What happens when America's first UNESCO City of Gastronomy meets France's gastronomic capital? For one remarkable week, Tucson and Lyon answered that question through food, friendship, and cultural exchange.
When Chef Mateo Cancio left Tucson for Lyon, he carried much more than recipes and local ingredients in his suitcase. As Executive Chef of NEX on 4th Avenue and Culinary Ambassador for Tucson, Arizona—the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the United States—he represented a city with more than 4,000 years of culinary heritage.
Through Bon Appétit America!—conceived and coordinated by The Food Capitals in partnership with Visit Tucson and officially awarded the Freedom250 France label by the U.S. Mission in France—chefs, institutions, elected officials and food lovers came together to celebrate 250 years of French-American friendship through gastronomy.
Before arriving in Lyon, Chef Mateo worked closely with the Visit Tucson and Food Capitals teams through a series of online meetings and exchanges with local French partners to begin developing Franco-American recipes that would later be brought to life in person.
Once in Lyon, following initial meetings with key partners – including Chef Charlie Dumas and the Maisons Bocuse team, as well as Chef Vincent Thomassin and the InterContinental Lyon teams – Chef Mateo travelled to the beautiful Domaine du Banchet. There, the team from La Fabuleuse Cantine welcomed him into their production lab.
Together with Executive Chef and co-founder Boris Fontimpe and Chef Sébastien Raï, they spent the day creating two unique Franco-American dishes (one savory, one sweet) using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, dehydrated ingredients from Tucson brought by Chef Mateo, and La Fabuleuse Cantine's zero-waste philosophy. The collaborative spirit established in the kitchen would continue throughout the week.
Check out this video of the behind-the-scenes preparations with La Fabuleuse Cantine.
The collaboration officially came to fruition during the U.S. Consulate General's Independence Day Reception in Lyon, demonstrating how creativity in the kitchen can strengthen international friendships.
Welcomed by U.S. Consul General Molly Mayfield Barbee, Chef Mateo presented the two collaborative dishes created with La Fabuleuse Cantine's catering team to guests including Lyon Deputy Mayors Sophia Popoff and Christophe Jacquemain, along with numerous institutional and community partners. The evening perfectly illustrated the role gastronomy can play in diplomacy, celebrating 250 years of French-American friendship and shared history around a common table.
The next chapter brought Chef Mateo into one of Lyon's most iconic culinary institutions. Chef Mateo and Chef Dumas from Maisons Bocuse dedicated significant time to developing a four-hands menu that would showcase the fusion of Lyon and Tucson gastronomy in innovative ways. Their goal was not only to highlight complementary flavors—such as Tucson's Sonoran Desert ingredients, including the iconic wild chiltepin pepper—but also to challenge and expand perceptions of American cuisine.
The result was far more than a menu: it became a genuine culinary dialogue between two gastronomic capitals. The culmination came with the sold-out Bon Appétit, America! Four-Hands Dinner at Fond Rose – Bocuse.
Guests enjoyed an exclusive menu blending Arizona ingredients with Lyonnais techniques, while discovering the stories behind each dish. The evening celebrated not only culinary excellence but also curiosity, collaboration, and friendship. (Check out the full menu: https://www.maisons-bocuse.com/2026/06/18/bon-appetit-america/)
From the first course to dessert, every plate reflected the creative exchange that had developed between the two chefs throughout the week. The festive atmosphere added to the experience, with French and American flags decorating the space, a curated playlist from KXCI 91.3 FM, Tucson Community Radio setting the tone, and a themed photo booth allowing guests to capture the spirit of the evening.
Check out this interview with Chef Mateo and Chef Dumas, created by OnlyLyon.
The Franco-American exchange continued—this time through pastry: a special America250 Tea Time beneath the spectacular Dôme of the InterContinental Lyon – Hôtel Dieu.
Chef Mateo and Executive Pastry Chef Vincent Thomassin co-created an original dessert inspired by both France and the Sonoran Desert: a fire-grilled smoked apricot tart with corn bread and cactus flower. During the launch, media partners and content creators gathered to meet both chefs, taste the exclusive pastry, and help share the story behind this unique culinary collaboration. The dessert remained available throughout the week, allowing hotel guests, locals, and visitors to experience a small taste of Tucson in the heart of Lyon.
