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Sponsored by the University of Arizona FORGE, the Tucson City of Gastronomy (TCoG) presents a monthly presentation, every second Thursday, on the business of heritage foods. TCoG speakers will provide information on how to leverage Tucson's global designation as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network to grow food-based businesses in Southern Arizona.
Each event features a food producer discussing the journey of producing local foods for market. During the presentation, the producer will be paired with a local GUT (Gastronomic Union of Tucson) chef who will give a demonstration and prepare a dish utilizing local foods from the producer.
This month's event features Barbara Eiswerth the Executive Director and Founder of Iskashitaa and Chef Devon Sanner, TCOG Chef Ambassador, co-founder of GUT (Gastronomic Union of Tucson), award-winning chef, and co-owner of Zio Peppe restaurant.
Iskashitaa Refugee Network (IRN) creates opportunities to integrate United Nations refugees into the Southern Arizona community while educating the public, strengthening the local food system, reducing local food waste, and increasing food security. The programs have evolved from harvesting a few thousand pounds of fruit to an annual harvest of over 50 tons of fruit, nuts, and vegetables from backyards, local farms and orchards. The IskaShop features handmade small-batch goods created by Iskashitaa refugees and volunteers including dried herbs and seasonings, gourmet marmalades and small-batch date vinegars. All ingredients are hand-harvested or locally sourced from community
Iskashitaa has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally for work in promoting local food resources and empowering refugees. Awards include: Tucson Public Voices Fellowship, Woman’s Foundation of Southern Arizona , First Prize White House Portrait of Compassion video national contest.
Zio Peppe is a collaboration between Chef Devon Sanner and Chef Mat Cable. The menu is anchored in Italian-American classics of pizza and pasta, but draws heavy influence from the foods and flavor profiles of Tucson and the Sonoran region.
Sanner cooked under Tucson culinary legend Janos Wilder for the past 15 years, serving as chef at Janos, JBAR, Downtown + Cocktails, and The Carriage House.
Zio Peppe, which means “Uncle Joe” in Italian, is in part a tribute to Cable’s uncle, Joe Sottosanti, who opened Tucson’s first Sicilian pizza place, Tesseo’s Pizzeria, nearly 50 years ago.