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On Saturday, July 22, the highly-anticipated and friendly battle of culinary excellence, Iron Chef Tucson, heated up with chef Ken Foy of Dante’s Fire, who was defending his 2022 title, and chef Devon Sanner of Zio Peppe. This year, peanut butter was the secret ingredient, which impressed the panel of judges, and chef Foy’s culinary masterpieces claimed the top prize.
Now, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The two chefs will be serving the exact dishes for one night only at each of their restaurants. Dante’s Fire is hosting its Iron Chef Dinner on Sunday, August 13 (tickets are on sale now) and Zio Peppe is serving its Iron Chef Dinner on Tuesday, August 15 (tickets are also on sale).
Chef Sanner is looking forward to recreating the epic meal in his own kitchen at Zio Peppe — a kitchen minus all of the obstacles that come along with the annual competition.
“Being in an unfamiliar kitchen, not having any muscle memory for where your ingredients are — pots and pans — and then having to navigate traffic was a challenge,” said Sanner. “But it was a fun challenge and was part of the excitement!”
Chef Foy and his team, who are all still on cloud nine after the win, are also amped about recreating the dishes they served during this year’s competition.
“Being able to have a repeat victory — it’s something that we wanted really, really bad and we put a lot of effort into it,” said Foy. “But you know, going up against Devon, you know, that’s, that’s a tough competitor! We weren’t sure of anything until our name was announced as the winner.”
“I hope to get the chance to do it again next year and have a rematch with Ken,” Sanner laughed. “That’d be good! Having been through it once and having an idea for things that we could change — strategies and tactics. Yeah, we’d love to get another shot.”
In the meantime, you have the chance to try both Iron Chef Tucson dinners because each of the events are on different dates next week. Talk about a perfect situation, right? First up, is the dining experience at Dante’s Fire.
The multi-course dinner is $125 per person and is taking place at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 13.
“My favorite dish was our dessert,” said Foy. “It was plated elegantly and it looks like an ‘Iron Chef’ dish.”
Dante’s Fire is located at 2526 E. Grant Rd. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit eventbrite.com.
Zio Peppe’s multi-course dinner is $110 per person and is taking place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 15.
“Our second course is the 5 Spice Pork Gyoza,” said Sanner. “For the sauce, we used peanut butter, soy, ginger, and then incorporated a little bit of Chinese master stock that brings in more Asian flavor profiles — it’s a good part of my repertoire.”
Zio Peppe is located at 6502 E. Tanque Verde Rd. For more information and to purchase your tickets, visit opentable.com.
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