News

Dec 15, 2022

New video celebrates Tucson’s seventh anniversary as UNESCO City of Gastronomy

Non-profit Tucson City of Gastronomy (TCoG), in partnership with Pima County and Visit Tucson, unveiled a video in honor of Tucson’s seventh anniversary as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
The video, “A Heritage Grain Revival”, highlights Sonoran White wheat, a distinctive part of southern Arizona’s food culture. It is the first in a new series funded by Pima County Attractions and Tourism through an American Rescue Plan Act grant for tourism recovery.
“This series will shine the spotlight on southern Arizona’s deep and unique culinary heritage,” said Catherine Strickland, Deputy Director of Pima County Attractions and Tourism and Vice President of TCoG. “As the first-ever UNESCO City of Gastronomy designated in the United States, Tucson’s unique and ever-growing food scene remains a major driver in attracting visitors to our region.”
The video series is just one of several efforts by Tucson City of Gastronomy to amplify the reach of our culinary scene. This year, TCoG launched Pueblos del Maíz, an international festival celebrating the importance of maize through food, art and culture.The non-profit is busy planning an expansion of the event for next year, while also continuing its work with local chefs to further its mission of growing a sustainable desert community by supporting our creative food cultures.
“When we started this journey seven years ago, we had no idea how much energy it would add to the local food movement and how much it would inspire the creativity of our chefs and entrepreneurs around heritage ingredients,” said Jonathan Mabry, Executive Director of TCoG.