Talks

Hear What Rick Bayless Said at the James Beard Foundation Food Conference

Photo: courtesy James Beard Foundation

“I had this one very clear realization: that there was no great local cuisine where there was no great local agriculture… it seemed to me at the time that our food distribution systems had grown to the point that relationships between the grower and the retailer or chef no longer really existed in our area.” That’s how Rick Bayless described the food scene as he found it when he started Frontera Grill in the late 80s. In his talk at the James Beard Foundation food conference this week, whose theme is “trust,” Bayless talks about how he helped build trust between farmers and chefs over 25 years in Chicago, establishing relationships, markets, and a culture which prized quality food from trusted purveyors at both ends. It’s about 13 minutes, and well worth a viewing in full.

Hear What Rick Bayless Said at the James Beard Foundation Food Conference