Private Chef Catering
We are
Chef Sage & Rosemary
Hi! Real talk, our names are Chris and Mary - and our team gave us these cute, hippie nicknames when we left the restaurant to pursue a better work-life balance, teaching yoga and creating our private chef experiences. So, here we are - a husband and wife team devoted to sharing with you our love through food and service.
With over 40 years of combined hospitality and culinary expertise, we infuse creativity and a genuine love for food into every we serve. We care about the details. We listen. Whether it's an intimate gathering, a three-day yoga retreat or a desire to get the family together for a cooking class, we are here to create extraordinary memories through the art of gastronomy!
Tel: (850) 530-4282
Chef Sage, aka
Chef Chris Schuetta
Born in Flagstaff, Arizona, Chris grew up in the outdoors mostly mountain biking. When he was inside, he was in the kitchen experimenting and falling in love with cooking. After high school, he made the move to Phoenix, graduating from Scottsdale Culinary Institute and quickly excelling into roles in kitchens in Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle.
Returning to Phoenix, he worked his way up to Executive Sous Chef under the gregarious Food Network Star Chef Beau MacMillan at Elements at the Sanctuary Resort at the heart of Camel Back. Chris became his right hand man and closest support; Chef Beau became his greatest mentor. Since his time together, Chris has used his strengths in leadership and responsibility as executive co-chef at Castle Hot Springs Resort and as Executive Chef at Bronze Buffalo Club, overseeing three food outlets.
His understanding in mindfulness, meditation and emotional intelligence makes him an excellent leader, the kind you can't help but trust and want to follow. Currently with his wife Mary, Chris is establishing himself as a private chef, boutique caterer and chef instructor -sharing his experiences and cooking strategies in cooking classes. He is always willing to fill in at local resorts and restaurants, understanding that the restaurant industry has a ton of movement and turnover, he is willing to fill in the gaps as needed. He will rarely talk about it, but has dreams of owning his own place one day - perhaps a boutique retreat center in the desert hosting yoga and mountain bike experiences, while cooking up feasts for his guests. Until then, he is grateful for the time to connect in the community at hot yoga classes at the Foundry, taking his friends mountain biking, spending time with family and running a successful private chef catering business with Mary.
Career Highlights
2022-present
Chef Sage and Rosemary, LLC
Private Chef
2019-2022
Chef Sage and Rosemary allows me the opportunity of taking the best of what I have learned from years of cooking in professional kitchens and sharing it through our food, service and hospitality for our clients in their homes and venues.
An amazing farm-to-table resort set in the high desert of the Bradshaw Mountains. The farm supplied us with a ton of fresh produce and it was challenging yet refreshing to create a 5-course dinner menu that changed almost every day. The level of love and care given from each of us on the team poured into our creativity and our guests could feel it.
Harvest, Castle Hot Springs Resort
Executive Co-Chef
2011-2019
Elements, Sanctuary Resort
Executive Sous Chef
Chef Beau is the best. I learned almost everything from him and value his continual support even after our time together at the Sanctuary. So much of my cooking foundation was developed here, as well as taming my younger, ego-self.
& Rosemary
aka, Mary Ross
Notice there is not a "Chef" in front of my title - and rightfully so, I have yet to manage/run a professional kitchen. And who cares about titles? My story is full industry, working just about every position in a restaurant from host, dishwasher, server, bartender, cook, extern, restaurant manager, food and beverage director and sommelier. ​I have been in hospitality 24 years - it is in woven in the very DNA that defines me. My love language is giving - in the foods I make to the service I give. I cherish creating delicious foods and amplifying the details to make a deep, loving imprint for my guests. Friends and co-workers would say I am a bit of a perfectionist, but that isn't it. I want to offer the best in the moment, because all moments are fleeting, we might not get another chance to wow our guests. Favorite hospitality mantras: "Sense of Urgency" and "Attention to Details".
​
​
Career Highlights
2022-present
Chris and I are devoted to creating the best menus, exceeding client expectations and wowing their guests. We play to our strengths and it feels good to consistently achieve successful events together.
Chef Sage and Rosemary, LLC
Owner & Hospitality Hero & Cook
2020-2022
Harvest, Castle Hot Springs Resort
Restaurant Manager & Sommelier
During COVID, August 2020, I was given the opportunity to move from NYC to Phoenix to manage and develop our foundation of service at Castle Hot Springs Resort. This was an amazing experience where I gained my level 1 wine certification and became an active sommelier. I utilized my experience at per se to create core values, steps of service and training programs for our dining room team - essentially creating the foundation for our service team that is still used today.
