Chef Ryan Swanson makes Kai experience memorable

With it's preference to cook with historic native foods, Kai became one of the venues in Tastes & Treasures II. Congrats to Chef Ryan Swanson for a great article in AZfamily.com. Swanson tells us, “This restaurant’s main aim is to educate, and I get to run that kitchen, and I think that’s a huge, huge honor for me. So that’s the best part of my day; I get to come in and plan on trying to make people’s experiences memorable,” Swanson said. “They get to learn something, they get to see something, taste something that they’ve never got to try. Hear a couple stories from the local community; we like to very much tie our local and cultural stories in with our food and tie everything together as a harmonious story and a meal, especially when there’s a travel community that supports that, and we’re here to support and give back in that way as well.” Read the entire interview at https://www.azfamily.com/lifestyle/arizona_foodies/chef-swanson-s-quest-for-perfection-fuels-kais-cuisine-and-experience/article_176ef882-cfd3-11eb-a57c-2b8bccfe66d0.html?fbclid=IwAR2C6wdWYcATfD_b10n1_l0aHdojszD63uZSJ3srGTnRBxEfKeIFV2WRz34

Chef Ryan Swanson of Kai featured in Tastes & Treasures II

 Featuring Kai at WildHorse Pass with Chef Ryan Swanson in Tastes & Treasures II was a "no-brainer". Many visitors at Kai think so too including Jen, a guest who also purchased our book with Kai's history and recipes.

She wrote, "My husband and I were guests at the Wild Horse Pass when I attended a conference there in 2017. We ate at Kai which was an amazing experience and as the final guests of the evening we got to meet Chef Ryan Swanson as we departed. Wish we had gotten a picture with him but didn't think of it at the time.

We learned a lot during that dining experience about the culture and food of the area and have shared our story with others. I was trying to look up information recently and came across the article written about the work your group did with Chef Swanson on the second volume of your book. Instead of buying it on Amazon or a local website I went to your website to see if it could still be purchased there - this way your group would receive the proceeds from the purchase to continue your work.

We are looking forward to reading the history of the area and attempting to recreate some of the recipes from the book - although I highly doubt it'll be as wonderful as Chef Swanson's creations."

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Native foods celebrated in Tastes & Treasures II

Chef Ryan gave the Historical League wonderful indigenous recipes for Tastes & Treasures II. He promotes more of these Arizona-grown grains, beans and more in this dinner concept. Native foods are so important. Kudos to Chef Ryan from Kai at Wild Horse Pass.

'Rarest ingredients in the world': Chef works with Native farm for indigenous dinner

Shondiin Silversmith

Chef Ryan Swanson from Kai Restaurant collaborates with Ramona Farms on a dinner service featuring a menu full of ingredients from Gila River. Video courtesy of Andrew Gooi, Arizona Republic

Kai's Chef Ryan Swanson is ending the season with something completely new: A dinner featuring indigenous ingredients. 

As a way to celebrate the holiday and Kai Restaurant's last night of service before their annual summer closure, Swanson is collaborating with the Gila River Community's Ramona Farms for a fine dining experience July 5, featuring a menu of products and ingredients from their farm.

Ramona Farms is a family-owned and operated business near Sacaton, Arizona, on the Gila River Indian Community that specializes in traditional indigenous foods.

"I wanted to do something to celebrate their farm and have fun," Swanson said in a phone interview with The Arizona Republic. "End the season on a high note." 

For more stories that matter, subscribe to azcentral.com. 

Swanson has been working with ingredients from Ramona Farms for 10 years, but this specific dinner is a first.

"This will be the first collaboration with an indigenous farmer," Swanson said. "It's going to be an evening of just learning about the beautiful culture, the farm and the indigenous ingredients."

Swanson said he wanted to showcase the families' life work at Ramona Farms alongside his own.

