Although already sold out with a growing waitlist, two Chicago culinary icons, Chef Jesse Valenciana and Rick Bayless, will be in conversation Sunday, Sept. 21, at 11am at the National Museum of Mexican Art as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and Mexican cuisine, the two chefs will discuss food and memory especially when it comes to Chef Valenciana’s new cookbook Birrias: 65 Recipes from Traditional to Modern.
James Beard and Michelin-awarded Chef Bayless (Top Chef Masters winner, TV host, and restaurateur behind Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and more) brings his Chicago legacy and joy for Mexican food traditions front and center while speaking with Chef Valenciana. Valenciana was born and raised in Chicago but is now popping up all over Nashville with The Secret Bodega. His love of birrias was not love at first taste. It wasn’t until he moved on from his early goat trauma and tasted the beef version that the addiction began. The timely craft of heritage was rekindled during the pandemic and quickly became a staple that he is sharing with enthusiasts in their own homes with his cookbook.
The cookbook begins with what is the base of every recipe, the different versions of birrias. From the Birria Mother Recipe No. 1 to Birria De Pescado and even the storied goat version from his introduction to the book. I made the Mother Birria, which was a mixture of chuck roast and short ribs cooked low and slow with a homemade adobo sauce scented with clove and cinnamon, at once warm and comforting. These recipes take you through to the more traditional recipes in the book like the best known quesabirria tacos to chiles rellenos and tortas. On the more untraditional route, clearly inspired by his pop-ups, Chef Valenciana shares the ultimate birria crunch wrap, Tampa Bay Cubano and even a Chicago tavern style birria pizza.
Books are available to purchase at the festival thanks to Chicago’s Seminary Co-op Bookstores. If you don’t make it off the waitlist, Chicago Humanities has other food-related events coming up including Padma Lakshmi and an evening with Samin Nosrat in November. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit chicagohumanities.org.
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Third Coast Review writers and editors are permitted to accept invitations to restaurant openings, press previews, media reservations and other events or products that expand their understanding of Chicago's vast food world. Their opinions remain their own.
