University of Arizona FORGE (Finding Opportunities and Resources to Grow Entrepreneurs) recently announced the new Tucson City of Gastronomy (TCoG) speaker series, “The Business of Heritage Foods.” They’ll take place every second Thursday from 9 – 10 a.m. at FORGE at Roy Place, 44 N. Stone Ave.

The monthly series, which is part of the “Thursdays at FORGE” event series, is free to attend and provides resources on building and sustaining food-based businesses in Southern Arizona.

“Tucson City of Gastronomy has many tools to support food-based businesses that utilize heritage foods,” said Jonathan Mabry, TCoG’s Executive Director. “We work to increase awareness of what are our heritage foods—those Southern Arizona ingredients, dishes, and food products that contribute to a sense of place through their unique tastes and ties to traditions.”

“We also support locally-owned food businesses and startups focused on our place-based foods,” said Mabry. “We have a certification program for food entrepreneurs, resource guides for identifying heritage food ingredients and products, and this speaker series allowing the community to talk with experts working directly with these products.”

To kick things off

Jonathan Mabry will be hosting the first event on Thursday, January 12, presenting TCoG resources for food entrepreneurs. Cheri’s Desert Harvest founder and owner, Cheri Romanoski, will also be there explaining how she created an international business using desert prickly pear.

You’ll also be able to sample products by TCoG-certified artisan MORA and sip on some complimentary coffee from Exo Roast Co.

“Food entrepreneurs are vital to creating a strong sense of community.  We want to make as many tools as possible available to these entrepreneurs to help them succeed,” said Brian Ellerman, FORGE’s founding executive director. “TCoG is one of our newest community partners, providing on-site mentoring and other resources.”

More events are lined up

Other Thursdays at FORGE events during the month of January will also focus on local food. These events will include a FORGE Fireside interview with the owners of TCoG-certified Pueblo Vida Brewing Company and a Curiosity Club presentation on financing food-based businesses.

“In addition to mentoring, community co-working, and the connections to University of Arizona programs provided at FORGE, we host community partner Startup Tucson which has many excellent programs for food entrepreneurs,” said Ellerman. “Their Food Forward program includes a Recipes for Success business accelerator and a Virtual Regional Tour of Gastronomy.  Connecting TCoG, Startup Tucson, and FORGE resources under one roof is a great way to accelerate the success of our local food entrepreneurs.”

For more information and to register for one of the Thursday events, visit eventbrite.com.