Charleen Badman facts for kids

Charleen Badman is a famous American chef. She owns a restaurant called FnB in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2019, she won a big award called the James Beard Award. This award recognized her as the Best Chef in the Southwest. It was a special win because no chef from Arizona had won it since 2007. Charleen also used to be the President of the Phoenix, Arizona group of Les Dames d'Escoffier. This is a group for women in the food and hospitality industry.

Charleen Badman's Story

Charleen Badman's dad, Donn, worked in construction. When she was in high school in Tucson, Arizona, she found her passion. A special program helped her learn about the restaurant world.

During her last year of high school, she worked at Cafe Terra Cotta. After graduating in 1989, she took charge of the restaurant's catering. Later, she moved to Phoenix. There, she worked at Rancho Pinot Grill for another chef, Chrysa Robertson.

Charleen then moved to New York City. She worked for six years at a restaurant called Lobster Club. In 2001, Charleen and Anne Rosenzweig opened their own restaurant. It was named Inside and was located in West Village. They ran Inside until 2007.

After that, Charleen returned to Arizona. She teamed up with Pavle Milic to open FnB. In 2019, Charleen won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest. This was a huge honor for her. Charleen also started and leads a project called Blue Watermelon Project. This group helps kids learn about healthy eating.