Two experienced chefs have moved from Arizona to set up shop in Mancos.
Executive chefs Stephan Maywalt and Rebekah Johnson have started Mancos House on Riverside at 643 Riverside Ave. They are offering a variety of food services, from home cooked meals to cooking classes.
“We have a lot to offer,” Johnson said. “It was time for us to settle down and be somewhere smaller.”
Johnson traveled around the world, from Japan to Italy, learning cooking techniques and recipes. Maywalt was a corporate chef for many years. They traveled all around the West trying to find a place to relocate before settling on Mancos.
Maywalt and Johnson don’t have plans to open up a restaurant, they said. Instead, they are crafting home-cooked meals at their home. People can order meals online through a service called Josephine and then pick up the meal at the house. Current meals Maywalt and Johnson are planning include Italian, Sunday brunch and pho, a Vietnamese noodle dish.
Maywalt said they craft almost everything from scratch and can cook to suit any dietary needs. After spending many years in the corporate world, they are excited to scale down, he said. Their goal as personal chefs is to focus on relationships with their customers, he said.
“We’re just excited,” Maywalt said. “We want to give back to the community.”
They hope to start offering cooking classes, as well as getting kids involved with their cooking, Johnson said.
“We just want to do something awesome and do it here,” she said.
For more information, call 533-9705 or visit their website, www.mancoshouseonriverside.com.