"Lalo is a true inspiration. His story will surely encourage every ambitious chef, whatever the challenges they may face and wherever they start from. That’s the magic of this story. The food scene thrives because of people like Lalo, and particularly here in Mexico, he is a great pride for us. He has proved the possibilities of doing truly great things in food, literally starting from scratch, in the most delicious ways."
"In The Migrant Chef , five years of meticulous reporting passes into art. Laura Tillman illuminates not only the life of a remarkable chef but the world around him in which we all live."
"Riveting . . . A fascinating and propulsive read . . . Ever ready with context, Tillman weaves in societal, historical and political background to show how migration is always a key factor in the development of food culture."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - John Kessler
"This widely-ranging biography . . . evokes how even as Guzmán aims 'to hint, via an ingredient' or 'a geographic term,' at the history embedded in his menus, he is haunted by the inequities of haute cuisine, and by the circumstances that render locally sourced foods a luxury."
"Rich and evocative . . . a very special [book]."
Food with Mark Bittman - Mark Bittman
"The Migrant Chef tells the history of a culture and cuisine, and also the story of a gifted Mexican cook and his family, enduring and surmounting the toils and injustices of immigration to the North. The book has fascination, drama, and heart. It was a pleasure to read."
"A wonderful, amazingly written biography about this elite chef in Mexico City's world-class food scene. It's filled with so much drama, it needs no embellishment. But the author, Laura Tillman, just injects keen insight, a deft prose. And what I really loved was her fascinating historical context about Mexico, about Mexican food origins, cooking tips. You know, sometimes during the read, my mouth was watering, and my mind was fully satiated. Lalo had a very unconventional path to success—crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, working as a child migrant farm worker, being deported, spending time in prison. He also shared touching insights into his journey from poverty to privilege. And with Mexico City now this must-stop on the global food stage, Lalo's story is all the more engaging. It's timely, and it's tasty."
NPR Weekend Edition - Carrie Kahn
"For her compelling, well-written biography of the chef and restaurateur Eduardo García, known as Lalo, the author spent five years reporting, researching and traveling . . . Threaded through [Lalo's] story and that of his family is in-depth information that broadens the scope of the book: Ms. Tillman discusses the history of Mexican food, farmworker conditions in the United States, Mexican politics and earthquakes, and the inequities and challenges of the restaurant business."
New York Times - Florence Fabricant
"Ultimately, García’s story of persistence, hard work, failure, and success presents a more nuanced portrait of unauthorized Mexican workers seeking a better life. . . . In The Migrant Chef , Tillman makes visible the hidden labor of upscale restaurant workers through the thin swinging kitchen door that separates them from the elite clientele they serve. Whether or not you travel to Mexico City to sample García’s creations, reading his story brings humanity, empathy, and understanding to the issue of the U.S.-Mexico border and the people and ideas traversing it."
The Christian Science Monitor - Kendra Nordin Beato
"Tillman is a meticulous and thorough researcher, as well as a beautiful writer. The result is a nonfiction book that reads like a novel."
WGCU's Gulf Coast Life Book Club - Cary Babour
"There are countless stories of chefs, of apprenticeship, labor and talent, and a rise through the ranks until the years of work bloom into the full flower of an owned restaurant. Then there is Eduardo aka Lalo García's story, a singular epic worthy of cinematic telling, with a cruel twist, that also reveals a lot about us and the two countries—Mexico and the US—that shaped García."
KCRW's Good Food - Evan Kleinman
"Once a child farmworker, Eduardo ‘Lalo’ García Guzmán rejects tidy narratives about immigration and the respectability Americans quietly demand of migrants. . . . García’s narrative is unconventional, as it documents his remarkable trajectory from child migrant worker to superstar chef. But it’s a rare extended look at how migrant workers form the backbone of American food systems. . . . Reporting rarely covers migrants’ lives post-deportation or highlights stories in which deportees not only find their footing in their home countries but perhaps even thrive."
"Laura Tillman is known for precise features and reporting, rich in context and with color that transports any reader to the scene of the events. The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo García , is a meticulous work that shows the true reality of Mexican fine dining and the life story of a complex man who redefined Mexican gastronomy after numerous setbacks."
