Restaurants, bars, and grocery stores around East Sacramento are offering discounts to visitors as part of the “Savor East Sac” campaign that runs until Aug. 2.
The 10-day program, which began July 24, is a project of the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce. According to the Chamber’s website, “the event encourages residents and visitors to explore new spots, support neighborhood favorites, and take advantage of exclusive specials.”
There are 33 businesses participating, and the deals range from drink discounts and dinner specials to free swag.
To kick off the start of Savor East Sac, the Chamber of Commerce hosted their second annual Chef’s Challenge competition Friday at the Cannery Place on Alhambra Boulevard.
Thai chef Wong Jankhuen, center, prepares his entry of pesto chicken and basil pesto rice with grilled chicken and a sweet pepper-peach red curry sauce with assistance from Dorien Rodriguez, left, and Stephanie Tran during the Savor East Sac Chef’s Challenge on Friday, July 24, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
At the competitions, chefs from restaurants within and around East Sacramento compete for the title of the area’s top chef. Last year, the winner was Rafi Salmeron, the head chef of Cervecería by Urban Roots.
This year, six chefs participated in the competition, along with Salmeron. They included Mike Fagnoni, the chef and owner of Hawks Provisions & Public House, Wongworaman Jankheun, the executive chef of THAI – The House of Authentic Ingredients, John Nunn of Zelda’s Original Gourmet Pizza, and competing as a duo, Rafa Jimenez Rivera and Sal Gutierrez of Chów by SacYard.
East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce president Heather Pearce told the Sacramento Bee that Chamber of Commerce members don’t actually have to be located in East Sacramento, citing Zelda’s as an example. “You just have to want to help support the community,” she said.
Cervecería chef Rafi Salmeron plates his mesquite-grilled skirt steak with house-made chimichurri, charred peaches, heirloom tomatoes, roasted baby squash, local goat cheese, balsamic reduction and fresh basil oil during the Savor East Sac Chef’s Challenge on Friday, July 24, 2026 JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
In the weeks leading up to the competition, the chefs chose at least three ingredients from a list of local and seasonal products to incorporate into their dishes.
The meals included peppercorn-crusted pork loin with fresh polenta, grilled vegetables, and peaches, sweet corn agnolotti with zucchini-basil purée, pesto rice with grilled chicken, a pepper-peach red curry sauce, and edible flowers, grilled skirt steak with chimichurri, and sumac-crusted pork served with seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Peaches, peppers, and pork featured large in several of the dishes. That could only be expected from a blind tasting like this, where chefs themselves didn’t know what the others would cook, said Cervecería by Urban Roots general manager Dan Fraticelli. “Last year, everybody did fish.”
Sumac-crusted pork with whipped California burrata, charred sweet corn succotash, roasted stone fruit, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, stone fruit gastrique, basil oil, pickled sweet peppers, and toasted almonds is served during the Savor East Sac challenge on Friday, July 24, 2026. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
During the event, the chefs finished preparing each of the five courses in a room separate from the crowd, sending out plates anonymously. With paper ballots and stubby pencils, the diners then voted for their favorites.
During the meal, Pearce told the crowd the purpose of the 10-day Savor East Sac event. “This time of year tends to be slower for the food and drink industry,” she said. “So we want to help out our participants.”
Chef Fagnoni of Hawks Provisions and Public House took home the Top Chef title. His dish was the sweet corn agnolotti, a corn-filled pasta that he described as “a ravioli with a scoop on the front.”
“We love working with pasta,” Fagnoni told the crowd after his win. The combo of fresh corn, local vegetables, and herbs “just all made sense seasonally.”
Hawks Public House chef Mike Fagnoni, right, and Francisco Rivera prepare sweet corn agnolotti with zucchini-basil purée, blistered cherry tomatoes and seasonal herbs during the Savor East Sac Chef’s Challenge on Friday, July 24, 2026, in Sacramento. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com 
Madisen Pearce samples a peppercorn-crusted pork loin served over fresh polenta with sweet corn, roasted sweet peppers and grilled peaches during the Savor East Sac Chef’s Challenge on Friday, July 24, 2026 JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
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Anne Ewbank is a service journalist and food reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Previously, she worked as a writer and editor for the New York-based travel website Atlas Obscura, where she covered food and culture. A California native, she is a graduate of Occidental College and Yale University.