The 2026 Devour Summer Chefs Series brings together local dining heavyweights Lori Hashimoto, Justin Beckett, Bernie Kantak, Stephen Jones and Gio Osso for a five-part run of collaborative dinners around Phoenix. Little Miss BBQ’s Scott Holmes joins the lineup as a guest chef. Together, they’ll create monthly dinners built around big flavors, creative freedom and plenty of local restaurant love.
Running through September, the series features monthly, four-course pairing dinners hosted at five different restaurants. Each one gives diners a rare chance to see some of Arizona’s most respected chefs cook together outside their usual lanes, using seasonal ingredients, unexpected pairings, and menus that may shift right up until dinner service.
There is a larger purpose behind the plates, too. Devour, an initiative of Local First Arizona, created the series to help spotlight and support independent restaurants during the summer months.
“Summer is the most challenging season for independent restaurants in Arizona,” said Kimber Lanning, founder and CEO of Local First Arizona. “The Devour Summer Chef Series is our way of celebrating the chefs, teams and industry that pour their hearts into this work all year long. It’s a chance to support local in the most delicious way possible.”
The fun of the series is that there really are no hard rules. Chefs get to cook with friends, pull in ingredients they may not normally use and build menus that can change even days before the dinner. Each event also includes cocktail or wine pairings that show off the host restaurant’s bar program.
May 26: Lori Hashimoto and Justin Beckett at Beckett’s Table
The series opens at Beckett’s Table, where Justin Beckett teams up with Lori Hashimoto of Hana Japanese Eatery. Beckett’s Table has long been known for warm, ingredient-driven cooking, while Hana Japanese Eatery is a longtime Valley favorite for thoughtful Japanese fare.
For the first dinner, Beckett said the goal is to keep the menu fresh, local and collaborative. One planned course features seafood with gazpacho and avocado, a refreshing fit for the season, and the evening will begin with fresh-baked bread and artisanal butter. A very strong start.
Beckett’s Table: 3717 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, beckettstable.com
June 23: Justin Beckett, Bernie Kantak, and Scott Holmes at The Gladly
The June dinner at The Gladly brings Beckett together with Bernie Kantak and Scott Holmes of Little Miss BBQ joining as guest chef. The theme is a summer road trip, giving the chefs plenty of room to pull from different regions, flavors, and personal favorites.
Kantak said early menu ideas include Iberico pork spiedini with smoked provolone and Calabrian chile honey, avocado mousse with caviar, crab and preserved lemon, burnt ends tacos, and a reimagined wing dish featuring roast duck, celery root, and Point Reyes blue cheese.
Other ingredients in play may include bluefin tuna, prime beef brisket, hanger steak, rhubarb, strawberries, pecans, Washington state cherries, haupia, and possibly foie gras. With Holmes bringing barbecue and Southern influence, Beckett exploring West Coast flavors, and Kantak highlighting New York state staples, the dinner leans fully into the driving-across-the-country theme.
The Gladly: 2201 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, thegladly.com
July 28: Gio Osso and Lori Hashimoto at Hana Japanese Eatery
In July, the series moves on to Hana Japanese Eatery, where Gio Osso of Virtù Honest Craft joins Hashimoto for one of the most interesting pairings in the lineup.
Osso’s intimate, Mediterranean-influenced style and Hashimoto’s fresh Japanese approach come from different culinary worlds, but both chefs know how to let ingredients lead. Since the menus are still taking shape, diners should expect the unexpected in the form of seasonal ingredients, thoughtful pairings, and a dinner built around two chefs meeting somewhere between tradition, instinct, and creative risk.
Hana Japanese Eatery: 5524 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix, hanajapaneseeatery.com
Aug. 25: Bernie Kantak and Stephen Jones at Camello
For August, Kantak teams up with Stephen Jones at Camello for a dinner that sounds ready to lean all the way into South Beach energy. Jones, the chef behind The Larder + The Delta, said he is bringing Cuban food into the mix this year and not quietly. The dinner is expected to play with rum, frozen drinks, Cuban and Afro-Caribbean flavors, and possibly live music.
Camello: 2525 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
Sept. 22: Stephen Jones and Gio Osso at Virtù Honest Craft
The series closes at Virtù Honest Craft, where Jones and Osso come together for the September finale. It is a fitting ending for a series built on contrast and collaboration. After all, Osso’s Scottsdale restaurant is known for intimate, polished dining, while Jones brings a soulful and personal cooking style to the table.
Jones said diners can expect “more interaction” and “bolder flavors” from this year’s series, with the chefs looking to give guests even more than they did last year. For the final dinner, that likely means a menu that feels refined, playful and fully chef-driven.
Virtù Honest Craft: 3701 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, virtuscottsdale.com
Tickets and Details
The 2026 Devour Summer Chefs Series takes place on the fourth Tuesday of each month from May through September at 6 p.m. Each dinner features a four-course pairing menu, limited seating, and a different chef collaboration.
Individual dinner tickets are $250 per person. A limited number of five-dinner packages are listed at $1,125. For tickets and more information, visit devourgoodfood.com.
In a city where summer dining can be a challenge, this series turns the slow season into something worth showing up for.