Vogue México - Ramón Barreto
"The late Anthony Bourdain once said that in his 30 years of cooking professionally, in every restaurant he stepped in it was always a Mexican cook who taught him the ropes. But their stories are rarely told. In 2016, Laura Tillman phoned Maximo Bistrot, the renowned Mexico City restaurant, to interview Chef Lalo Garcia hoping to write a story about the cooks and dishwashers struggling in a city rife with inequality. What resulted was five years immersed in Garcia’s world as he brought to life a story familiar to many who immigrated to the United States in search of opportunity."
Good Times Magazine - Josue Monroy
"What makes the internationally renowned Mexican chef known as “Lalo” so extraordinary is inseparable from what makes him so ordinary. His hardscrabble childhood in the Mexican countryside, the traumas and challenges of immigration, the unbreakable work ethic and personal values rooted in faith and family, a brave and resilient character, brought his very individual genius to full flower. Laura Tillman, an exceptionally observant and gifted writer, tells both stories, the extraordinary and the ordinary, with amazing vividness, drama, empathy, and understanding."
"Laura Tillman's compelling chronicle of chef Lalo García's rise—and fall, and rise again—is a necessary respite from the well-worn path of celebrity-chef-as-hero. Best of all, layered between the stories of his struggles and successes, it offers a subtle indictment of the American dream. Highly recommended."
"Few personalities have had more impact on Mexico City's emergence as a foodie destination this century than Eduardo "Lalo" García. . . . The Migrant Chef provides a more hopeful tale of redemption through work and determined grit. . . . Tillman expertly weaves together Lalo's story and the past 40 years of U.S.-Mexico economic history."
The Houston Chronicle - Dudley Althaus
Cindy Kay has a pleasing voice and a keen sense of drama. A stylish narrator, she mimics languages well. All her skills are well displayed in this biography of Mexican chef Eduardo "Lalo" García, who heads one of the hemisphere's best restaurants, Maximo Bistrot, in Mexico City. The audiobook traces the twisty road of the celebrity chef from the time he came to the U.S. as a farm worker to his imprisonment and then deportation to his native Mexico. Along the way, Lalo, who had extraordinary natural talent, learned from some great chefs, Eric Repert of Le Bernardin fame among them. Today García runs Lalo!, Havre 77, and his flagship, Maximo, and is celebrated as an innovator and a supporter of farm-to-table cuisine, as well as traditional agriculture methods. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Cindy Kay has a pleasing voice and a keen sense of drama. A stylish narrator, she mimics languages well. All her skills are well displayed in this biography of Mexican chef Eduardo "Lalo" García, who heads one of the hemisphere's best restaurants, Maximo Bistrot, in Mexico City. The audiobook traces the twisty road of the celebrity chef from the time he came to the U.S. as a farm worker to his imprisonment and then deportation to his native Mexico. Along the way, Lalo, who had extraordinary natural talent, learned from some great chefs, Eric Repert of Le Bernardin fame among them. Today García runs Lalo!, Havre 77, and his flagship, Maximo, and is celebrated as an innovator and a supporter of farm-to-table cuisine, as well as traditional agriculture methods. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2023-03-08
Tillman, the Mexico City–based author of The Long Shadows of Small Ghosts , brings five years of reporting to the story of one of Mexico’s foremost chefs. Born in the tiny village of San José de las Pilas, in Guanajuato, Eduardo “Lalo” García Guzmán (b. 1977) followed his family across the border to the U.S., where he began to travel agricultural routes between Florida and Michigan starting at age 10. Through distressing experiences of family separation and pesticide-ridden labor, which convinced him that “the health of the oranges was more important than his own,” Lalo found a calling in kitchens where his grit and focus caught the attention and mentorship of chefs. His early success was hampered by a robbery conviction. Though he fled at first, he returned to turn himself in and face deportation. Lalo again crossed the border to care for his father during cancer treatment. He won critical acclaim as the head chef of Atlanta’s Van Gogh’s but then was deported again. Tillman ably contextualizes the Mexico City to which Lalo returned, a city on the cusp of change with chefs like Enrique Olevera of Pujol exploring local ingredients and Mexico’s agricultural legacy. The author frames Lalo’s reentrance into the food scene and elevation as a star with an examination of what makes a pioneer. Referencing the work of anthropologist Alyshia Gálvez, she points out that chefs are often natural fits, crossing divisions of wealth and status among purveyors, the kitchen, and the dining room. Many are increasingly “asked to explain the connections between a country’s food, people, history, and environment.” In Tillman’s pages, Lalo’s voice rises above the fray with his drive to see Mexico recognized for its abundant culinary wonders.
A harrowing and inspiring portrait of an important contemporary chef.
