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鈥淭his one is going to be a tougher battle than it was last year,鈥� said Foy, chef-owner of the popular midtown restaurant , who faces chef-owner Devon Sanner in Saturday鈥檚 competition at Casino del Sol. 鈥淚鈥檝e known Devon quite a few years. ... I thoroughly respect his culinary chops and I know it鈥檚 going to take an all-out effort to retain the title.鈥�

Sanner isn鈥檛 expecting a cakewalk, either.

He and his sous chefs, Brian Hagan and Dan Heady, have been doing trial runs since he won the Meet The Chefs semifinal round in late May.

Zio Peppe co-owner Mat Cable has been coaching the team several times a week, throwing out different 鈥渟ecret ingredients鈥� to help them perfect their timing and consider various scenarios that could force them to rethink strategies right up to the competition鈥檚 start time.

鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to bring our palates and our diverse backgrounds in cooking,鈥� Sanner said.

Sanner鈥檚 background includes graduating from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and working for 15 years under James Beard Award-winning Tucson chef Janos Wilder before opening Zio Peppe with Cable two years ago.

Hagen worked under Sanner at Wilder鈥檚 Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails, and Heady has worked in a number of Tucson restaurants, including Caf茅 脿 La C鈥橝rt and The Parish.

Foy is also doing trial runs with his team, taking some cues from the items Sanner has requested for the pantry that the chefs will use to create their dishes. The chefs also will have to work with a secret ingredient that must be incorporated into each of the four dishes they will have to make in the one-hour contest timeframe. The chefs will get a heads-up the night before about four potential secret ingredients, but they won鈥檛 know which one it is until the cooking begins.

鈥淥ur camp is working on a matrix of seafood, red meat and vegetable base,鈥� Foy said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of building our flavor profiles hoping that one of those land in there pretty well. This is a flavor competition more than anything else.鈥�

Last year鈥檚 secret ingredient was cherries; it was peaches the year before, so Sanner and Foy are confident they won鈥檛 be dealing with fruit in the 2023 competition.

The chefs also have to incorporate Blue Moon beer in one of their dishes, said Nathan Lanham-Baird, marketing and promotions director for Iron Chef Tucson coordinator Arizona Lotus Corp. Arizona Lotus has seven radio stations in Tucson, including 94.9 MIXfm, 96.1 KLPX and La Caliente 92.1 KCMT.

鈥淲e like to be a part of the community and we are very active in the community, not just in big events like this,鈥� Lanham-Baird said. 鈥淭his event is a real hallmark of that.鈥�

A win on Saturday would make Foy only the third chef in Iron Chef Tucson鈥檚 15-year history to retain his title. Ryan Clark, executive chef of Casino del Sol, won three times and Albert Hall, chef-owner of the long-closed Acacia, won twice.

鈥淲e think if we win successive years, that is a real statement,鈥� said Foy, who said his win last year doubled business at Dante鈥檚 Fire. 鈥淭he cream of the crop has repeated. The ability to win two years in a row and proving to ourselves that we are as good as we think we are is getting to that repeat status.鈥�

This is Sanner鈥檚 first time competing in the Iron Chef Tucson finals after being eliminated in last year鈥檚 qualifying rounds. But Sanner has racked up several Tucson culinary awards, including back-to-back wins in Tucson Originals鈥� Pizza Throwdown in 2022 and this year.

鈥淚鈥檓 absolutely thrilled. It鈥檚 fun to get in the public and show people what we do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 little bit of a different beast when it鈥檚 a surprise and you鈥檝e got elements you can鈥檛 control.鈥�

Saturday鈥檚 15th annual Iron Chef Tucson kicks off with the Culinary Experience from 1 to 4 p.m. The competition is from 5-7 p.m., and all events will be held in Casino del Sol鈥檚 Grand Ballroom, 5655 W. Valencia Road.

No one under 21 will be admitted, and tickets are $35 for the culinary experience or $55 for the culinary experience and competition. VIP packages also are available for $99 through .