Two Tucson chefs and a Tucson baker are semifinalist nominees for the prestigious James Beard Award, the James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday.
The nomination is a second for Maria Mazon, chef-owner of Boca Tacos y Tequila at 533 N. Fourth Ave., and the third nomination for Don Guerra, owner/baker of Barrio Bread at 18 S. Eastbourne Ave. and a partner in Barrio Charro, 3699 N. Campbell Ave., and the soon-to-open The Monica downtown.
“This goes beyond me. This one is for my team at Boca,” Mazon said. “It takes 38 people to tango. I cannot do this alone if it were not for my whole team.”
This is a first for John Martinez, chef-owner of the 3-year-old midtown bistro Tito & Pep at 4122 E. Speedway.
The nomination is a first for John Martinez, owner and head chef of Tito & Pep at 4122 E. Speedway.
Martinez learned of the honor when he got a text from Mazon on Wednesday morning.
“Man I was not expecting it at all. I was cutting pork chops and getting ready to blanch my octopus when I got the text,” he said. “It’s kind of overwhelming.”
“To be in the same group as those two is an honor unto itself,” he added.
Neither Mazon nor Guerra have won the award, considered to be the Academy Award of the foodiverse.
Owner and head chef Maria Mazon adds a layer of pinto beans as she assembles a nachos plate at Boca Tacos y Tequila.
Mazon has become a national food celebrity after finishing fifth in last summer’s popular TV chef competition “Top Chef Portland” and being featured on several national food-centric shows including “Man vs. Food” over the last several years.
Guerra and his bread, made from locally sourced heritage grains, was recently featured in the New York Times in a story written by James Beard Award-winning food author John Birdsall.
Guerra
“I feel pretty good about” the nomination, said Guerra, who in addition to his bakery and restaurant ventures also runs Barrio Grain, where Guerra creates blends of flours using heritage wheats and ancient grains that he uses in his bakery and supplies to other local makers.
“I think I have accomplished a lot since last year and it’s really staying true to my mission to build and strengthen the local grain economy,” he said.
Martinez opened Tito & Pep in November 2018 after spending a dozen years working in the kitchens of celebrated New York chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Mazon and Martinez are vying for the title of best chef in the Southwest, while Guerra is up for the outstanding baker honor.
Other Arizona restaurants in the running for James Beard Awards: the Scottsdale Japanese restaurant ShinBay for outstanding restaurant; Rochelle Daniel, chef/partner of Flagstaff’s farm-to-table restaurant Atria, and Donald Hawk, chef of downtown Phoenix’s ambitious eatery Valentine, for best emerging chef; Phoenix’s Sonoran-style Mexican restaurant Bacanora for best new restaurant; Mark Chacón, chef-owner of Chacónne Patisserie in downtown Phoenix, for outstanding pastry chef; Binkley’s Restaurant in Phoenix for outstanding hospitality; and Scottsdale Native American eatery Kai for outstanding wine program.
Finalists are expected to be announced March 16 and the winners will be announced at a gala in Chicago on June 13.
The James Beard Foundation canceled the 2020 and 2021 awards in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
