Thinking Globally, Cooking Locally

James Moran brings a passion for international cuisine to Café Allegro

When Café Allegro reopened in November 2021, it had a new executive chef: James Moran.

Moran developed his love of cooking in his mom’s kitchen while growing up in New York. Moran watched her make traditional French dishes like coquilles Saint-Jacques, classic American comfort food like chicken noodle soup, and an array of foods from around the world. He worked in delis and restaurants as a teenager; after attending culinary school, he worked across Manhattan in nearly every culinary setting known to the modern chef and later managed kitchens and planned menus in Arizona, New York, and Japan.

Moran eventually returned to Arizona, where he rebranded and planned nearly all the current menu at PV Pie and Wine. But he was drawn to MIM because of his love of music—whether it’s blues, classical, metal, or whatever he’s in the mood for.

“Music is like food,” Moran says. “There are different times for different music. In the same way you may be emotionally drawn to listening to a certain genre while you drive, you may crave comfort food at a specific time in your life.”

Executive chef James Moran works with pizza dough for stromboli in Café Allegro’s kitchen.

Coming from the melting pot of New York and having worked in kitchens and visited friends around the world, Moran is familiar with many different cooking styles, including Italian, French, Latin, and Asian.

“Walking home down the streets of New York, you can smell curry coming from one house, Asian flavors from another, and the scent of Russian borscht across the street,” he says. “Being exposed to different cultures has made creating globally inspired dishes almost second nature.”

Lump crabmeat crab cake with sweet roasted corn sauce

With Café Allegro’s menu, Moran hopes to present MIM guests with a continuation of their global experience in the galleries. But sourcing ingredients locally has always been a staple at Café Allegro, and Moran is extremely conscious of every step of the process—how far ingredients travel, the vendors the café works with, and who packages the food. Local considerations are always being made, right down to the Purely Sedona spring water in the refrigerated grab-and-go cases at Beats Coffee Bar^SM.

“Eating local is not just a catchphrase,” Moran says. “You have to always keep that perspective in mind.”

In 2022, Moran aims to uphold Café Allegro’s mission to serve globally inspired dishes and source local ingredients. He will also continue to consider the nutritional value of the ingredients he uses, making sure that they taste great and offer health benefits.

And Moran is also looking at the new year through an environmentally conscious lens, using sustainable packaging, straws, and ingredients in the café.

Above all, he is dedicated to providing a culinary experience that reflects the diverse cultures throughout the museum.

Pastry chef Eric Ricketts plates mini strawberry shortcakes.

“Food and music unite people,” Moran says. “They are the two things that you can always expect to be exposed to when you travel around the world.”

See Café Allegro’s rotating menu at MIMdining.org.