Maíz Showcase

Name: Maíz Showcase — Pueblos del Maíz
Start: 2022-05-06T19:00:00-0700
End: 2022-05-06T21:30:00-0700
Location: Hotel Congress

Friday, May 6, 2022
7:00 PM 9:30 PM 19:00 21:30

Hotel Congress 311 East Congress Street Tucson, AZ, 85701 United States (map)

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Tucson City of Gastronomy presents the Maíz Showcase, a bocadito dinner experience featuring some of Tucson's finest chefs at downtown's most iconic venue, Hotel Congress. The dinner will feature a collaborative Maíz-themed menu by local award-winning chefs, restauranteurs, and food artisans, including Carlotta Flores & The Si Charro Chefs, John Martinez (Tito & Pep), Don Guerra (Barrio Bread), Janos Wilder, Mateo Otero (Rollies Mexican Patio), Erika Muñoz (Seis Kitchen), Ayla Kapahi (Borderlands Brewery), Kristel Johnson (HUB Creamery), and Adam Krantz (Monsoon Chocolate).

Join us as we celebrate various members of the Tucson City of Gastronomy's dynamic roster with one common element to tie everything together, Maiz. $50 will include TEN small plates, ONE Pueblos del Maiz signature beer by Borderlands Brewery, and some special surprises from other TCoG affiliates. Maiz Showcase ticket holders will gain automatic entry to the annual El Tambó Fest immediately following the showcase with music from Vox Urbana, El Santo Golpe, El Tambó DJs, and more!

Participating Chefs / Restaurants

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Don Guerra / Barrio Bread

Don Guerra is committed to working with local farmers, chefs, and other food producers to strengthen the local grain economy and grow the local food network. In 2015, 2018 and 2021 he was awarded USDA Local Food Promotion Grants that significantly helped him to increase collaboration with others and expand production with a new bakery and flour company, Barrio Grains. He has taught a variety of baking classes and presented at conferences and workshops, highlighting his business model and work with heritage grains. Don has consulted in Mexico, Taiwan, Europe and throughout the United States.

In 2019 and 2020 Don was selected as a James Beard semifinalist and is currently a finalist for the 2022 James Beard Award.

Adam Krantz / Monsoon Chocolate

Adam Scott Krantz is the founder and Head Chocolate Maker of Monsoon Chocolate, rated one of Food & Wine's best chocolate makers in America. Monsoon has won a Good Food Award, numerous International Chocolate Awards, and has been featured in New York Magazine, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler and more. Their cafe and chocolate factory is located in the historic Santa Rita Park.

Kristel Johnson / Hub Ice Cream

Kristel Johnson, formerly of Isabella’s Ice Cream, now the creative force behind HUB Ice Cream downtown. Kristel grew Isabella’s Ice Cream from her 1920’s restored, vintage model-T ice cream truck, then expanding sales into local restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, movie theaters, and shops throughout Tucson. Kristel successfully formed wholesale relationships with Whole Foods, Safeway/Albertsons, AJ’s Fine Foods, and Schnuck’s, selling her artisan ice creams and vegan sorbets in over 250 retail locations throughout AZ, CA, NV, HI, and MO. Over her 13 years of ice cream experiences, Kristel has always been committed to sourcing ingredients both locally and sustainably: like prickly pear from Cheri’s Desert Harvest, local mesquite desert honey, Sonoran chiltepins, Native Seeds/SEARCH products such as corn pinole, and barrel cactus seeds, to name a few. Kristel begins each ice cream base by pasteurizing and churning milk and cream sourced from the LEED certified Sarah Farms dairy, in Yuma. Everything at HUB Ice Cream is made from scratch, every component is carefully selected and individually crafted in the kitchen for each flavor combination. The focus on creating new flavors is what drives Kristel’s excitement to continue experimenting with HUB Ice Cream.

