Explore & Learn

In addition to this event, you can enjoy all of the daily activities that Tucson, AZ offers. Explore our sample schedule.

In addition to this event, you can enjoy all of the daily activities that Tucson offers. Explore our sample ranch schedule.

Discover the culture and delicious, authentic flavors of the Southwest during our premiere culinary-focused Canyon Ranch Immersion™ in Tucson, Arizona.

Hosted by Chef Pete Ghione, Director of Culinary Innovation and Training at Canyon Ranch, Chef Warren Weekes, Director of Culinary Operations at Canyon Ranch Tucson, and a team of Canyon Ranch nutritionists, this five-night, hands-on culinary experience, set in the Santa Catalina Mountains, will also feature special appearances by Southwest cuisine expert and author Carolyn Niethammer, and James Beard Award winner Don Guerra, a leader of the local-grain movement in Tucson.

Join us at our Sonoran Desert resort and explore the diverse culinary history of Tucson, a Unesco City of Gastronomy, through flavors and dishes inspired by Mexican and South American influences. Together our chefs and nutrition teams have combined forces to design a unique culinary journey that brings together healthful and delicious recipes steeped in the robust, vibrant flavors of the Southwest.

During this hands-on immersion retreat, you'll learn how to blend native aromatic spices such as dried chili peppers, cumin, coriander, cilantro, and citrus with a variety of foods--from plant-based to poultry and seafood. You'll get VIP access to local farmer's markets and learn how to select the freshest produce. You'll gain a greater understanding of how foods impact your mood and health and receive pro tips to master your knife skills and plating presentations for impressive at-home dining.

This five-night healthy eating retreat is designed to improve your culinary skills, ignite new joy in cooking, and inspire creative and nutritious ways to reinvigorate your daily dining experience at home.

Learn more about Canyon Ranch Immersion™. To book, call (844) 772-8435 or email immersions@canyonranch.com for more information.

Peter Ghione
AOS, Director of Culinary Innovation and Training, Canyon Ranch
Chef Pete is responsible for the creation of world-class culinary experiences and concepts that support innovation at all existing and future Canyon Ranch food and beverage locations.

He leads the onboarding and training of Executive Chefs as well as the development and implementation of culinary training and programming. Chef Pete works with the nutrition team to ensure that all culinary programs and menus are in line with Canyon Ranch’s nutritional and food quality standards, supports the Executive Chefs in menu programming, and serves as a key contributor to the Canyon Ranch Nutrition Council.

Stephanie Miezin
Director of Nutrition
Stephanie is committed to helping people achieve their goals, whether they’re trying to reach a healthy weight, enhance performance via diet and nutrition, or seek healthy cooking options. She specializes in health and performance nutrition, culinary nutrition, culinary arts, and weight management.

She has extensive experience working with elite athletes, and worked for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee providing creative education to athletes, writing hundreds of health and performance-focused recipes, giving cooking classes (in person or via video), and further supporting Team USA nutrition at the 2018 Winter Olympics, 2019 Pan American Games, and planning for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also worked for the Tampa Bay Rays as the Minor League Nutrition Coordinator, worked as a chef for several years, and attended culinary school.

Warren Weekes
Director of Culinary Operations, Canyon Ranch Tucson
Chef Warren manages The Grill and The Double U Café restaurants at our Tucson resort. He brings a depth of culinary training and international experience to our original wellness resort in the Sonoran Desert. His expertise revolves around creativity, vision, and innovation in the kitchen to create unique culinary experiences.

Don Guerra
Founder, Barrio Bread
Don Guerra is an internationally recognized baker, educator, and advocate for local food systems and the production and preservation of heritage grains--and is a 2022 James Beard Outstanding Baker Award Winner. As the founder of Barrio Bread in Tucson, Don has become an integral part of a collaboration between farmers, millers, bakers, and seed savers working to bring native and heritage grains back to southern Arizona farms and tables. As farmers have learned how to grow heritage grains and millers learned how to process them, Don has had to figure out how to make bread from that which is harvested locally.

Carolyn Niethammer
Author & Southwest Cuisine Expert
Carolyn Niethammer has been writing about the food and people of the Southwest since she got out of college in books and newspaper and magazine articles. Four of her ten books are cookbooks, three are books about Native American women, one is a travel book, and one is a novel that features a famous cook from Arizona history. Her work has been translated into German, French, and Korean. Her latest book “A Desert Feast: Celebrating Tucson’s Culinary History,” is a look at Tucson’s food history over the last 8,000 years and is an answer to why our city was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. She is a former employee of Canyon Ranch, during which time she edited two versions of the Canyon Ranch cookbook.

Adam Smith
MA, Senior Spiritual Wellness Provider
Adam is part of a Spiritual Wellness team that offers six unique spiritual services for guests. He also lectures for guests and staff on topics related to spiritual wellness. With a background as a hospital and hospice chaplain and bereavement counselor, he specializes in Spiritual/Pastoral Care, Grief Support, Contemplation and Mysticism.

Shannon Jacobs
MS, RDN, LDN, Health & Performance Dietician
Shannon’s positive and inspiring attitude helps guests benefit from her personalized and tailored approach to nutrition, vitality, and performance. She guides resort guests to frame a new mindset to accomplish their goals. Her areas of expertise include fueling for exercise, supplements, and achieving weight loss goals without losing muscle mass.