Sigret Thompson has been passionate about cooking since she was a child. But it didn’t become more than a hobby until her early 20s.
“It wasn’t really until I had to take care of myself that I was really cooking,” said Thompson, executive chef and co-owner of The Tasteful Kitchen, 722 N. Stone Ave.
Thompson began working in the food and hospitality industry in her late teens. She moved around the globe, spending time in New York, London and Sydney, and expanded her reach as a personal trainer.
With food and fitness as her interests when she returned to Tucson, she began eyeing a move to the back of a restaurant.
“I was always interested in what the chefs were doing,” the self-taught chef said. “I would always go home and recreate dishes.”
In 2011, Thompson and her sister, Keanne Thompson, jumped at an opportunity to enter the catering business. Less than a year later, they opened a full restaurant.
“We took on the challenge, and we loved it,” said Sigret.
The Tasteful Kitchen serves a modern vegetarian cuisine with emphasis on local and organic produce, she said. They also go “great lengths” to avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
While the menu is mostly vegan and gluten-free, it was designed to make sure there were options for everyone, she said.
“When I do my chef specials, that’s when I showcase classic vegetarian with cheese and gluten and things like that,” she said. “That way people have options if they want it or not.”
Sigret Thompson said she hopes the restaurant can continue branching out.
“Our food is good for everyone and nobody should be excluded from it,” she said. “This last year for us has been our best year.”
Sigret Thompson answered a few questions:
What is one food you can’t bring yourself to eat?
“Any type of bug. I’m not going to eat crickets or worms or anything like that. I would never eat menudo — any kind of gross animal organ meat. Hot dogs: that’s the big one.”
Who is your favorite chef?
“I have to say Julia Child because I watched her cooking shows when I was a kid. I just loved her. As far as modern day chefs, I actually really loved Donna Nordin (former co-owner/chef of the now-closed Café Terra Cotta in Tucson).”
What items are always in your fridge at home?
“Citrus fruits, peppers, and cilantro. I have bread, beer — first thing that actually came to my mind was beer — and milk for my coffee.”
