'll introduce.

[B]

Yeah, please. Thank you. You going on any shows anytime soon? I know you were on Bobby Flay.

[C]

I Was on Bobby Flay a number of years ago. I don't really have plans to go on any show unless somehow something is in the works.

[B]

Gordon Ramsey makes the call.

[C]

Well, if he makes the call, that would be interesting. Yeah, I don't really fish for that type of thing. There's a lot of stress involved, but it's also another learning experience. When you put yourself on the line for something that you know is really gonna make you really intense.

You learn what you could do better the next time.

[B]

Yeah, you're right, though. That is the opposite of your cooking style.

[C]

Oh, yes, exactly.

[B]

High stress environment.

[C]

Yeah. You know, I really feel like cooking fast. You know, I love that expression, slow food, because trying to see how fast you can cook something is not the name of the game. And that is what most of the shows promote. It's, you know, short timeframe to do what you have to do. So this adrenaline and the stress builds up in a way, when I think cooking with love takes time. And it's better to not try to make it something that you have to speed to do. You know, just like I speak about my soups, you know, when you immerse yourself in making a brilliant soup, something that is going to really resonate with thousands of people, it's like you want to take the time to go through all the stages and wash each stage of it emerge. And so it's not something that I really see a value for myself in how quickly I can cook something. Although, you know, I do have a competitive nature. And I.

Going back a little bit to butterfly burger, I was involved in burger battles in Scottsdale, and we were. They were. They were pretty big deals because we had about 800 to 1,000 people that we presented our burgers. And I was awarded the highest awards three years in a row. And that's why Bobby Flay show came to me, because of that reputation. And that wasn't really about how fast you cook, but it's also all the steps that you need to take to have the best tasting, most moist, most creative, most delicious burger out of a number of other burger concepts that are established as burger concepts. And at the time I did it, I didn't have a burger concept. So it was winning those three years that made me really want to take it seriously.

[B]

Wow. I definitely have to.

[C]

That's very cool.

[B]

I gotta try your burger now. I didn't know it was gonna be.

[C]

You would go nuts, but yeah. And so what you had at Mariposa, I have less burger varieties.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But I started it There. And at Butterfly Burger, I have all kinds of whimsical fun burgers that all, you know, speak to different people's palates.

[B]

I love that. Oh, yeah, you mentioned your mom earlier. Was she the first one that taught you how to cook?

[C]

She influenced me. My mom, my grandmother, and my nanny. Quite honestly, my mother is a working woman. She had women's clothing stores and she's very much a pioneer and a woman entrepreneur. Before it was very common. She had four kids and she was a great cook. She learned that from her mother, who's my grandma, who is a wonderful cook. Very American influence, but very high quality, lots of flavor in our food. We never had artificial foods. We never got to really even eat junk food and things. So we were fortunate to have very good quality meals. But my mom was always at work. Even sometimes, like on Christmas, she wouldn't get home until like 10 o' clock at night. But we had great food and we were fortunate to have incredible.

Like a substitute mom. Her name was Barbara and she was from the South. She was born in. In Georgia. And so she taught me all kinds of soul food and things that I wasn't really having in my own meals and my. With my family. And so between my mother, my grandmother and, and my nanny, I got to eat a lot of really great food.

[B]

I love that.

[C]

Yeah, very soulful.

[B]

That makes sense because your restaurants are very different. You have a lot of different cuisines, right?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So that's impressive that you could pull that off.

[C]

Well, and Italian is, you know, is my favorite. And make no bones about it. I love. I love the simplicity of the. Using the best quality ingredients. But the Italian style is. It resonates the most with me. I could eat Italian every day. You know, I can't eat a steak or a burger every day, but I could think of different things that I want to have in Italian every day. And I eat Italian more than anything else. Italian, Mediterranean. But that's how I began. And I had lived in the Bay Area for many years, and even though I wasn't a professional chef, I was inspired very much by the California cuisine and the interpretation of the Italian restaurants that I went to all the time in San Francisco. So when I became a chef in my first restaurant, and me and my boyfriend at the time was from Rome, we teamed up and we started cooking together. And we, you know, I was making the sauces and the soups, the vegetables and things like that. And he was doing his style of saute, which is very delicate and light. We live by that still to this day.

