What foods truly define Tucson and the Arizona-Sonora borderlands?
Join us for a community workshop to help identify and celebrate the dishes that tell the story of our region. Through the Tucson Heritage Dishes Project, we are working with renowned ethnobotanist and food historian Gary Nabhan to document the traditional dishes that have shaped our community for generations.
Supported by the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, this project will compile a list of iconic regional dishes and nominate a new cohort of Tucson and borderlands foods for inclusion in the Slow Food Ark of Taste: an international catalog that recognizes culturally significant, distinctive foods at risk of disappearing.
During this interactive workshop, participants will:
Review and provide feedback on the project's draft list of heritage dishes.
Share and community knowledge about Tucson's food traditions.
Suggest additional dishes that deserve recognition.
Learn about the Slow Food Ark of Taste and why preserving culinary heritage matters.
The draft list includes beloved regional specialties such as the chimichanga, cheese crisp, Sonoran-style capirotada, carne machaca con verduras, enchiladas Sonorenses, prickly pear margaritas, pan de cemita, mesquite-smoked whiskey, Yaqui guacavaqui, and many more.
Your voice is an important part of this process!! Whether you're a lifelong Tucsonan, a home cook, chef, food historian, farmer, restaurant owner, or simply someone who loves Southern Arizona's food traditions, we invite you to help ensure these dishes, and the stories behind them, are preserved for future generations.