Throughout the week, journalists, photographers, influencers and food writers followed Chef Mateo's journey across Lyon, helping share the story with audiences in both France and the United States.
Check out this interview of Chef Mateo with Wine Dine Caroline.
Beyond the official collaborations, the initiative was a way for Chef Mateo to fully immerse himself in the diversity of Lyon's food scene—from traditional bouchons to contemporary plant-based gastronomy, Mexican cuisine, wine culture, and the city's newest culinary talents.
The week began with his first taste of Lyon at Brasserie Bocuse Est, where he discovered classic Lyonnais cuisine while meeting members of the Maisons Bocuse family with whom he would collaborate throughout the week. He also visited La Meunière, where The Food Capitals had previously collaborated with Chef Olivier Canal during the Annual General Meeting 2025 hosted by the City of Lyon. The restaurant has since earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, highlighting its continued excellence.
Together with The Food Capitals Executive Director, Jessica Férey, Chef Mateo enjoyed lunch at Culina Hortus, meeting the team behind one of France's most celebrated vegetarian restaurants and discovering how plant-based gastronomy has become an important part of Lyon's culinary identity. Chef Mateo also experienced the incredible cuisine of Emily Dader, chef and owner of Trèfle, a completely plant-based gastronomic restaurant and member of the local Femmes Cheffes association promoting gender equality in the restaurant business.
They also visited Le Bœuf d'Argent, where they met Chef Viviana Pisacane, the most recent winner of Top Chef France, exchanging experiences with one of France's rising culinary stars. Chef Mateo also had the opportunity to meet Chef Carla Kirsch, the Lyon-based chef who participated in The Food Capitals' Chefs Beyond Borders initiative at the recent Summit in Castelldefels. They shared meals at both Milpa and Alebrije, discovering the richness of contemporary Mexican cuisine in Lyon. There, he also met a Tucson native now living in Lyon, a reminder that people-to-people connections are just as important as institutional partnerships.
Throughout the week, Chef Mateo explored traditional bouchons, wine bars, local markets, and independent restaurants, gaining a deeper appreciation for what makes Lyon one of the world's great gastronomic destinations.
Chef Mateo's visit extended beyond restaurants. Deputy Mayor Sophia Popoff, who also serves on The Food Capitals Executive Committee, welcomed him to Lyon's magnificent Hôtel de Ville, offering a behind-the-scenes visit that highlighted the city's commitment to international cooperation and cultural diplomacy.
The week concluded with a special wine tasting led by Caroline Fazeli of Lyon Wine Tastings, joined by media partner Jess Smith, introducing Chef Mateo to regional wines and the stories behind them.
Bon Appétit, America! demonstrated that gastronomy is much more than food. It is a language that tells the story of places and people. It creates friendships, sparks conversations, and builds bridges across cultures. From Tucson's Indigenous food traditions and Sonoran Desert ingredients to Lyon's centuries-old culinary heritage and techniques, Chef Mateo's journey showed how two cities separated by thousands of kilometers share a common belief: that food has the power to bring people together.
For The Food Capitals, this is only the beginning. The initiative offers a model that can now be replicated throughout the network, connecting cities through the universal language of food and continuing to build bridges, one shared meal at a time.
The initiative also attracted significant media attention, with journalists, food writers, radio stations and content creators following Chef Mateo throughout the week and sharing the story with audiences in both France and the United States. Read more:
Bon Appétit America! was made possible by an incredible cohort of partners, demonstrating the very spirit of French-American friendship that the initiative set out to celebrate. The Food Capitals would like to thank the following institutional partners: Visit Tucson, Tucson City of Gastronomy, Ville de Lyon, the U.S. Consulate General in Lyon, Maisons Bocuse, InterContinental Lyon – Hôtel Dieu, and La Fabuleuse Cantine, along with media partners: Jess Smith, Caroline Fazeli, Lyon CityCrunch, and KXCI 91.3 FM Tucson Community Radio.
Photo credits: © Jess Smith; © Maisons Bocuse; © InterContinental Lyon - Hôtel Dieu; ©Thomas Debise du Gardin
