Sandra Gutierrez: The Julia Child of Latin American Cuisine

Kitchen Chat

"Latin American Cuisine is like a house. I see Mexico as the front door with all the dishes we are most familiar with. But once you open and walk through that door, you can see twenty other kitchens full of food, vibrancy and amazing ingredients." Sandra Gutierrez.

Sandra Gutierrez and I met in the White House Garden in 2015 during an International Association of Culinary Professionals conference. We have become dear friends throughout the years on our respective culinary journeys. Sandra has written four cookbooks and is an award-winning journalist. In 2019, her work was recognized as part of the permanent FOOD exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. On September 15, 2021, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sandra was honored by the Smithsonian Institute as a Woman to Know and one of seven Latinas Who Shaped American Culture.

Sandra Gutierrez is known as The Julia Child of Latin American Cuisine. Just as Julia brought authentic French recipes to the home cooks in America, Sandra has brought authentic recipes from Latin America to the homes cooks in America. Further uniting them in culinary history, Julia and Sandra even share the same publisher, Knopf. Sandra's new book, "Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America" is the book she has had in her heart for thirty years.

During our Kitchen Chat, Sandra provides insights into and recipes reflecting the cultural fusion through food across Latin America. She begins in her grandmother's kitchen in Guatemala and takes us on a delicious journey of shared ingredients that are prepared in ways that reflect the uniqueness of each country throughout Latin America. Sandra explains how the recipe for Lomo Saltado, the national stir-fry of Peru, depicts cultural culinary fusion with ingredients from Inca (potatoes and tomatoes) beef tenderloin (loco) brought by Europeans and soy sauce (sillao) from Asia.

On a side note, I especially enjoyed the Brazilian recipes in Sandra's cookbook. During my graduation school days, I actually lived in Rio de Janiero and enjoyed eating the fejoida and other delicious meals there. As the Brazilians so beautifully say, "Aproveite" which is my life's tagline to Savor the Day. Enjoy this delicious journey with Sandra Gutierrez in her latest book, LATINISIMO and discover the flavors of Latin America.