Chef Ryan Swanson (Photo: Photo courtesy of Debby Wolvos)

"The menu is made specifically for Ramona Farms," he said. "We're going to be using almost everything that they got, in some fashion."

Ramona Farms was started in the early '70s by Ramona and Terry Button on a family plot of land. Ramona said she is excited to see what Kai plans on doing with their products. 

Velvet Button, Ramona and Terry's daughter, says Swanson has been enthusiastic about educating himself and his staff about indigenous food growing on their farm, spending hours on the farm harvesting and learning about each ingredient's history and cultural importance.

"Kai has been using and sharing our food and our food story for several years," Velvet Button said. "We've been tasting and sharing recipes over the last few years. Our nutrient-dense desert foods have really unique flavor profiles and incorporating them into a menu that is using all of our products is really exciting."

Some of the crops Swanson will be using from Ramona Farms includes tepary beans, ga’ivsa, pinole, pima wheat berries, black-eyed peas and more.

Swanson said one of his favorite ingredients in his whole career is ga’ivsa, which is mesquite roasted and cracked corn that is ground corse. 

White and brown tepary beans from Ramona Farms (Photo: Photo courtesy of Kevin Lewis)

"Their ingredients will be the heart of the dish, but we're going to build around it," Swanson said. "Showcase not only the farm, but the community that provides for it."

The menu will also highlight tepary beans, which are drought tolerant and native to the Southwest. Ramona Farms grows three different types of tepary beans, Velvet said. She is looking forward to seeing how Swanson is going to showcase these beans.

"We have a white tepary bean, which is buttery and sweet.  We have a brown tepary bean which is nutty and earth. The black bean is almost chocolatey, very rich and bold," Velvet explained.

The ingredients are rare, Swanson said, which will contribute to the only-in-Arizona feel of the meal.

"That dinner they will be having on Friday night, no one else will be eating," he added. "You can only use these ingredients in this part of the world."

Kai Restaurant at Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass is located at 5594 West Wild Horse Pass Blvd. The dinner service will take place the same night the resort will have their fireworks display, so guests will get to see the fireworks from the restaurant patio, said Samantha Fink, public relations and marketing director for Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. 

Kai Restaurant fining room (Photo: Photo courtesy of Dean Stevenson)

Dinner service starts at 6 p.m. on July 5 and fireworks begin at 9 p.m. The cost is $140 per guest with an optional wine pairing for an additional $90. For reservations or for more information, guests can call the restaurant at (602) 385-5777.

Reporter Shondiin Silversmith covers indigenous people and communities in Arizona. Reach her at ssilversmi@arizonarepublic.com and follow her Twitter @DiinSilversmith.

Kai at Wild Horse Pass serves Native American cuisine

With a historic nod to Kai, we have featured White Tepary Bean Puree in Tastes & Treasures II, page 66-71. Glad to see Phoenix Home and Garden also emphasizing the importance of native seeds and ancient super foods in it's October issue.

More places to find Tastes & Treasures II cookbook

Ruth McLeod, Barb Ziehler
and El Chorro's Melanie Volker

Kai at Wild Horse Pass and El Chorro in Paradise Valley are both featured in Tastes & Treasures II: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. The book is available at their locations. Write Ons in Phoenix also carries the book now. And you can always order at www.HistoricalLeague.org/SHOP.aspx

Kai one of ten in USA serving authentic Native American dishes

Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix

from TRAVELCHANNEL.COM
"Think of Kai as a high-end journey through new Native American cuisine. The seasonal menu draws from the Pima and Maricopa tribes, so you might find a 60-day corn and Cherokee tomato bisque, hand-picked lettuce with wolfberry snow and native seed brittle, goose and rabbit with pima wheat berries or wild boar with acorn ash. Did we mention it’s earned both the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five-Star recognition?"

Look for history and some of these recipes in Tastes & Treasures, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona released mid January, 2018. Chef Ryan Swanson continues to cook up the best. Pre-order now at www.HistoricalLeague.org/shop.aspx