Our desert city is quite unique; Yuma, Arizona happens to be the winter lettuce capital of the world. While lettuce is just one of the delicious foods that are produced in the area, the community is proud to educate and share with others a look at what farm life is like in the desert southwest.

For the past 10 years, the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association has offered the Southwest Ag Summit, an industry education event and trade show, that culminates with a fabulous dinner, known as the Harvest Dinner. Those working in the produce world, travel far and wide to attend the events.

For the past few years, celebrity chefs have traveled to Yuma for a week to learn about the produce industry and see first-hand where the winter vegetables are grown. Chef Shane Nasby, his wife Angela, Chefs Adrien Nieto and Ben Starr took part in the tour this past week. I joined the chefs for a bit during their visit and enjoyed learning about each of their stories.

The chefs participated in a Labor of Love event, where they surprised a harvesting crew with lunch and gifts. Shane, Angela, Adrien and Ben spent a lot of time outdoors touring fields and learning from growers about the produce industry. They learned about the history of Yuma from families with long Yuma roots over delicious meals.

While the chefs became acquainted with Yuma, they also planned and prepared appetizers for 1200 guests that attended the 10th Annual Harvest Dinner. Shane, Adrien and Ben had the opportunity to work in the culinary kitchens at Kofa and Cibola High Schools. High school students worked with the chefs to help them create their appetizers. Each of the chefs raved about the experience working with local students to make the starters.

As the Harvest Dinner kicked off, the chefs greeted attendees with savory appetizers. Each starter included local produce, fresh from the field. The appetizers were definite crowd pleasers!

Throughout the duration of the chefs’ stay they had more hands-on experiences learning about all that grows in Yuma, while also getting cooking up delicious meals.

Having the chefs partake in the agriculture events deepened their understanding of the supply chain, food safety standards and our amazing produce world. I hope that they can share with others all that they learned and observed during their Yuma stay.

The Southwest Ag Summit is a benefit for so many. Opportunities to learn from one another and enhance our skills is always powerful.

About the Chefs

Shane Nasby and his family reside in Nashville, Tennessee. Shane, Angela and their children live in one of the most popular cities to visit. Shane had started his career in another field, but began entering bbq contests and kept winning. His award winning bbq became a catering company and has now become a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Honeyfire BBQ. The restaurant features Shane’s well known bbq favorites. While visiting Nashville, be sure to visit Honeyfire BBQ. We have been assured it is worth the wait!

Adrien Nieto and Ben Starr are chefs that met one another while they participated in the reality television series MasterChef, Season 2. Adrien and Ben became business partners in Dallas, Texas. They teamed up with another chef Jennie Kelley to create FRANK Underground. Frank was a private, invitation-only dinner party thrown by the chefs. The chefs are currently taking a break from Frank, but know that they are cooking up something amazing for their next step in the culinary world.

Each of these chefs brings their unique cooking backgrounds and flair to each dish that they prepare. I look forward to seeing each of them in the future and trying more of their food.