Mesa College offers a wide variety of programs, from STEM fields, journalism, fashion, and notably the culinary arts. The Taste of Mesa is an annual event hosted by the Mesa Culinary Arts Management Program. 

The event serves as a fundraiser for the program, with all proceeds funneling right back into the program. The event was held in the Mesa Commons building on Nov. 14, with tickets available to anyone. 

Taste of Mesa offered a glimpse into the talents and skills of the culinary students through competitions and showcases. Two of the main parts of the event were the “Chopped” style cooking competition and a cake decorating speed round.

For the “Chopped” style competition, pairs of culinary students were given specific ingredients to prepare into a meal under a certain time limit. The event’s VIP guests were then asked to vote on the winners.

It also gave culinary alumni a chance to come back to Mesa and display their skills, with the assistance of current culinary students. One alumna chef, Natalie Ebba, reflected on her experience at Mesa as a 2020 graduate. She noted that the Taste of Mesa was a way to come back and see the current students be “fully immersed into the environment.

This was her second Taste of Mesa event as an alumna. The alumni were stationed on the two separate balconies of the Mesa Commons building. They worked with a culinary student to serve sample bites of their signature dish. This provided the main meals for all the guests, as they could take as many samples as they wanted from the eight alumni chefs. 

Along with the culinary program, the Taste of Mesa featured students from the school’s Fermentation program. According to a Fermentation student, the program focuses on everything from “beer, wine, and spirits to pickles, cheese and aged meats.”  The program focuses on “ the business side and science side of different fermented goods,” giving students a well-rounded experience. 

As the event focused on fundraising, the guests were also given the option to buy tickets that could then be used to bid on raffle prizes. Prizes included private cooking experiences with program chefs, cooking appliances, and bottles of wine, along with many other prizes. All proceeds from the night went back into the program to continue funding resources, such as equipment and ingredients.

The Mesa Culinary Arts Management program is headed by professors Tonya Whitfield and Michael Fitzgerald. There are four different specifications offered within the program, including Certificates of Achievement in Baking and Pastry, Meat and Seafood Processing, Culinary Arts/Culinary Management, and an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts/Culinary Management.