SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, 12th November 2024 — This Tuesday, renowned chef and food author, Adán Medrano, will take the stage at the International Annual Meeting of Crop and Soil Scientists at the San Antonio Convention Center. Medrano will address a special session of scientists and researchers and speak on the Native American roots of Texas Mexican food. The title of the special session is “The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking.” In addition, he will serve a dinner based on recipes from his cookbooks, merging food science with art. The dinner highlights the unique flavors of indigenous ingredients like mesquite, bison, and cactus.
As a leading expert in Texas Mexican cuisine, Chef Adán Medrano has dedicated his career to preserving and promoting the traditional foodways of indigenous Texas peoples, the ancestors of today’s native Mexican American families. With a background in both food science and culinary arts, Medrano will speak on the intersection of food and culture. “We do not eat just to survive. Food preserves memory, narrates our identity and strengthens community,” Medrano said.
His presentation will delve into the history and cultural significance of San Antonio’s unique cuisine, telling the story of the original business women, urban chefs, who in the 1880s made San Antonio famous as a culinary destination. He says that they were called “Chili Queens,” and were leaders in creating the flavors and techniques that the whole world enjoys today.
“Just one thing,” he says, “Do not confuse this indigenous Texas Mexican cooking with Tex-Mex, that’s different.”
Attendees of the International Annual Meeting of Crop and Soil Scientists can look forward to a one-of-a-kind dining experience as Chef Adán Medrano serves a dinner inspired by his cookbooks, “Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage In Recipes” and “Don’t Count The Tortillas: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking.” The menu will feature dishes that highlight the taste of mesquite, bison, and cactus, demonstrating how ancient Texas food is influencing and elevating fine dining today. This unique dinner will recall the history of indigenous Texas cooks and also showcase how Indigenous ingredients like corn, beans, squash and chiles form the menu staples of many modern cuisines.
Scientists in the fields of agronomy, crop science and soil science will attend the special session of the annual international meeting. It is programmed as a dining event that merges crop science with the everyday lives of people who enjoy food, particularly the Mexican food that is native and indigenous in the region of Texas and northeastern Mexico.