It has been a few weeks since a text message from a friend notified Arwen Rice that she was one step closer to achieving a bucket list moment.

The shock of being named a James Beard Foundation Awards semifinalist for Best Chef: South for her work as executive chef at Red or White Mobile is finally subsiding.

Rice grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her parents were great cooks and her love of food and cooking started young. 

We asked Rice five questions  to dig a little deeper and get to know her better.

Question: What is your favorite food memory?

Answer: “Honestly what first came to mind when you said that, is my best
friend in middle school, her mom made cream cheese brownies one time. I
was spending the night and I had never had a cream cheese brownie. My
dad made brownies with either nuts or just plain and they were delicious
and I loved them. Then I had the cream cheese brownie for the first time

Q: What is a menu item that you love that customers have not embraced like
you had hoped?

A: “I had this really good cheese on the menu, it was called Harbison. It was
wrapped in spruce bark, it was super gooey and it was woodsy and earthy,
spreadable, and super rich and delicious. That cheese never took off and I
didn’t understand why everyone was not falling over themselves to eat this
cheese, especially on a crusty baguette.”

Q: What is the one piece of kitchen equipment you can’t live without other than your knives?

A: “I really like the tweezers that I have,” Rice said with a laugh. “I never
thought that I would. I probably can’t live without those after working with
them because it is so much easier to not get your hands in there but also
be a lot more precious and exact with how you place something. I hated

Q: What is your favorite cheese?

A: “That is so hard because sometimes it changes. It sounds boring but our
flagship cheddar is probably one of the best cheeses we have on the menu.
It is out of Washington, and it is the best cheddar you can get domestically
or imported.”

Q: If you could push diners to try something what would that be?

A: “Mortadella. That is my hard push right now for Mobile. I want them to
love Mortadella as much as I do.