Eat Tucson

Janos and J Bar

Janos Wilder, chef and owner of Janos and J Bar at The Westin La Palomo Resort and Spa, is responsible for the growth of the sustainable food movement in Tucson. That's according to Maynards chef Addam Buzzalini, but other locals agree.

Wilder is vice chairman of the board for conservation nonprofit Native Seeds/SEARCH, and he has upheld the group's mission of promoting the use of "ancient crops and their wild relatives by gathering, safeguarding and distributing their seeds to farming and gardening communities," he says. A recent salad featured scarlet runner beans from Native Seeds, as well as fresh cholla buds and nopalitos (prepared pads of prickly pear cactus).