Sacramento has long called itself “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital.” No event exhibits that better each year than the Tower Bridge Dinner. But this year’s dinner menu will remind diners that the region’s agricultural story didn’t begin globally.
It was shaped by generations of immigrants who brought their cultures, traditions and cooking techniques from around the world.
That idea sits at the heart of the 2026 Tower Bridge Dinner menu, unveiled Monday to the press during a preview hosted by Visit Sacramento at the Central Kitchen.
Four chefs created this year’s four-course menu: Kate Sutherland of Waterboy, Giancarlo Zapata of Chicha Peruvian Kitchen, Francisco Rivera of Hawks Public House and Joe Pruner of Bocce. Over the past six months, the chefs met regularly to build a menu that not only showcased the region’s produce, but also honored the people who cultivated the land.
Rivera spoke of the dishes’ influences. “The menu overall was inspired by two things. One is all the farmer immigrants who came and worked the fields and made them what they are today, and the second is the river running through Sacramento,” he said. “We took inspiration from South American, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Mexico, and South America.”
The first course, albacore tuna tataki, takes inspiration from Peru with a Japanese technique. It pairs albacore with quinoa, leche de tigre, cucumber and root vegetable chips.