Roxsand Scocos has never followed a trend in cuisine, but her food is undeniably au courant. If she happened to be at the forefront of the fusion wave, she found it out after the fact. Scocos's style developed out of the relationships she formed, the places she was drawn to, in short, the life she lived. RoxSand, in Scottsdale, Arizona, is the culmination, thus far, of her unflagging effort to perfect what she calls "trans-continental" cuisine. And it's such a personalized cuisine, she couldn't help but put her name on the door.

A graduate of La Varenne School of Cooking in Paris, Scocos opened the first RoxSand Pâtisserie and Cabaret in Honolulu. In 1986, after she moved to Arizona with her husband, Spyro, the couple opened the second incarnation, RoxSand. (He is partner in the venture.) In the Arizona desert, Scocos produces food "bursting with eclectic flavors that transcend ethnic boundaries, presented with flair and visual appeal," Barbara Fenzl wrote in Phoenix Home & Garden. Scocos's menu crisscrosses the globe, drawing on flavors and techniques from Asia, France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, and pre- and post-Columbian South America. Native American food also figures in. Grilled Mongolian lamb chops with hummus and flour tortillas is a characteristically eclectic dish that, like all her wide-ranging food, comes together seamlessly on the plate. As Linda Burum observed in Food & Wine, "Scocos's dishes are flavored logically in spite of far-flung influences."

RoxSand's has been recognized by Food & Wine in their Top 25 Restaurants, and for the past five years has received a DiRoNa Award for Excellence. Scocos, of course, was a James Beard Foundation nominee for American Express Best Chef: Southwest in 1995 and 1996. Last year, she won that award. Scocos, who occasionally waxes philosophical, has theorized that fusion cuisine could be "the first step toward a cross-cultural Brave New World." Find out for yourself this month.