Zachary Ghidotti’s first gig as a cook was in his mother’s kitchen.
“She was the first person to show me how to use a knife in the kitchen properly,” recalls the executive chef at Reforma Cocina Y Cantina in St. Philip’s Plaza.
Eventually, he made his way to The Lodge at Ventana Canyon, where he worked under Virginia “Ginny” Wooters. She later recruited him when she opened McClintock’s at Saguaro Ranch in Marana.
“Ginny taught me how to be in a kitchen, the vernacular, so I didn’t look like a rookie. How to not look like a jerk when you were being a jerk” to staff, he says.
At 23, he made the decision to “check out” for a while. “Five years ago, I moved to San Francisco. I needed to do a bit of soul-searching.” While there, he worked in west Sonoma County at the Underwood Bar & Bistro. He lived on an organic farm, growing vegetables and raising livestock. Occasionally, he and his roommate would provide food to charities in the area. He and his chef friends would also prepare pop-up dinners.
“It was unreal,” he says. “I immersed myself in everything food, hanging out with my chef friends, farmers; but I learned so much after doing that.”
Ghidotti returned to Tucson in January. After just three months as sous chef at the newly-opened Reforma, he took on the role of executive chef in August.
“I consider cooking like a sport,” says the former athlete who played everything from football to baseball, and studied taekwondo through high school. “It’s high energy, fast-paced, and it’s awesome.”
Ghidotti says he’s come to appreciate the time it takes to provide quality food to the people for whom he’s cooking.
“The intention should always be doing everything to the best of your ability,” he stresses.
We peppered him with a few questions:
What is your favorite cooking book?
“ ‘Kitchen Confidential.’ It’s visceral, it’s raw and it’s so much more real than the celebrity chef world.”
Do you have a comfort food?
“Sandwiches of any type of name and style. I think layers of food slapped together are just amazing.”
What three things are always in your fridge?
“Tabasco sauce, beer and eggs. In terms of beer, it’s whatever was left behind. My favorite kind of beer is a free and open one.”
