Chef Ivan Flowers ~ Fournos Restaurant ~ Sedona, Arizona – Before I get started, there are three things that you must understand about Fournos Restaurant:

• Bring your wallet.  They accept cash and checks only.
• This nine table restaurant is exceedingly unpretentious and reservations are a must.
• After you finish your meal, even if you have never smoked a cigarette in your life, you will have this odd desire to light up a cigarette and have a old-fashioned, cinematic after whoopie cigarette.  The food is that good!

OK!  Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get down to our story.

Chef Ivan Flowers has brought his celebrity to a number of renowned Arizona restaurants.  These include L’Auberge de Sedona, T. Cooks at the Royal Palms Resort, the Phoenician’s Mary Elaine’s, as well as Different Pointe of View.  Chef Flowers was honored as one of the greatest Chefs globally in the Hilton organization, and was also the lead instructor and chef at the highly-respected Le Cordon Blue SCI Culinary Institute in Scottsdale.

As we walked in and announced ourselves, we noticed Chef Flowers singularly cooking in the kitchen while the high-spirited Tess Griffin whisked us away to our table.

Tess brought us a chilled bottle of buttery Chardonnay they were featuring and before we could begin to scope out the place we found before us the left-pictured sublime trio of yumminess.

In the forefront of this photograph is Lobster Pasta.  It took only one little bit of bow-tie pasta to know for certain that we were in for a gastronomical excursion of epic proportions. Wow!

Next in progression was Roasted Crimini Mushrooms (with Cognac and Aged Rocca Parmigiano Sprinkle).  My eyes failed me here.  I was expecting a mushroom dish like many others we’ve had over the years.  Wrong!  The tastes that exploded in our mouths was completely unexpected and nearly supernatural.

Lastly, we crooned over Chef Flowers Roasted Sweet Corn Esquite (Fresh Mozzarella Rosemary Garlic Bread, Goat Cheese, Tomatoes and Avocado.  YUM!

As we began to consider our entrées,  I was struggling to make a decision.  I asked Tess which dish might represent Chef Flower’s signature dish.  She immediately responded with Roasted Rack of Lamb Encrusted with Basil and Oregano (Warm Artichoke Fingerling Potato Ragout).  Decision made!

Folks, I can’t begin to find the right adjectives to describe this dish.  As I was enjoying each bite, I was only capable of guttural man sounds.  My wife recognized and understood these primal noises of joy as they rose from the deep recesses of my diaphragm.

For Carol’s entrée, she enjoyed Baramondi (Euro Sweet Peas, Japanese Grapes, Confit Tomatoes, Spinach and Olive garnished with Garlic and Romaine Butter Sauce and Goat Cheese).

Her dish was also amazing, but my lamb had me in such a culinary trance that I was nearly insensible.

After our entrées, and in a fashion that we have learned to expect from the world’s best chefs, the hits just kept a-comin’.

As quick as our plates were removed, we found before us Artichoke Lobster Boursin (Curry Lobster, Tomato Fondue).  Wowza!

Then, for dessert, oh the blessed dessert, we enjoyed home-made Peach Cobbler as well as the most delightful Tiramisu all baked by Chef Flower’s wife!

With all the food we were sampling, we wound up being the last two people in the restaurant.  Therefore, as long as I had Chef Flowers at our table, I snapped this photograph of the chef with Tracy and Carol.

This was a most memorable dining experience, and we are very pleased that Chef Ivan Flowers is in nearby Sedona, Arizona.

If you find yourself in Sedona, Arizona you simply must get a reservation at Fournos Restaurant.

As a final treat, here is a video of Chef Ivan Flowers cooking his Roasted Sweet Corn Esquite on a local television station: