Celebrity Chef Speaker Rick Bayless has done more than any other culinary chef to introduce Americans to genuine Mexican cuisine and to change the way American’s thought about of Mexican food. A fourth generation of restaurateurs and grocers, Rick Bayless is from an Oklahoma family who knows food (Fun Fact: ESPN TV Personality Skip is his brother). Rick attended University of Michigan and studied Spanish and Latin American Studies as an undergrad, and received his doctoral in Anthropological Linguistics also at the University of Michigan. After graduation, Rick lived in Mexico with his wife and wrote his now-classic American Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico. This work was acclaimed as the “greatest contribution to the Mexican table imaginable” from The New York Times’ celebrated, Craig Claiborne. Rick’s next cookbook, Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine won the National Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award. The New York Times glorified Rick as a writer who makes”true Mexican food user-friendly for Americans,” and Time Magazine called Rick a “cookbook superstar.” Rick also wrote a cookbook with his wife, Deann called Salsas That Cook. In 2001 at the James Beard Awards, Rick’s cookbook Mexico-One Plate at a Time was named Best International Cookbook and is in its fifth season on PBS. Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures and Mexican Everyday were both nominated for a James Beard Award.

Frontera Grill was opened in 1987 which specializes in contemporary Mexican cooking and is still one of the hottest places to eat in Chicago. Rick has been named Best Chef of the Year, won a James Beard Award for Best American Chef: Midwest, National Chef of the Year, Chef of the Year from IACP, Humanitarian of the Year, and finally Cooking Teacher of the Year Award. All of these awards show the impact Rick has had in the cooking community. In 1989, Rick Bayless opened the stylish Topolobampo which is known as one of America’s only fine-dining Mexican restaurants. Frontera Grill and Topolobampo have been acknowledged from such distinctive publications as Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Atlantic Monthly, Condé Nast Traveler, Zagat’s, The Wine Spectator, USA Today, Chicago Magazine and The Chicago Tribune. Topolobampo has been chosen twice by the James Beard Foundation as one of the most exceptional restaurants in our country. Rick is also the creator of Frontera Fresco, the prepared food line of salsas, chips, and grilling products that is opened as a food kiosk in the Macy’s building in Chicago. Rick is the founder of Frontera Farmer Foundation which supports local farmers and a supporter of Share Our Strength, which is the nation’s largest hunger advocacy organization.

Celebrity Chef Speaker Rick Bayless endorses Hispanic Cheeses by Frontera Foods. He can be hired for culinary consultant, event planner and autograph signings.

APPEARANCES: Bravo

BOOKS: Fiesta at Rick’s, Mexican Everyday, Mexico–One Plate at a Time, Salsas That Cook, Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen, Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures 

TO WORK WITH RICK BAYLESS: Celebrity Chef Speaker Rick Bayless can be hired for endorsements and events in roles such as culinary consultant, event planner, public speaker, autograph signings, cooking demonstrations, hosting, Mommy Blogger events, SMT’S, public relation campaigns, team building events and corporate hospitality.