The Cooking Diva Blog: Original Tropical Creations by Chef Melissa De Leon

IACP 2007 Conference in Chicago: Rick Bayless Tour

I love Rick Bayless' food and style. He is such an avid professional of the culinary arts who represents Mexican cuisine and culture to its fullest. We had a blast during the IACP conference in Chicago this past week, we took his "Tortillas, Margaritas and Fine Mexican Art" tour on April 10, 2007.

First we visited El Milagro Tortilla Factory, the house of quality tortilla products in Chicago. It was an eye opening experience. Even in my many years of living in Mexico, I didn't have a chance to experience this kind of production. Too bad they didn't let us take photos, but you know...company policy I guess. From how to process corn to get its skin off and create flavorful "masa," to how to meticulously select the tortillas so they all match in shape and size. The goodness of modern technology applied to such an old art. Fantastic!

Then we visited a Mexican and Latino Culture Museum, where we learnt about the influence our culture has in nowadays life in the US. Fantastic! After that we had a lunch at a local traditionaly-loved Mexican restaurant. The place was packed with Mexican descendant customers, probably second and third generation immigrants. That's a good sign, don't you think?

Then, we experienced the highlight of the day: a Tequila tasting and class, deliciously accompanied by some of Chef Bayless creations.

From Chef Bayless Tequila class:

Contrary to popular belief, tequila is not made from cacti. Tequila is actually made from the Blue Agave plant, which is classified as a succulent. Tequila is exclusively produced in five regions of Mexico, Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas and is well regulated by the Mexican government. Almost all aspects of the production of tequila come under regulatory practices, from fermentation and double distillation of tequila to its aging, bottling and distribution.

by Chef Melissa - CookingDiva · April 22, 2007 · 02:33 PM
Permalink · Comments (8) · TrackBack (0) · Categories: Ethnic Cuisine: from Latin America · Food & Drink · IACP · Tropical Fruit and Vegetables

Tequila is such a great spirit, my fave is 1888, as good as the finest scotch or cognac. I saw blue agave being harvested once with what looked like a real weapon, it was razor sharp and you wouldn't want to miss because it would have taken off your whole foot.

Comment by: neil • Apr 22, 2007 5:57:32 PM

That is so cool. Rick Bayless rocks. I am green with envy!

Comment by: kelly • Apr 22, 2007 6:23:22 PM

Wow, I am also green with envy! Sounds like a fantastic dia! Does Bayless speak Spanish? (well?)

I can not drink tequila.. not after that time in college.. well. you don't need the detail :-) Lets just say I can not drink gin or vodka for the same reason. To me, tequila is a bitter difficult experience going down, just not enjoyable.

I recently got a sample of agave nectar, which I found out has a ridiculously low glycemic index (if you need to make something for a diabetic person, use agave nectar). Will be trying it out soon.

Thanks for sharing this event with us!

Nika

Comment by: nika • Apr 23, 2007 7:58:20 AM

To tell you the truth it was my first tequila tasting, well, you know what I mean. LOL! Learning to appreciate a good tequila for what it is is as fun and interesting as to appreciate a good wine. Forget about the lime wedges and salt. As we learned in the class, those are saved to try with the not-so-good specimens.

Yes, Rick Bayless speaks Spanish very well, and he is very charming too :)

Nika, thank you for the tip on using agave nectar when cooking.
Melissa

Comment by: melissa • Apr 23, 2007 8:08:30 AM

Melissa: sure thing.. Yeah, I find Bayless very charming too (never met him in person) He seems, from afar, to be one of those "bright" people with lots of energy and charisma. I am drawn to that because I am the opposite but wish I were too.

Comment by: nika • Apr 23, 2007 11:55:33 AM

When I first heard of Rick Bayless I was in California, a couple of my personal chef pals were nuts about him. They had taken classes at Ramekins cooking school in Sonoma with him...and we can just imagine how intense cooking classes can get! LOL!

He is down to earth, I like that!

Melissa

Comment by: melissa • Apr 23, 2007 3:34:54 PM

Melissa, tortillas El Milagro are my all time favorite, I'm partial to the white ones. I usually salivate over your culinary pictures on flickr, I'm adding your blog to my bloglines list I don't know why I didn't before. I just saw you were in Chicago a few months back. Looks like you had a blast.

Comment by: irasali • Dec 13, 2007 3:01:33 PM

Gracias Irasali por la visita! It was a great trip...Too bad they didnt let us take photos at the tortillería. Next time I am in the city I´ll let you know with time...Un abrazo!

Comment by: melissa • Dec 13, 2007 3:17:07 PM