Erika Muñoz / Seis Kitchen

Erika Muñoz, along with husband, Jake Muñoz began Seis Kitchen as a Food Truck in 2012 and have thus expanded into 3 Award-winning Restaurants within Tucson & Oro Valley, AZ offering a savory breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner menu made in a complete scratch kitchen. Erika and Jake have worked with AZ Game and Fish, local schools and youth causes/benefits. Erika and Jake source and work directly with local food purveyors, promote green and environmentally-sound food practices with such entities as, Seafood Watch, Santa Moncia Seafood and RedBird Farms, support employment programs such as the humanitarian aid organization, International Rescue Committee as well as hold continuous UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation.

Mateo Otero / Rollies Mexican Patio

Chef Mateo Otero is a Tucson Native with a strong background in Mexican Cuisine that stems from both family and professional experience. His grandfather was a Chef and inspired Mateo to cook at the young age of 5. With over 20 years of experience he opened Rollies Mexican Patio on South 12th Avenue in December 2017 which serves up traditional Mexican “Tucson homestyle” meals with a modern twist. Mateo has been awarded Best Taco 4 years in a row by the People's Choice Awards (AZ Daily Star) and Best Chef & Best Birria by the Tucson Weekly. With no signs of slowing down, stay tuned for a second location!

Janos Wilder

Janos Wilder is a James Beard Award winning chef who has been exploring the unique flavors of Tucson in his restaurants here since 1983. He has been Chairman of the Board of Native Seeds/SEARCH and is currently Board President Tucson City of Gastronomy Board which manages the UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation to benefit the community and engage with the Creative Cities network. His work with heritage foods has been recognized nationally and internationally. He is currently turning his attention to solutions to food insecurity issues on both a local and global scale and studying the impact of climate change to our food systems.

Carlotta Flores & the Si Charro Chefs

Carlotta Flores, the iconic chef and owner of El Charro Café oversees a team of some of the best chef talent anywhere in Arizona.
This year, her family’s El Charro Café, which was founded in 1922 is celebrating their 100th year of being the oldest Mexican restaurant in the USA continuously operated by the same family. With several El Charro Café outlets, Carlotta and her team of Si Charro Chefs, have opened Tucson’s only sustainable steak and seafood house in Charro Steak & Del Rey, a plant-based lifestyle brand in Charrovida, operate one of Tucson’s few USDA businesses in Carlotta’s Kitchen, and just this last 18 months opened up Barrio Charro in partnership with Don Guerra of Barrio Bread, and most recently The Monica that pays tribute to the founder of El Charro Café, Carlotta’s great aunt Monica Flin. Si Charro is the branding arm of the Flores Concepts family of restaurants that is operated by Chef Carlotta and her son Ray Flores Jr.
Carlotta was named one of America’s 50 over 50 women leaders by Forbes Magazine this year and was the only woman on the list from the culinary industry that included the likes of Michelle Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Flores Concepts and Si Charro brands are leaders of the Tucson Restaurant Advisory Council, City of Gastronomy certified, and the first official restaurant partners of the University of Arizona Community School Garden program. Persistent champions of all things local and proud stewards of Tucson’s culinary heritage, Flores Concepts and the Si Charro Chefs always say yes first and then ask how they can make things better.

John Martinez / Tito & Pep

Tito and Pep is a mesquite-fried neighborhood bistro that encapsulates the spirit of Tucson and the southwest. Applying over 20 years of experience and techniques gained across the U.S. and abroad, Chef/Owner John Martinez draws from the multi-cultural history of Baja Arizona and his travels to utilize the local pantry to create cuisine that is vibrant and delicious. Tito and Pep has become a beloved part of Midtown Tucson since opening in 2018.

Ayla Kapahi / Borderlands Brewery

Ayla has been brewing for Borderlands Brewing Company for 4 years and manages an all-women's brew crew. She co-leads a non-profit supporting women in fermentation sciences and aims to empower women and minorities in craft beer. She believes in brewing beers for a purpose and enjoys working on international beer collaborations.

Culinary Partners

Mateo Otero / Rollies Mexican Patio

Erika Muñoz / Seis Kitchen

Kristel Johnson / HUB Ice Cream

Adam Krantz / Monsoon Chocolate

Posted in Tucson