If you've never attended the Mayor's Ball, mark your calendar. The ball is an annual event in which local nonprofits are selected to showcase their programs to the community for greater awareness and support. This year's event, themed "It's a Big Little World," is a fundraiser to benefit Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico.

Since 1979, BBBS has been helping children ages 5 to 15 reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with carefully matched adult mentors.

"Children are getting better grades and having stronger relationships with adults and peers," says Chief Program Officer Christy Sicke. "And they're staying away from drugs and alcohol while learning to resolve conflict without violence."

Last year, the organization served 654 children in all counties in Northern New Mexico.

Chow down for the kids

Chef/coordinator Carmen Rodriguez, former executive chef at Bishop's Lodge, has secured nine restaurants and organizations — among them Amavi, Rio Chama, Buffalo Thunder, Pranzo, Ristra and the Santa Fe School of Cooking — to come together for the cause. The multi-ethnic dinner's theme is "Little Plates For a Big Cause."

For the reception, Southwest Wine & Spirits will prepare special margaritas, and Rodriguez's catering company, Saffron of Santa Fe, will prepare Cuban and Caribbean-style appetizers.

Orchestrating a big event like this comes naturally to Rodriguez, who served with the U.S. Air Force setting up kitchens all over the world. During his last tour, in Egypt, his job was to teach new recruits how to set up a field kitchen and cook for 3,000 hungry soldiers preparing for Desert Storm.

"It was a dangerous gig — out in the middle of nowhere and training them while under fire, with a sidearm and an M-16 rifle on my back," he said.

During these tours, Rodriguez learned many types of ethnic cooking. "Whenever I'd land in a place — like Germany, Japan, the Philippines — I'd call my old boss and ask him if he knew anyone who knew any chefs in these places," he said. "I'd get a call back to go to such-and-such an address and knock on the back door. I always ended up doing some type of prep work with the chefs, learning the style of cuisine and the true authentic flavors and techniques."

After leaving the service, Rodriguez worked on the West Coast at a number of restaurants before being lured to Santa Fe by Mark Miller to develop a "nuevo Latino" menu for the Cantina at the Coyote Café. A craze that started in Miami and worked its way across to California, the style is a fusion of different Latin American cuisine, including Guatemalan, Cuban, Honduran and Puerto Rican.

Two years ago, Rodriguez took a sabbatical and traveled to Mexico to immerse himself in the regional cuisine of his forefathers, who came from Saltillo, a western town surrounded by ranches in the state of Coahuila in northeast Mexico.

He wanted to do the opposite of the new trends in micro-gastronomy and go back to reflect on the lives his ancestors lived on their ranches.

"Their cuisine was truly sustainable; they grew their own vegetables and butchered their own meat. It was simple, delicious and healthy," he said.

In 2009, Rodriguez was hired by Bishop's Lodge as executive sous chef; soon, he introduced his nuevo ranchero cuisine there. A walk through his menu is like a journey across the Southwest, drawing on the styles of French, Spanish, New Mexican, Mexican and Native American cuisine.

"This is a cuisine that speaks to our roots," he says. "It's an attempt to go back to the true flavors and foods of our fore-fathers."

Rodriguez's most popular nuevo ranchero dish at Bishop's Lodge was the Chimayó red chile and honey lamb with stone-ground posole. Also popular was his bacon-wrapped red-chile diver scallops topped with green-chile hollandaise sauce. "I still do these for special occasions," he said.

IF YOU GO

Event: Mayor's Ball

When: 6 p.m. Oct. 16, with dinner at 7:20 p.m. and live music and dancing to Los Wise Guys at 9 p.m.

Where: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St.

Tickets: $150 per person; $1500 for table of ten.

For more information: Call 983-8630 or visit www.bbbsnorthernnm.org. Sponsorships are still available.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at BBBS, visit www.bbbsnorthernnm.org or call 983-8360.