Desert Diversity West of Western Culinary Festival partners with Slow Food Phoenix and Community Food Connections /Downtown Phoenix Public Market, to present non-profit organizations at the Festival that are active in maintaining our food heritage traditions. Their research and support for producers of heirloom produce enrich the choices of Arizona Chefs. Visit them at The Grand Tasting.     2009 Desert Diversity Seminars & Classes Classes and seminars led by visiting food and wine experts will be held throughout the Festival. As a tribute to Phoenix Art Museum's opening of the Spring exhibition "In Contemporary Rhythm," celebrating Taos painter Ernest L. Blumenschein, this year's Desert Diversity focus is on the foods and traditions of our great Southwest, and the local farms that keep culinary traditions alive. This year's presenters include-

Pamela Hamilton Pamela Hamilton is the editor and publisher of Edible Phoenix magazine. She has enjoyed living, food shopping and dining around the world. Pamela was recently named as Governor of the Southwest region for Slow Food and as a member of Les Dames D'Escoffier...[Read More] Deborah Knight & Matt Rinn "Mosaic is my passion," says Deborah Knight, chef and owner of the acclaimed restaurant. Opened in 2001, Mosaic has returned her fervor. Knight was honored as "Best New Chef 2002" by Food & Wine. Her husband, Matt Rinn, is General Manager and Wine Director of Mosaic...[Read More] Rachel Matesz Chef Rachel Matesz is "Your Missing Ingredient." She has been a cooking instructor, consultant, healthy cooking coach, and a food and health writer...[Read More] John Sharpe Chef John Sharpe is the Chef at the Turquoise Room at La Posado Inn in Winslow, Arizona.The restaurant features some retro Fred Harvey dishes as well as John’s interpretation of Southwestern Cuisine. He is currently focused on encouraging local farmers to grow foods for use in the restaurant...[Read More] Candy Lesher Through the years, Candy Lesher has been honored to be one of very few chosen to act as a panelist for the highly esteemed, annual James Beard Foundation Awards, the equivalent of the “Oscar’s” in the culinary world...[Read More] Terri Nacke Terri Nacke has been an eco-ista in the making her entire life. Many of her early childhood memories such as picking rhubarb in the garden and cooking simple, nutritious food center around her grandmother, who taught her the importance of using “all good ingredients.[Read More] Paul Schwennesen Paul Schwennesen raises grassfed beef on the Double Check Ranch in the San Pedro Valley east of Phoenix. In a return to techniques used a century ago, the beef is raised on native range and finished on green growing pasture...[Read More] Andy Broder Cooking has always been part of Andy's life. While still in grade school he started cooking on Saturday afternoons. He satisfied his developing sweet tooth with a self-taught dessert repertoire that included Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and Jelly Rolls...[Read More] Rudy Zuidema Rudy Zuidema has quickly worked his way up the ladder of a winemaking career. He started as an entry-level cellar man at St. Clement Vineyards then took his next steps in cellar management at Cuvaison Winery...[Read More]   Barbara Pool Fenzl Barbara Pool Fenzl, C.C.P. (Certified Culinary Professional), is a major figure on the American culinary stage: owner of Les Gourmettes Cooking School in Phoenix, established in 1983; Seasonal Southwest Cooking and host of KAET-TV's last six cooking-related pledge drives...[Read More] Greg Peterson In 2001 out of his undergraduate work at ASU, Greg created a new concept called the Urban Farm, a real world environmental showcase home in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. Utilizing his extensive background to develop an innovative holistic home site,..[Read More]   Lionel Geuskens Lionel Geuskens, the Chef and owner of Trente-Cinq, was born and raised in Liege, Belgium.  He started his culinary career with an apprenticeship at the prestigious La Villa Lorraine in Brussels, Belgium...[Read More]   Freddie Bitsoie Freddie Bitsoie is the Assistant Director of Native American Programs at Classic Cooking. He is a member of the Navajo Tribe and hails from Monticello, UT. From a young age, he has been exposed to the cultural differences of the southwest including...[Read More]   Frank Fierro Frank Fierro is co-founder and CEO of Oro Verde Products, located in Tolleson. Oro Verde is the largest importer of fresh napoles in the state...[Read More]   Payton Curry Growing up in Rochester, Minnesota, Digestif Executive Chef Payton Curry and his twin brother were raised by a hard-working dad who taught his pre-teen boys to cook so they could eat dinner together as a family every evening....[Read More] Dennis Payne Dennis Payne remembers his first glass of wine and has been hooked on the stuff ever since. He studied with the Court of Master Sommeliers and has been a sommelier in the Valley for more than 15 years...[Read More]   Kathryn LeNormand A lifelong lover of wine, Kate dove headfirst into her second career in 2003 while living in Oregon. Her wine career includes distributor sales, retail sales, on-premise, wine education and sales management...[Read More]

Scheduled Speakers Saturday March, 14 Demo Class Area (outside of Admin Building) 12:30pm: Freddie Bitsoie, Classic Cooking Corn: A Native American Staple with a Modern Twist 1:30pm: Paul Schwennesen, Double Check Ranch Grass-Fed Beef: There is a Difference 2:30pm: Frank Fierro, Oro Verde Everything You Wanted to Know About Nopales (Cactus) But Were Afraid to Ask Children’s Gallery, Admin Building NOON: Pamela Hamilton, Edible Phoenix Ancient Chocolate Elixirs 1pm: Andy Broder, AndyFood The Magical Mixture of Mole 2pm: John Sharpe, The Turquoise Room Churro Lamb and Other Treasures of Alta Arizona Wine Education Area, Great Hall 12:30pm: Dennis Payne, Von Strasser Winery The Challenges of Producing Howell Mountain Cabernet 2pm: Bob Piotrowski, Palm Bay, Food and Wine Pairing Based on Region   Sunday March, 15 Demo Class Area (outside of Admin Building) 12:30pm: Lionel Geuskens, Trente Cinq-35 1:30pm: Rachel Matesz, The Healthy Cooking Coach Great Date Desserts 2:30pm: Candy Lesher, Cooking Studio AZ Little Packets of Pleasure: Green Corn Tamales Children’s Gallery, Admin Building Noon: Greg Peterson,Your Guide to Green/Urban Farm Mesquite: the Sweet Treat That’s in Your Yard 1pm: Barbara Fenzl, Les Gourmettes Chiles: Get ‘Em While They’re Hot 2pm: Terri Nacke, La Bella Terre Simple Organic Cooking: The Herban Mediterranean 3pm: Payton Curry, Digestif Hand-pulled Mozzarella Wine Education Area, Great Hall 11:30pm: Rudy Zuidema, Calix Winery Organic and Bio-Dynamic Wine: Excellence Begins in the Vineyard 1pm: Nick Stacy, West Cape Howe Wines, Australia - A Celebration of Regional Diversity and New Discoveries 2pm: Matt Rinn and Deborah Knight Secrets of Wine and Food Pairing 3pm: Kathryn LeNormand, Republic National Distributing Company, Sparkling Wine