Tag: Chefs

 Local First Arizona is proud to announce the winners of the 15th annual Devour Culinary Classic. 

The event showcasing Arizona’s top chefs was hosted Feb. 24-25 at Desert Botanical Garden in partnership with the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance. 

A panel of top food critics and journalists from around the country tasted dishes served by over 50 participating restaurants and purveyors, scoring on taste, presentation, degree of difficulty and creativity. 

Dishes that qualified for awards were then designated Best in Show, Double Gold Medal, Gold Medal, Silver Medal, Bronze Medal and Heritage Food Medal. 

The second year of the Heritage Food Medal honors the best dish with ingredients that are indigenous, heirloom, low-water, desert-adapted or locally sourced (within a 100-mile radius of the restaurant) and thus more sustainable for Arizona. Climate-smart foods are essential for farmers, chefs and diners to support and expand for the future of our state.

In addition, Devour volunteers helped attendees divert a record 3 tons of waste from the landfill to recycling or composting, a 70% diversion rate.

Devour Culinary Classic 2024 Award Winners:

Best in Show

Gastronomic Union of Tucson (GUT chefs) 

Juan Almanza, Kelzi Bartholomaei, Mat Cable, Michael Elefante, Obadiah “Obie” Hindman, Sarah Lamberth, Roderick Ledesmo and Devon Sanner

Judges called these dishes “mouthwatering,” “killer” and “luscious” 

Birria Campanelle – Campanella with Barrio Beer Beef Birria Guisado, Cotija, Cilantro Oil, Avocado + Lime Salsa, Corn Crema

Tacos de Canasta de Calabazo + Cascabel – Mesquite Roasted Local White Squash, Cascabel Chiles, Pepitas, Tepary Beans, Corn Tortilla, Pomegranate Pickled Shallots, Azafran Vegan Crema, Mushroom Chicharron with Sonoran Chile Crisp, Mico Cilantro
Jamaica & Limoncello Cheesecake

Double Gold Medal

• Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. 
• Arizona Wagyu Slider, Duck Fat Rosemary Fries
• Cafe Lalibela
• Red Lentils and Cabbage, Chicken and Yellow Split Peas
• Chilte
• Duroc Pork Tomahawk with Huitlacoche Chiltepin Mole
• Tia Carmen
• Tuna Tostada, Vanilla Flan

The Rez: An Urban Eatery 

Chocolate Mole Tamale, Jackfruit Taco on Fresh Blue Corn Tortilla

Gold Medal

• Chula Seafood 
• Dry Aged Fish
• JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
• Paella Royale, Charred Octopus

Silver Medal

• Board + Batten
• Campo Italian Bistro
• Carcara
• Clever Koi
• Dahl Restaurant Group
• Frites Street
• Latha
• Litchfield’s at the Wigwam
• Lom Wong
• Poolboy Taco
• Roka Akor
• Renata’s Hearth
• Rough Rider
• Sandfish
• Sonoran Pasta Bar
• The Gladly/Citizen Public House
• Uchi

Bronze Medal

• Aioli Gourmet Burger
• Canal Club
• Fellow Osteria
• Kembara
• Lucero
• Lylo Swim Club
• Ocean Prime
• Phoenician Tavern
• Phoenix Culinary Collective
• Prado
• PV Pie and Wine
• Renaissance Phoenix: Dust Cutter
• The Peppermill
• Zuzu

The esteemed Devour judges were:

Stephanie Burnette

South Carolina-based writer, culinary instructor and ICS World Chili Cookoff judge

Stephanie Burnette is a food and travel writer in the Carolinas and covers the southeast. She writes for Eater, Thrillist, Town, atHome, SC Department of Agriculture, as well as for multiple visitors guides each year. Her background includes culinary instruction at The John C. Campbell Folk School and 400+ recipes for Gannett. She is the author of the upcoming 100 Things to Do in Greenville Before You Die, by Reedy Press. She’s judged the ICS World Chili Cookoff and the Great American Burger Contest but says her two teenagers are the best critics she knows.

Katherine Chew Hamilton 

Freelance food and beverage writer, restaurant critic, and editor. She most recently worked as the food editor of Portland Monthly magazine, where she reviewed restaurants, reported on restaurant openings and closings, and highlighted up-and-coming pop-ups and food carts. Previously, she was the food critic at the East Bay Express in Oakland. Favorite bites and sips include handmade noodles, tacos, Dungeness crab, and Willamette Valley wine.

Natasha Pickowicz

New York City–based chef, writer and three-time James Beard Foundation Award finalist.

Much of her pastry work explores the relationship between baking and social justice, including ongoing collaborations with seminal New York City institutions like Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, God’s Love We Deliver, the Brigid Alliance, and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, for whom she produced a massive city-wide bake sale, raising more than $150,000 between 2017 and 2019.

Currently, Pickowicz runs the pastry pop-up called Never Ending Taste, which has been held at NYC’s Superiority Burger, Brooklyn’s the Four Horsemen, the American-Vietnamese bakery Ba. n B., the Taiwanese tearoom T. Company, Los Angeles’s Kismet, and the legendary Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

Pickowicz’s recipes and writing have been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Food & Wine, New York magazine, Cherry Bombe, and many other publications. Follow her on Instagram at @natashapickowicz.

José R. Ralat

José R. Ralat is Texas Monthly’s taco editor, for which he writes about Mexican food and food culture. He is also the author of “American Tacos: A History & Guide.” Ralat has written for Eater, Imbibe, D Magazine, Vice, Gravy, and other national and regional online and print media outlets. He is a two-time James Beard Foundation media award winner. Ice cream might just be his one true love.

Howard Seftel

Howard Seftel was a Valley restaurant critic from 1992 to 2015, the first eight years at Phoenix New Times, then 15 years at the Arizona Republic. During that time, he dined out — anonymously — more than 5000 times, and served as a James Beard Award judge.

A native New Yorker, he worked abroad for five years, in West Africa and the Middle East, and later taught American history at the University of California, Berkeley and Antioch University.

These days, when he is not eating out, he’s likely to be at a baseball game, playing the piano, reading history or hitting the road to visit far-away children and grandchildren.

Thank you to sponsors TCI Wealth Management, Maverick Beverage Company, Lyft, City of Tempe, Integro Bank and Wyndham Hotel for their support.

About Local First Arizona

Founded in 2003, Local First Arizona is a community and economic development organization working to strengthen local economies. Local First’s areas of focus include developing entrepreneurship, rural and urban community development, racial equity, environmental action and food access.  Local First is the largest local business coalition in the U.S. and advocates for independently owned businesses of all sizes by assisting local owners to compete and collaborate to strengthen Arizona’s economy and build state pride. Visit localfirstaz.com for more information and a directory of more than 3,000 Arizona-owned businesses.

About Desert Botanical Garden

Discover the tranquil vibrancy of 50,000 desert plants nestled amid the red rocks of the Papago Buttes at Desert Botanical Garden. An Arizona icon for 85 years in the Valley, the Garden is a compelling attraction and desert conservation pioneer, offering worldly plants, vibrant trails, world-class exhibitions, festive events, fascinating classes and so much more. Visit dbg.org for more information.

About Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance

The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance (SAACA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation, preservation, and advancement of the Arts. SAACA strengthens the bonds between people, place, and purpose through collaborative, arts-driven experiences. SAACA (formerly the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council) was created to develop cultivated programming that spotlights local creatives and celebrates unique culture, while providing direct opportunities for artists to make and sell their work. To date, SAACA has created over 500,000 arts-driven experiences, from innovative community festivals and cultural celebrations to creative sector development, and accessible arts enrichment programs. Visit saaca.org for more.