Test your Design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Mexican born chef best known for bringing regional Mexican food to the East Coast and is considered one of this generation’s leading restaurateurs?
She was born in the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta and learned cooking from her mother Aida, who is also a cookbook author. She moved to the US in the late ‘70s and began cooking professionally in El Paso, Texas. “From my childhood on, cooking meant sharing and security and a way of speaking to people,” she says. “When I grew up I found that cooking also grew to be a means of celebrating and honoring those who would eat meals I carefully prepared from scratch.”
While taking a cooking class in New Orleans, she captured the attention of Paul Prudhomme, who serves as her mentor. With the encouragement of Prudhomme and New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne, who had been impressed by her vivid Mexican food, she made guest-chef appearances and moved her business to New York in 1983. During the same year, she was asked to design a menu for Queen Elizabeth II, which was to be served at Ronald Reagan’s California ranch.
She quickly made her mark as menu-designer and later executive chef for Cafe Marimba, the city’s first attempt to recreate regional Mexican cuisine with local resources.
In 1987, she opened her own restaurant, Zarela, which New Yorkers have taken to heart since its opening. A favorite meeting spot as well as culinary standard setter, it regularly wins superlative reviews. In her continuing commitment to bring regional Mexican food to New York, she launched an ongoing series of weekly gastronomic festivals featuring foods from different states in Mexico. Her 13-part public television series La Cocina Veracruzana still occasionally airs throughout the country, featuring the Mediterranean and African accented cooking of Veracruz state.
She has also written several books: Veracruz, From My Heart and Food and Life of Oaxaca.
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Text your answer to 0926-3508061 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call Roma Cortes or Apple Caballes at 634-1951, 634-1952.Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
Last week’s question: Who is considered the whiz kid of the German design scene best known for award-winning products like Thomas oven-proof dishes, and the innovative Shuttle storage system?
Answer: Stefan Diez
Winner: Teresita Montalban
