By Susie Timm, Chief Operating Foodie
Ahhhh Elements at the Sanctuary Resort and Spa. Thinking about this restaurant warms my heart. I have been a loyal fan for over 6 years and counting.

My husband and I went to elements on our first date. Then, my husband proposed to me at elements. When Jay and I needed a place to do a photo shoot for our business—we chose (big surprise!) elements.

MacMillan chillin' on the "Edge" with Foodies, like us...

There’s really so much to love. The view, the patio, the martinis and most importantly to the Foodie Crew….the food.

The man behind that food is of course, Chef Beau MacMillan.

This valley chef has been quite a busy boy in 2009. He has managed to design his dream kitchen, film 6 episodes of a new show on the Food Network that premiers on January 3, 2010 called “Worst Cooks in America,” not to mention finding time for dating and his 6-year-old son.

Needless to say, Jay and I jumped at the opportunity for a private kitchen tour and interview with MacMillan.

We started out with a tour of the almost finished brand new kitchen.  This expansion increases the kitchen’s current square footage by over 2500 sq feet. They are also creating a beautiful outside patio addition that features a fantastic view of the Praying Monk on Camelback Mountain.

The excitement was palpable in the air as MacMillan told us about every aspect of the new space.

“We’re in the home stretch, it’s (the kitchen) really starting to look good!” he exclaimed.

In 2001, when the Sanctuary resort was given a $55 million dollar makeover, elements’ kitchen did not survive the budget cuts.

With booming success over the past 8 years, it was time to put the kitchen project on the front burner.

“The old kitchen was no longer efficient. We knew we would have to face it (the renovation) sooner or later. We said ‘let’s do it in a recession’ where we can get labor at 1/3 the cost,” explained MacMillan.

The hotel owners enlisted two local designers to tackle the renovation. MacMillan was given carte blanche to design his “dream kitchen.”

“I sold the designers the dream of what I wanted, and they made it happen,” said MacMillan.

To say he is excited about it would be a huge understatement. I asked him if he lies awake at night dreaming about his new kitchen.

“Are you kidding me right now? I have goose bumps just thinking about it. Guys here are so re-inspired to cook. If we are going to spend all this money, we are going to show everyone what we are made of in that kitchen,” said MacMillan.

Custom made counter that faces "12"

A few of the major highlights of MacMillan’s new digs:

*A private dining room called “12” that seats a dozen hungry foodies. This VIP table will feature tasting menus of up to 12 courses, a 50 inch TV to satellite in wine makers for tasting classes and the coolest feature: a curtain that opens into the kitchen. Behind the curtain waits a custom made chef’s counter that can present a raw bar, cooking demos or anything else MacMillan can envision. (We would be more than happy to test this out—hint hint!)

*1800-degree char broiler that allows him to make “Dry-aged rib eye steaks like Mastros.” (We can’t WAIT!)

*Custom plancha oven from Spain that will allow whole fish grilling

* 6 burner ranges

*Custom made hot line with plenty of prep room, soup wells and lots of other luxuries most kitchens don’t have.

*Asian-style meat smoker

*Massive prep and pantry area to do large batch cooking, piles of cold seafood and sashimi

*2 huge walk-in refrigerators. One that has a glass window that will display farm fresh fruits and vegetables for diners to gaze upon. “We left a glass window that allows us to have floor to ceiling window so guests can see beautiful vegetables and fruits thru the window on walk in. It’s going to look like a fresh garden, it’s sexy. I love seeing food lit up. Will be very, very cool,” exclaimed MacMillan. (We really love sexy food too….)

*A custom made bake shop where MacMillan will hire a pastry chef for the first time in his tenure. “A good pastry chef was our missing link. Now we will have the ability to improve our dessert product. We will bake breakfast muffins, breads, amenities and gourmet items for the in-room mini-bars,” said MacMillan.

After our walk thru, MacMillan said, “This kitchen is a beast. A Ferrari engine right here!”

We couldn’t agree more.

It looks good enough to eat! And it was!

This kitchen machine will be up and running mid January with some test dinners and an entire re-vamping of the menus.

“There’s new food from floor to ceiling. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Pool & Room Service. And then I get to start work on the menu for “12.” Said MacMillan.

“We’ve always said at elements you get popular American cuisine that’s farm fresh w/ Asian accents. You can get calamari in the restaurant, we just hope we make it better than other people,” said MacMillan.

