Cooking Up Awareness
Enjoy fine food & wine during the annual summer fundraiser PRIMAVERA COOKS!
by Karyn Zoldan
photography
by A C Productions
As the mercury creeps past the 100° mark, most locals know summer has arrived whether or not the calendar concurs. While some Tucsonans flee to cooler climes, the rest of us smugly relish the nearing of Tucson’s favorite summertime fundraiser—Primavera Cooks! — just one of the reasons not to get the summertime blues. Starting May 21 and running through September 17, 10 Tucson Originals restaurants play host to the 7th Annual Primavera Cooks!, a delicious summerlong partnership that raises money for Tucson’s homeless population served by the Primavera Foundation.
Here’s the skinny on how funds are raised: In 2007 the event grossed $135,000 and netted $105,000 thanks to the generosity of participating restaurants, corporate sponsors, wine distributors, vendors, food purveyors, and more than 600 diners, 37 apprentice chefs, and those donated must-have silent auction items. Diners pay $125 for a five-course epicurean orchestration of exquisite edibles paired with magically appropriate wines.
Diners pay $125 for a wine-paired, multicourse gourmet meal and an evening of culinary entertainment and education. Reservations for all event locations must be made through The Primavera Foundation by calling 623-5111, ext. 101.
As a previous diner who was without a dining partner at Feast last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitable camaraderie. Tables are set for eight or ten so dinner conversation expands beyond a table for two. Food and wine are natural mixers that bring people together to debate whether the Prosecco or Pinot Gris is a better match for prawn dumplings drizzled with lobster coulis. This being Tucson, six degrees of separation is divided by two. At a table for eight, someone knows someone who knows someone else. Of my seven dinner mates, we discovered that three of us lived in Los Angeles during the same decade and all within five miles of each other.
Apprentice chefs pay $250 (entirely taxdeductible) to roll up their chef’s-coat sleeves and work alongside award-winning local chefs such as Janos Wilder, Doug Levy, and Albert Hall. Last year Kim Talerico was a first-time apprentice. While some apprentices consider themselves gourmet cooks, Talerico says, “The only reason I go in the kitchen is because it’s attached to my house.” Not to worry: Chef Lucius Wesson and his staff at Cup Café in the historic Hotel Congress patiently educated her. Talerico now claims newfound knife skills and a knowledge of choosing and using fresh herbs.
Most apprentice chefs arrive at their designated restaurant at 9 a.m. the day of the dinner (although some may work in the kitchen two to three days in advance) and work at a feverish pace, creating five-course masterpieces. By serving time, the restaurant staff and apprentice chefs have a newly formed appreciation of each other and the hard work involved behind the scenes. At dinner’s end, the staff and flushed apprentice chefs emerge from the kitchen to a round of thunderous applause from a satiated and grateful audience. Perhaps a humorous anecdote or two is shared, and there’s definitely an intimacy among this crew that has developed while working side-by-side in the kitchen.
And so it goes. People from all walks of life come together for a celebratory meal that raises awareness of a serious subject—Tucson’s homeless and impoverished. Nearly 4,500 Pima County citizens are homeless on any given day. And homelessness affects all types of people: 80% are male, 20% female, 60% Caucasian, 20% African-American, 15% Hispanic, and 5% Native American. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Arizona has the largest gap between rich and poor families. Tucson is now the poorest city in the state, with one in five persons living in poverty. In Southern Arizona, one in four children lives in poverty.
“Poverty is difficult and homelessness is worse,” says Deborah Dale, chief development officer for the Primavera Foundation. “Perhaps the most devastating is separation from family in a time of great need.” While many shelters divide families based on sex and age, the Primavera family shelter, the only one of its kind in Southern Arizona, makes it possible to house two-parent families, single fathers, mothers with adolescent sons, and same-sex parents in order to keep the family intact.
Since 1982, the Primavera Foundation has supported people who are homeless by providing services to help make positive improvements in their lives through job training, employment, transitional housing, and emergency services. Primavera also influences how the community thinks about poverty and the social and economic systems that create homelessness in the first place. On a bountiful table where food is plentiful, those of us who have come together to support those who don’t.
AT A GLANCE
May 21 - Janos 3770 E.
June 2 - Feast 4122 E. Speedway Blvd. Sunrise Dr.
June 11 - Dakota Café & Catering Co. 6541 E. Tanque Verde Rd.
June 25 - Acacia at St. Philip’s 4340 N. Campbell Ave.
July 16 - Rio Café 2526 E. Grant Rd.
August 6 - Pastiche Modern Eatery 3025 N. Campbell Ave.
August 20 - Cup Café dinner served in The Copper Hall, inside Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
September 10 - Cuvée World Bistro 3352 E. Speedway Blvd.
September 14 - Kingfisher Bar & Grill 2564 E. Grant Rd.
September 17 - Jonathan’s Tucson Cork 6320 E. Tanque Verde Rd.
THINK GLOBALLY, EAT LOCALLY
So says the slogan of Tucson Originals, created in 1998 in an effort to counter the rapid expansion of chain restaurants and to encourage local restaurateurs to give back to the community by donating their services to area nonprofits. The organization provides support for independent, locally owned eateries. For more information, visit www.tucsonoriginals.com.
THE PRIMAVERA FOUNDATION
For more information about the Primavera Foundation and the programs it offers call 623-5111 or visit www. primavera.org.
Captions:
Artfully prepared dishes at Cuvée World Bistro await delivery to eager diners.
The patio was abuzz during last year’s event at Dakota Café & Catering Co.
Diners enjoy one of many wine-paired courses at Acacia at St. Philip’s.
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres at Pastiche Modern Eatery set the tone for the fun-filled evening.
Diners settle in at Janos for the first event of the season.
Karyn Zoldan is a Tucson-based freelance writer who likes to nosh around the local dining scene and beyond.