Tucson Culinary Festival is a party for diners
01:07 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
TUCSON, Ariz. – All I ordered for breakfast was a bowl of sliced fruit with granola and yogurt, but suddenly, I felt like a genius.
"Excellent. Fabulous," our waiter pronounced.
My husband ordered pancakes with bacon, and he, too, was verbally awarded the culinary equivalent of a Ph.D.
"Oh, very good."
Mark was an excellent waiter, attentive without being intrusive. But there are a lot of good waiters in Tucson because there are a lot of good restaurants in Tucson. This is where, 10 years ago, owners and managers of some of the city's best restaurants formed Tucson Originals, an independent buying group that has since become synonymous with rich, diverse cuisine served in intriguing settings.
The movement has grown nationally to 12 cities, but the 38 members of Tucson Originals continue to set the bar for distinctive dining experiences.
The Originals' signature event is the annual Culinary Festival, this year Oct. 23-26. While raising nearly $100,000 for a food bank, a domestic violence shelter and a medical research foundation, Tucson Originals showcases the best of what the restaurants do.
Along the way, it selects a world champion margarita, pops the cork on the private reserves from 150 wineries and participates in a food fight – actually a competition between two Tucson Originals chefs. Each chef is given a bag of ingredients and two hours to make something palatable.
The four-day event at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort concludes with a brunch Sunday featuring the works of chef Norman Van Aken. A frequent guest on Food Network programs, he is one of the few winners of the James Beard Award, the Robert Mondavi Award and the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award, cooking's triple crown of recognition.
Mr. Van Aken will be present throughout the festival signing cookbooks, as will other chefs.
Tickets range from $35 for the margarita championship to $275 for a three-day pass. Tastings are included. Contact: 520-488-8601; www.tucsonculinaryfestival.com.
Diana Lambdin Meyer is a freelance writer in Missouri.