FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 57 CHEFS Jason and Katherine Dwight started Persepshen (pronounced “perception”) at a Phoenix farmers market. The couple sold sandwiches, pastries and sausages out of an old military trailer with a wood-fired oven on the back that now sits on the restaurant’s patio. The brick-and-mortar location opened in 2019 in central Phoenix. Katherine and Jason met while they were students in the Scottsdale Community College culinary arts program. They A Unique ‘Persepshen’ of Real Food shared a strong passion for local produce and proteins, and what they call “real food.” The restaurant’s name is inspired by the owners’ passion for sustainability. “We wanted to help change people’s perception of how to eat sustainably and organically utilizing local ingredients and making everything from scratch,” said Katherine, who is Persepshen’s executive pastry chef. “If we don’t make it with local organic ingredients, then we don’t KITCHEN DOORS BY SHOSHANA LEON Photos courtesy of Persepshen