By Lisa Dahl
INTRODUCTION
Chef Lisa Dahl is one of the country’s leading female chefs and restaurateurs and has pioneered the culinary scene in Sedona, Arizona, for more than 27 years. Dahl is the executive chef and owner of six outstanding restaurants in Northern Arizona’s red rock country, where she has earned international acclaim for Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano, Cucina Rustica, Pisa Lisa Woodfired Pizza (2 locations), Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill, and Butterfly Burger, A Couture Burger Lounge.
Chef Dahl lives by her mantra, “When you cook with love, you feed the soul.” She believes that flavors should never be overworked, food should speak for itself, and only the finest ingredients should be used from the best sources available.
Lisa is in the process of expanding the Butterfly Burger and Pisa Lisa concepts into other markets.
In addition to the restaurant business, her largest project is strictly humanitarian - Project Soup Hope aims to stem national and global hunger in a unique and effective method.
ACCOLADES
Lisa has appeared on the Travel Channel's Food Paradise and the Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay, championed three prestigious burger battles, and is a two-time featured chef at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City.
She was recently awarded Arizona's highest culinary honors two years in a row by the Arizona Restaurant Association - "Top Chef of Arizona" and "Food Pioneer."
Chef Dahl is regularly featured in Forbes, FSR, and a host of other media platforms. She shares and provides insight into the real-life world of running restaurants, pre- and
post-pandemic.
Lisa is also a regular on ABC’s Sonoran Living, CBS and Fox sharing culinary hooks for the home chef.
COOKBOOK AUTHOR
Lisa Dahl is a prolific foodie. Along with opening six restaurants, four in the last ten years, she self-published the best-selling Elixir of Life Cookbook, and sold over 20,000 copies. BUY IT HERE
In 2022, Chef Dahl published A Romance With Food - Latin Inspired Cooking. It captures her exuberant Latin Fusion cooking style and is a stunning tribute to her wide-ranging inspirations from travels in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
FOOD AND FASHION
It has been said that Chef Lisa Dahl sees her restaurants as living, breathing organisms, not merely businesses. Guests don’t step into a Dahl restaurant; they emerge into the space. And what becomes evident is the mixture of people, sounds, contours, art, and music.
Prior to founding Dahl & DiLuca in 1995, Lisa was immersed in the fashion industry. The untimely death of her son Justin steered Dahl to Sedona for healing and revival.
She is primarily credited for introducing fine dining and glamour to the Sedona culinary scene. On any given night, Chef Dahl transforms into restaurateur Lisa Dahl, greets guests, and keeps a keen eye on operations.
MARIPOSA
Mariposa’s allure has spread since its opening in 2015, yet it is Chef Lisa Dahl’s abiding respect and reverence for the guests and their experience. That single cultural aspect is pervasive. The interplay of fine cuisine, service, architecture, art, and mother nature is Lisa’s and her staff’s intention.
Butterflies (Spanish - Mariposa) have symbolism and meaning. They are a metaphor representing spiritual rebirth, transformation, change, hope, and life. Aptly named, the Mariposa project from the beginning embraced the metaphor personally and professionally for chef Dahl and others.
Evolving from her Italian chef roots, the transformation to Latin-inspired cuisine took shape. Chef Dahl’s approach is, “The food must be bold to match the strong forces of Sedona’s landscapes and architecture.”
The cuisine speaks. A Latin-inspired menu provides latitude and room for creativity. During the project, Lisa traveled extensively throughout Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. She cooked and trained with multiple chefs and enriched herself with the culture, cuisine, and wines. Much of that experience inspired the beautiful cuisine, wines, and cocktails of Mariposa today.
Mariposa’s architecture is exceptional, and you feel it when you arrive. The property is perched atop a scenic bluff surrounded by red rock canyons. 13-foot-tall gates are flanked by four fire-wok butterfly globes that guide guests to the entrance of the terrace that surrounds the 23-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling windows of the main dining room.
The property is expansive, with a large lawn and motor court designed as a massive compass. Passing through the gates, the restaurant beckons guests past the iridescent water of the fountains and raised herb gardens.
You emerge into the restaurant through a 1,000-lb door handcrafted from African, South American, and Utah precious minerals and stones. Guests are welcomed along the way and, as they enter, are escorted to their tables. The all-encompassing red rock views are center stage from the covered terrace and the elegant main dining room.
We look forward to welcoming you to Mariposa, where our mission is to provide a world-class hospitality experience for our guests by serving food cooked with love that feeds the soul in an environment that excites the senses and inspires our guests to return time and again.
At the very heart of everything we do is our team. We are honored to have a loyal staff of hospitality professionals who continually develop themselves, put in the work, and strive to improve the guest experience at Mariposa and Dahl Restaurants.
~ Chef Lisa Dahl ~