If you’re a local chef or know of someone that’s a beast in the kitchen, the Tucson City of Gastronomy is looking for new recruits to ship out abroad.
The non-profit is currently taking applications for its ambassador program that trains local chefs to represent our UNESCO-designated City of Gastronomy — both in the Tucson community and in other countries. There’s not a lot of time left to apply, though, being that the deadline is Sunday, April 24.
In the past Devon Sanner of The Carriage House and Zio Peppe, Travis Peters of The Parish and The Delta, Mo Madril of the former Geronimo’s Revenge food truck, and Erika Bostik of Fonda La Hermanita have taken trips to foreign lands like Paris, France and Macao in the Dominican Republic.
It sounds like a pretty neat experience, right?
Aside from traveling internationally, Chef Ambassadors will lead cooking demonstrations, gain media exposure, and help spread Tucson’s unique food heritage.
“Ambassadors sent to international events must not only plan menus and do cooking demonstrations but also handle many other tasks,” Tucson City of Gastronomy mentions in a statement. “These include importing ingredients from Tucson (including research of what is allowed on flights and allowed into a foreign country), acquiring additional ingredients at the destination, substituting ingredients and dishes as needed, preparing food in unfamiliar kitchens, and supervising kitchen staff unacquainted with ingredients and dishes that are exotic to them.”
Again, applications are due by Sunday, April 24 so share with your local chef pals or apply yourself if you’re up for the adventure.
For more information and to apply, visit tucson.cityofgastronomy.org.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