People just started talking. And there were a few restaurants in Sedona at the time, not very many. And all of a sudden, we just kept getting busier and busier and busier, and that's how it all began.

[B]

Wow. So you didn't even know Sedona was going to blow up like, the way it did.

[C]

Well, it was 29 years, and.

You know, I always felt like after coming from Marin county, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but in California, of course, and coming to Sedona and seeing how magical and stunning it was, it's like, how could people not end up wanting to really discover what it's all about and the magic of it? And especially at that time, we weren't known for culinary. We really didn't have a great culinary presence.

I feel very fortunate that the Arizona Restaurant association and my peers in the industry awarded me the 2019 food pioneer wow of Arizona. It was a big, big thing. And 2018, I was awarded the Top Chef, which really shocked me, because till then, I don't think that people thought of Sedona as really a place for fabulous food. So those honors are the highest that I could ever receive.

We are really. We kind of help put the culinary on the map in Sedona. It used to be the kind of place that people thought of. Oh, we'll go up, we'll do a hike, we'll drive through, go to the Grand Canyon. They didn't really stay because they didn't have all the assets that we do have in Sedona. Now we've got resorts that are world renowned, and it's growing all the time. I'm always questioning, well, where are we going to find the people to work in these places? I think that'll be the biggest challenge. But I'm very content with what I've done there. And it grows all the time in terms of contentment, satisfaction, in terms of we have made our mark in Sedona. We'll continue. But I do think that that's enough restaurants in Sedona for me. I've done all the concepts that I've dreamed of, and they're all thriving. My first restaurant is, you know, it's my baby. It's like your first child, of course, who was awarded the Trip Advisor Best of the best in 2024 for top 1% most romantic date night restaurants in the U.S. wow.

[B]

Which one was that?

[C]

That's a big one. That's Stalin Teluca. We call it D and D. And here, here it is nearly 30 and winning some of the top awards, you know, that you can achieve.

[B]

So well done.

[C]

You've got to check them all out. I mean, you'll love the energy. Each one. Excuse me.

Each restaurant has, like, a soul of its own. They have their own personalities. Some of them are, you know, older restaurants that I rehabbed, like Dal and DeLuca was a Sonic Burger. No one can believe it. And Pizza Lisa was an old Pizza Hut. So each one of them that was built in a structure that already existed, it brings a soul. And I try to honor that soul and let that creativity come through me when designing restaurants. They don't all have views. I quite honestly never thought I'd have a view. And maripusa came about because of the reputation of the other restaurants, and it paved the way. And it's gorgeous. It's so drop dead beautiful.

[B]

That view's amazing.

[C]

You know, that restaurant was an old real estate building, and we pretty much tore down and started over.

[B]

Yeah, highly recommend that one, guys. We'll link everything below, But Mariposa has my heart for sure.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

What's next? Where could people find you and keep up with you and everything?

[C]

Well, we have a new website. It's really great. Chef. Lisadal.com, of course, on Instagram. Lisa Dal Sedona.

Our social media is growing all the time, and we are growing.

I just hope that people come and visit us.

[B]

Please visit.

[C]

Guys, come in the slow season. That's. It's. You know, everyone wants to come in the same months of the year, right? Spring and fall, gorgeous months. But winter is amazing there. And I don't care if they don't come in the summer, because summer is pretty hot like it is here in Vegas. Not quite as hot. We're fortunate that we have a lovely evening environment, so we always cool down into, like, the 60s at night. Patios superb in all the restaurants, but we'd love to have more visitors in the winter.

[B]

That's when I came.

[C]

It's an enchanting time.

[B]

Yeah, I took advantage of it. That's when I came.

[C]

And we didn't have very much snow this year. That was a fort. It was very unfortunate. We got some at the very end of the season. We got to see the beautiful. Call it almost like a powdered sugar that just sticks in the crevices of the rocks, but it was very fleeting. But now the rainy season is coming, and everything will flourish, and it's just. I'm very blessed to have been able to be on this show.

[B]

Thanks for coming. On. That was beautiful.

[C]

Thank you, Sean. I really appreciate it.

[B]

Of course. Check out the website, guys, and I'll see you next time.