Chef and Restaurateur
Rick Bayless
Speaking Fee: Varies.
Travels From: Available Upon Request
Rick Bayless At A Glance:
Most people know Rick Bayless from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, beating out the French and Italian with his authentic Mexican cuisine. His highly rated Public Television Series, Mexico–One Plate at a Time, is in its ninth season and is broadcast coast to coast.
Most people know Rick Bayless from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, beating out the French and Italian with his authentic Mexican cuisine. His highly rated Public Television Series, Mexico—One Plate at a Time, is in its ninth season and is broadcast coast to coast. In 2012, Rick was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Best Culinary Host.
Rick has eight cookbooks. His second book, Mexican Kitchen, won the Julia Child IACP cookbook of the year award in 1996, and his fourth book, Mexico—One Plate at a Time won James Beard Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001. Fiesta at Rick’s spent a number of weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
Rick’s side by side award-winning restaurants are in Chicago. The casual Frontera Grill was founded in 1987 and received the James Beard Foundation’s highest award, Outstanding Restaurant, in 2007. The 4-star Toplobampo served its first meals in 1991. And the wildly popular, LEED GOLD-certified, fast-casual Xoco has been around since 2009, serving wood-oven tortas, steaming caldos, golden churros and bean-to-cup Mexican hot chocolate. Rick’s quick-service Tortas Frontera have changed the face of food service at O’Hare International Airport, while Frontera Fresco has brought Frontera flavors to several Macy’s stores and Northwestern University. His award-winning Frontera line of salsas, cooking sauces and organic chips can be found coast to coast.
Rick and his staff established the Frontera Farmer Foundation in 2003 to support small Midwestern farms. Each year, grants are awarded to farmers for capital improvements to their family farms, encouraging greater production and profitability. To date, the Foundation has awarded 128 grants totaling over $1.3 million. In 2007, Bayless and his team launched the Frontera Scholarship, a full tuition scholarship that sends a Mexican-American Chicago Public School student to Kendall College to study culinary arts. In 2007 Rick was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for his many philanthropic endeavors.
Rick has received a great number of James Beard Award nominations in many categories, and he has won six: Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Who’s Who of American Food and Drink, plus two for his cookbooks.
The Government of Mexico has bestowed on Rick the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle—the highest decoration bestowed on foreigners whose work has benefitted Mexico and its people.
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RICK BAYLESS: A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES
Great cooking transcends just the physical act and calls on each of the senses to work in order to create a truly amazing meal. Through audience participation and his thrilling storytelling, Chef Rick Bayless leads participants through an evening of culinary adventure. Each audience member will be given a 'mystery' bag as Chef Bayless guides guests through each item. Chef Bayless inspires participants to utilize the very senses he relies on to deliver his unforgettable meals. The event concludes with a Q&A as well as a book signing. -
INSIDE THE KITCHEN: AN EVENING WITH RICK BAYLESS
Chef Rick Bayless, founder of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning restaurant Frontera Grill, blends together his talent for storytelling and his passion for cooking in this thrilling event. Audience members will get a rare glimpse into Chef Bayless' 'kitchen' as he prepare different dishes onstage and weaves together his experiences and successes in the culinary world with the spectacular tastes that made him famous. In addition to the cooking demo and storytelling, Chef Bayless will also participate in an audience Q&A, book signing, and photo opportunity. -
AN EVENING WITH RICK BAYLESS
Chef Rick Bayless takes audiences on a path through his award-winning culinary career. Chef Bayless' delicious cuisine is rivaled only by his riveting, often humorous, storytelling. In this performance, Chef Bayless can customize his keynote to include an array of topics, such as:
-Sustainability. Chef Bayless' XOCO is a LEED certified restaurant
-Writing. Chef Bayless is the author of several bestselling cookbooks, including the upcoming Mexican Essentials
-Mexican Food and History. Chef Bayless is one of the masters of Mexican food and his passion for the history of the food will inspire and educate audiences.
-Additional topics: Entrepreneurship, following your passion, inspiration/motivation, gardening, hospitality industry, running restaurants/management, and many others!
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