Culinary Events & Offerings

Celebrate & Support Ah Haa This New Year’s Eve!

New Year’s Eve Launchpad Dinner with Chef LT Smith

December 31st at 6:00pm

MEET CHEF LT

James Beard Semifinalist, Emerging Chef ‘25

Food & Wines Best New Chef, Class of ‘24

Esquire & Bon Appétit, Best New Restaurants ‘23

Rising star Chef LT Smith shares his culinary talents with Ah Haa this New Year’s Eve. The Launchpad will be filled with revelry and festive decor, ready for a stunning multi-course dinner highlighting favorites of the chef’s off-the-cuff new wave Mexican plates with curated, paired wines and cocktails. This is a very rare opportunity to experience Chef LT’s cuisine outside of Phoenix and support Ah Haa School for the Arts.

The ’25 James Beard Semifinalist (emerging Chef) and ’24 Food and Wines Best New Chef creates unapologetically authentic experimental Mexican cuisine, highlighting shared cultures on every plate. Chef LT, a former NFL receiver with the Colts, left the team to pursue a career in the culinary arts and has quickly made his mark on the culinary scene. At Chilte, the electric “new-wave” Mexican-inspired hotspot tucked inside Phoenix’s retro Egyptian Motor Hotel, chef Lawrence Smith is rewriting the rules of flavor. His boundary-blurring menu pulls from everywhere — Latin roots, childhood soul food, globe-trotting adventures — and then boldly reimagines it all.