A Taco Competition Supporting Women’s Rights: My Taco, My Choice

This coming Taco Tuesday, March 7th, there will be a chef taco competition featuring up to 12 women chefs from the Bay Area at Merkado in SOMA. The event is called “My Taco, My Choice” and it will benefit The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.

Competing chefs will create a taco that showcases their culinary style from many different cultures. They will be score points by judges based on overall execution, appearance, and originality.

Chicken tacos – photo by Molly DeCoudreaux

There’s a stacked list of amazing chef’s competing during “My Taco, My Choice”.

Chefs competing:

• • PanPan Thiravechyan, Chef-owner, Basil the Bold
  • Monique Lopez Feybesse, Chef and Owner, Tarts de Feybesse
  • Allison Gill, Pastry Chef, Perbacco
  • Julie Haynes, Block Party Productions
  • Jenna Medina, Creator and Chef, On Your Table SF
  • Cecilia Contreras, who runs a Bay Area tamale business
    and more!

There are two potential awards for the evening.
Each guest will get to vote on their own favorite. They are calling this the “People’s Choice Award”. The “People’s Choice Award” winner will be featured on the Markado Taco Tuesday menu for the remainder of March. The panel of judges will name their favorite, the overall winner, which will become the Chef’s Taco highlighted on Merkado’s Taco Tuesday menu for April.

Fish tacos – photo by Molly DeCoudreaux

Who is judging the tacos at “My Taco, My Choice”?

The judging panel comprises Jessica Kapoor, Chief of Staff at Saison Hospitality and owner-founder of Copas; Marcia Gagliardi, founder-writer of TableHopper; and representatives of event beneficiaries: Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, and Elizabeth Coffey, Senior Philanthropy Officer, West Coast, Center for Reproductive Justice.

Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux

Want to come join the fun?

There are still tickets available for the event. There is room for only 200 attendees. For $45 you get to try every taco from each participating chef as well as a margarita cocktail (alcoholic or n/a) and your own vote for the best taco of the night.

The competition will be held at Merkado in SOMA. It’s a Mexican comfort good eatery with a buzzy, spacious indoor-outdoor restaurant which has delicious dishes prepared with fresh ingredients sourced daily.

“We are so grateful to the Merkado SF familia for hosting this important event, at such a pivotal time in our collective fight for abortion access and liberation. At the Latina Institute, we seek reproductive justice. We believe that everyone should have access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, and that no one should be denied care because of their income, age, race, disability, im/migration status, or what state they call home, says Lupe M. Rodríguez, Executive Director, Latina Institute.

More about the organizations benefiting from this event:

About National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice:
The Latina Institute fights for equal access to reproductive health for Latina/x communities. For too long, complex systems of oppression have robbed Latina/xs of the resources we need to make informed decisions about our bodies. The Latina Institute is transforming lives by building an activist base, shaping policies, and shifting culture to fuel a larger reproductive justice movement.
IG: @latinainstitute

About Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who seek to protect reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world. Since its founding in 1992, the Center’s game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work across five continents has transformed how reproductive rights are understood by courts, governments, and human rights bodies. The Center has offices in New York, Washington, Bogota, Nairobi, and Geneva.

Al Pastor tacos – photo by Molly DeCoudreaux