A custom MacMillan creation for the Foodies Like Us shoot in May 2009

After our tour, we hung out in the restaurant lobby and shifted topics to his new show premiering on the Food Network.
MacMillan was approached in 2007 about “The Worst Cooks in America” and flew to NYC to audition.

“I flew out, did an audition. They asked me to stay for four more days. I did another audition. After that, the show was mine,” said MacMillan.

He filmed the show in 2008 in 24 days. On location in NYC, he worked 15-hour days about which he said, “Shooting the show was a blast. I can’t believe all the things I learned. The people I got to meet.  It really was a different phase for me as a cook—it was so new and exciting every day.”

He continued, “ Those days filming had long hours like being a chef, but different. A minor portion of the show was scripted. I had to deliver lines. When they let me be myself and ad lib, which they did a lot, I come across so much better.”

The show’s main premise is taking 12 of the “Worst Cooks In America” and having them compete for a $25,000 prize.
MacMillan and his team competed against Food Network Chef Anne Burrell. MacMillan is the captain of the Blue Team competing against Burrell’s Red Team.

MacMillan and Anne Burrell pose for their "Worst Cooks in America" pub shots

“I was trying to out teach Ann—we had a little battle working. You see how the format of the show works and everything comes together,” said MacMillan.

I asked him just how bad these cooks really were?

“The way I was trained, these guys would have been, unfortunately, under the firing range by some of the French Chefs I worked for. But you know I learned a lot of patience and that was a key attribute. Their whole basis on being a cook comes down to flavor and there’s so much more involved. We put them in situations where they had to rely on their memory or they had to hone their skills on timing, multi-tasking, they had to do every day things that go into being a cook…organization and cleanliness. It was completely overwhelming,” said MacMillan.

He also remarked about how these bad cooks had no idea how much goes into being a chef, including time, stress and learning curves.

“My goals on the show are just like little league baseball, I can’t teach them how to be good second basemen, until they love to play the game. My goal was how to take 6 people and inspire them and get them to love what they are doing. I’m a believer. I think you can turn people into good chefs. The key ingredient for success is desire. My real goal was to make everyone in that boot camp love cooking,” said MacMillan.

MacMillan said he feels confident the show will be a success. He said Food Network has warm and fuzzy feelings about it being one of the most watched shows in the beginning of 2010. He was really excited about the “relate-ablity” of the contestants.

“I do think that people can really identify w/ contestants. They were very real. They say flat out, ‘I Suck, I need help!’ You attach to the characters. A lot of people can relate to it. It will be entertaining, just because of the situations that these guys spin around in and are faced with. There’s drama, action, comedy and tragedy. Everything. Boom,” said MacMillan.

The Worst Cooks in America debuts directly following an Iron Chef “Master Battle” that First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to appear on. This is great news for MacMillan as he says the viewers will, “follow from Iron Chef into my show, and the Food Network expects viewership to triple for that episode of Iron Chef.”

Throughout our entire interview, I was stuck by how incredibly grounded MacMillan seems.

Me, Jay and Beau Mac. Word.

It is quite evident that the past year has been filled with travels and he has been out of his kitchen a lot. “However,” he said, “I am rooted in the fact at the end of the day, I want to be a chef. If I get the best of both worlds, I am great with that. I can be a chef and not have TV career. I can’t be a TV chef and not have a kitchen career.”

I asked him what happens when his fame catches up with him at the restaurant and throngs of screaming women stake him out?
“I will pass my number out,” he quipped.

“The people that know me know that I have been described as larger than life, I am very passionate about food. (I’ve) Worked here for 11 years, my goal is to work with beautiful people, in beautiful places and cook beautiful food,” said MacMillan.

Through the stresses of the restaurant renovations and the TV show, the experience has been very consuming for MacMillan, but he said, “It’s in my blood.”

If the show goes as planned, he’s contracted for two more seasons.

For now, MacMillan has a few wants, “I want to showcase the restaurant, make ownership and my team proud. I want to see happy faces, 2, 3 times a month. It should be right portions, right pricing, right ambiance and right food. I want people to say that about elements.”

“I think people are going to like the show. It’s the icing on the cake,” said MacMillan.

Catch our hometown boy on Sunday, January 3 on the Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America,” at 8 PM Arizona Time, 9 Central.

Jay and I at the Sanctuary toasting our early success. It's our go-to place.