Not many chefs culminate their careers in that profession after studying Spanish and Latin American culture, before going on to get a doctorate in Anthropological Linguistics or for that matter, studying classical piano for 15 years.
Most people know Rick Bayless from winning Bravo’s Top Chef Master with his authentic Mexican cuisine. It is the book “Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the heart of Mexico” that catapulted Chef Bayless to fame and forever changed the image of Mexican Cuisine in the United States. Noted food critic and author Craig Claiborne described the the book as “the greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable.”
The Awards and Accolades started in 1986 and continue to this date with an Emmy nomination for the PBS series “Mexico One Plate at a Time” in 2012.
When President Barrack Obama and his wife, Michelle, look for a special night out in Chicago, they often head to the award-winning Topolobampo Restaurant founded by Chef Rick Bayless in 1989.
Each year, Chef Bayless closes the Topolabampo and Frontera Grill restaurants for a long 4th of July weekend and takes his employees to Mexico for inspiration. Bayless runs his restaurants alongside his wife Deann and continues to pursue new ventures in Mexican cuisine.
For more information: www.rickbayless.com/about/meetrick.html and www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Bayless
