Lea and Jeffrey Russell represent a union of two often-clashing restaurant realms — the kitchen and the dining room. Jeffrey is the executive chef of the Grand America Hotel, and Lea was a manager at the downtown Trio Cafe up until the birth of their 8-week-old daughter, Maia.

They met when Lea moved from the East Coast to Tucson, Ariz. A seasoned restaurant manager, she wanted to gain some kitchen experience with the thought of eventually opening a place of her own. A culinary professor advised her to apprentice with Jeffrey Russell, chef of the Ventana Room at Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort. She applied at the resort, and because there wasn't a kitchen position open, took a management spot with the main restaurant instead.

She met Jeffrey on her second day of work. Both say there was "an energy" between them from the start. They felt the connection again a few days later at a work-hosted wine tasting.

Jeffrey said he wooed Lea with fabulous meals such as Alaskan king crab with a sweet-corn risotto. "The presentation was a big part of it," he recalls. "I had her right from there."

The couple kept their relationship under wraps for about six months. Then one of the cooks asked Jeffrey for a day off, adding that he planned to ask Lea out.

"I had to sit him down and say, 'You might want to work that day.' He was so embarrassed, and said, 'That explains everything."'

Six years later, they're married and the parents of 8-week-old Maia.

"Many people in the restaurant and hospitality industry meet at work, and in their relationships they find a great common balance and passion in this setting," Jeffrey said. "They have patience for one another's sometimes unbearable hours because they both are a part of this highly intense and demanding career choice."

"I think it's a nice balance. I understand the front of the house and he understands the back of the house, so we can give each other that insight," Lea said. "If we were both in the kitchen, we would probably butt heads because we are both passionate about what we do."

"Lea has extremely strong people skills, which chefs really don't have," said Jeffrey. "I might have a frustration, and then go home and bounce it off her, and she knows immediately what I should say and do. She's made me a better people person."

But restaurant romances don't always work out, Jeffrey said. There's a sense of competition among cooks that could ruin a relationship. "I've seen two cooks start dating, and then they start fighting and one of them quits because they can't work together. And then you're left with one cook, or you might lose them both."