2018-2020
per se
Service Team (Back Server)
There is nothing like being on a 3-Michelin star team. This experience pushed, challenged and changed me indefinitely. I learned to pay attention to details, how to carry myself through the dining room and how to memorize and deliver spiels of our daily-changing 9-course tasting menu to our guests with confidence. We were expected to have a great deal of knowledge about every detail from the glassware we used to the butter we served - nothing was off limits. I have a great appreciation for, and strive with my own events to achieve culinary and service excellence, because of this experience at per se.
Our
Story
Life is a journey, not a destination.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Chris might be the most hardworking, responsible and thoughtful person I have had the pleasure of knowing. He is resilient, kind, creative and is light-hearted. This is why I married him. This is how we met.
​
Chris and I met in September of 2020 at Castle Hot Springs Resort, only in it's fourth year re-open and with Covid, not yet established. The resort is actually the oldest wellness resort in Arizona, even before Arizona was officially a state, in 1896. Back then, the resort drew the wealthiest families across the United States. Even JFK stayed to recover after the war.
​
Those first few months, my role was sommelier and manager, helping to establish systems and processes for the dining room service team. I was responsible for uniforms, table linens, ordering plates, silverware, glassware and pool service wares - along with making the team schedule, hiring/firing, training and guest relations. Both myself and my managing partner Sarah Foote had 3-michelin star experience, hers at the French Laundry and my own time at per se - both Thomas Keller's. This shared appreciation for core values and service excellence was what we both hoped to develop at Castle Hot Springs for our team. Sarah built up the wine list, I focused on sharing my experiences through training and coaching our team. Together, we created the foundation of the service environment that Castle Hot Springs is today.
​
Chris shared his leadership experience as co-chef, developing daily menus from the agronomist team’s harvest and executing elevated services consistently. While many of his teammates were not as experienced, Chris took the time to share his knowledge of cooking, recipes and cooking techniques to better the overall team. The food was outstanding and guests had nothing but great reviews.
​
Laying the Foundation
​
After two amazing seasons, we left Castle Hot Springs Resort to pursue our yoga teacher training certificates, both becoming 300hr certified in the Bikram style of teaching hot yoga. We are in love with the foundation that bikram yoga provides in discipline, meditation and mindfulness - something we knew we wanted to be at the core of our lives.
​
Twists & Turns
​
Soon after yoga teacher training, we got the opportunity to run the culinary program at a resort club in Idaho, Chris as the executive chef and myself as the food & beverage director. We learned a ton, including smoking meats on a giant Traeger, sourcing fresh ingredients in an area that is under snow for 8 months out of the year, and learning to source wine within the very conservative liquor/wine laws of Idaho. After almost a year, we decided to move back to Phoenix. What can we say - we love the heat! This is when we began cooking for families in the valley, doing our Keto Cooking Workshops at Nature Works Best (A natural cancer treatment center in Tempe) and using our combined experiences and talents to start our business as private chefs and hospitality heroes.
​
Now-ish
​
A year later, we are actively growing our business, learning what is within our scope and not, as well as dialing in how we can best use our time. We are learning and developing new recipes, cohesive menus and ways we can provide the best experiences for our clients.
​
A healthy life and work balance is very important to us, as we know our industry can be very physically and mentally demanding. We care about our health and wellness just as much as we care about the “success” of our business. We value working with clients who are kind, respectful and create space and opportunities for us to be professional culinary and hospitality artists. Chris and I have a lot to give and want to share it with love.
​
Looking Ahead
​
Chris and I are excited to be on this journey of thoughtfully growing our business as we continue to grow together. Our future adventures include combining our love of travel, cooking and yoga - by catering yoga retreats, as well as expanding our business here in Phoenix. We look forward to growing our client-base so that we can grow our team - providing opportunities for other grounded, like-minded hospitality heroes to join us. We are excited to use our chef powers for good, and collab with volunteer efforts to provide nutritious food and service to those in need in our community. We have a lot to look forward to and beyond grateful to be on this adventure.
Thank you for being a part of our journey!
Chris & Mary
Get ready for an unforgettable culinary adventure!
Tel: (850) 530-4282 Email: chefsageandrosemary@gmail.com
Tell us about your event, and let's embark on a journey to create an essential hospitality experience for you and your guests.
We are better together. Let us provide the essentials.
Proud to be locally owned and operated in Phoenix, Arizona. Go Suns!
Remote and travel requests are encouraged - We love an adventure!
(850) 530 - 4282