James Beard Foundation promotes local restaurants

The James Beard Foundation Women of Arizona is an initiative that involves 15 local female chefs offering tasting menus to help promote their restaurants. We learned more from Chef Sasha Raj, who owns 24 Carrots, a vegan restaurant in Tempe.

According to their website, The James Beard Foundation Women of Arizona is a part of the “Let’s Talk” national collaboration. It brings together women in the restaurant industry for collaboration and support. “It’s a group of women taking matters into their own hands to build bigger and better stronger relationships with our communities,” Raj said.

For their first effort, 15 Arizonans got together to offer five different three-course menus. The first menu features food from Raj’s 24 Carrots along with Maya’s Cajun Kitchen and Cotton and Copper. Other menus include food from The Farish House, The Joy Bus Diner, Songbird Coffee House, FnB, Hana Japanese Eatery, Tracy Dempsey Originals, Fat Ox, The Market by Jennifer’s, Sweet Republic, The Cellar, Nonna Urban Eatery, and The Breadfruit & Rum Bar.

The menus are offered for three weekends in January with the last being the weekend of  January 29 and 30.