JOHN “
RILEY”
STANCATO
Riley is a professional Chef from Tucson, Arizona with over 12 years of extensive cooking experience specializing in Italian, American & Southwestern cuisines . Riley possesses a unique creative direction for developing new recipes and menus, along with the ability to implement those recipes and combine them with seasonal ingredients.
THE
STANCATO WAY
Legacy. Culture. Tradition.
Riley was steeped in tradition at a young age cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen, and learning from her authentic Sicilian techniques and flavors.
The two pillars of Riley’s culinary foundation are his Sicilian heritage and the Sonoran culture he grew up in.
At the young age of 17 Riley went from the home kitchen with Grandma Stancato into the professional kitchen.
Chef Riley has worked six years (2010-2016) in the kitchens under Tucson’s famed James Beard award winning Chef Janos Wilder, at 4 of his critically acclaimed establishments - Janos, JBAR, Downtown Kitchen, and The Carriage House.
In 2017 Chef Riley Founded Tucson Arizona's only ongoing Pop-Up restaurant concept called Pop-Up Tucson featuring collaborations with chefs statewide and dining events hosted at unique locations such as rooftops, penthouses, ranches, & scenic catalina foothills estates. Pop-Up Tucson was centered around the private dining space and presented multi course fine dining style experiences with wine pairings. Pop-Up Tucson was featured in Tucson Foodie, Arizona Daily Star, Edible Baja Arizona Magazine, & more. Also in 2017, Chef Riley, in collaboration with James Beard award winning Baker, Don Guerra, Co-founded Barrio Sandwiches. Which was a from scratch, pop-up, sandwich shop in the heart of downtown Tucson. Due to the pandemic & the events that followed Pop-Up Tucson was quickly shuttered and Barrio Sandwiches to follow.
During the 2020 pandemic, Riley spent a year in the kitchens of the infamous Tacos Apson perfecting his Sonoran techniques and flavors while simultaneously executing the day to day of a busy southwestern taqueria.
In January 2021, Riley consulted with owners to build the menu and help open Tucson’s newest downtown restaurant called Bluefront. Through 2021 & 2022 Riley worked for Ares Collective as a Research & Development Chef, creating & implimenting recipes for their 3 popular local concepts. Most recently, Riley has been a Chef and Culinary instructor at Miraval Resorts (USA Today top 10 resorts & Spas).
ITALIANO SONORAN
This brand represents a naturally developed cooking style, something Riley proudly refers to as Italiano Sonoran. It is a chef’s take on blending real Sicilian heritage with the culinary experience from growing up in Tucson, Arizona & the Sonoran desert. Italiano Sonoran is not an attempt at fusion cuisine, rather an authentic expression of bonding the natural similarities of two cultures together.
Tucson is named a Global City of Gastronomy by UNESCO, one of the only cities in the United States that was designated as so. Inspired & influenced by Italy, Stancato’s is an ode to Tucson’s rich and abundant food culture.
