16 SEPTEMBER 2022 16 In the Kitchen with Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Café F or the past 20 years, Chef Silvana has worked tirelessly to educate and share her love of Mexican food and culture with those who visit her restaurant, Barrio Café. She’s made it her mission to learn all she can about her heritage, which is evident in her dishes and in the person she has become. Arcadia News caught up with Chef Silvana to learn more about this cultural warrior. Where are you from? I was born and raised in California. From there, I moved to Florida for eight years, back to California, and moved to Arizona at the ripe old age of 34. When I traveled through Mexico years ago – I was there, floating in the turquoise water, thinking, “aw man, I have to go home.” I had no job and no money. I had an old Karmann Ghia that wouldn’t run in the heat. I thought about New York, eh – I’m 40, not a good idea. Chicago, too cold; California – been there, done that. Arizona was the only place I really thought I’d hit it. I grew up in a Mexican bakery. I come from 800 years of baking and gastronomic excellence. By age 15, I had a business making carnitas and selling them. I sold tacos out of the same bakery. I ran away to go into banking – came back in my 20s, and told my father, “Dad, please teach me!” I worked my way up to a catering company, and we did all kinds of cool stuff. Overnight I realized I didn’t know enough about cooking, so I went to culinary school. Now, I’m here. Did you know you wanted to relocate to Phoenix? Phoenix is my place. I didn’t know it back then, but I came here to be a phoenix. I came here broken to heal, and I’ve maintained that. I’ve risen from the ashes every time I’ve been trampled on or faced a misstep. What was it that you were healing from? My mother passed away at 58. I took care of her for a year – I didn’t really have a chance to mourn, so I was healing throughout culinary school. It made it difficult. I kicked butt in school because I had emotions; I was a beast. When I chose to come out as gay, life got hard. I was discriminated against, and now I’ve got a keen eye for it. In the chef’s world – it’s a man’s world, so it makes it even juicier when you’re the woman who has success. Who was the first person to teach you to cook? My mother and grandmother. The first thing I learned to cook was Chile Rellenos. I had to make the egg batter, and to get those peaks is pretty hard. By age six, I was already working at the bakery. I was in there cleaning corn husks or sweeping. I knew how to handle a broom really well! What was the inspiration for opening Barrio Café? When I came back from Mexico, I thought I would open a fine dining spot. It was 2002, and I couldn’t get a decent chile in this city to save my life! Guajillo peppers were still considered obscure. Most places were using ancho. I had to make bi-monthly trips to Mexico to buy groceries and put together this menu that I opened with. I thought this was my only chance to have a restaurant. I named it “a neighborhood” café because I wanted to serve this neighborhood (Coronado), one of the largest historic neighborhoods in Phoenix. Tell us about the menu. Did you know there are over 36 different oreganos in Mexico? If I’m making an Oaxacan dish, I want Oaxacan oregano; it’s subtle with a larger leaf than those grown in a hotter climate. There are so many misconceptions about Mexican food. America’s view has been erroneous. If you have Mexican food, it’s a Chile Relleno, enchilada, carne asada, chimichanga and yellow cheese. I don’t offer chips and salsa but instead offer bread and tapenade. I’m using the highest quality ingredients. As a chef, you pick your price point – for me, I created the menu and did the math around it. You call yourself a cultural warrior. What does that mean? Not everybody has the privilege of having lunch in Mexico City or tasting different food cultures. So I did that to honor my family’s legacy and my mother’s memory. My purpose is to set an example and educate my clients. When I was in Mexico, I visited different restaurants and spoke to chefs about their recipes that have been passed down for generations. At first, I felt like an imposter, so I explained my background to these chefs, and they shared their recipes – how to eat iguana, pig, armadillo, all these things. Meeting these women fed my creativity and spirit, which is why I call myself a cultural warrior – I protest the yellow cheese. Back then, it was the most available, cheapest cheese – same thing with chiles. Hatch chile, Anaheim, the poblano, but that’s the evolution of Mexican food in the United States. You support several platforms – tell us about one. I’m a gay woman, so I’ve always supported the LBGTQ+ community. I believe that if I’m living my life to the best of my ability and being a productive member of society, I should be allowed to live my life however I choose to, and you should too. I hope I’m an example to others that you can be true to yourself and still have success and happiness. How does it feel to have created a business that’s lasted for decades? Not only successful but a continuing success. I’ve watched others, and I know that things change, things get stale, and there’s always going to be a new girl in town, you know? As far as Mexican food, I’d like to think that I can endure and keep going. The kitchen, the servers – I’ve known them all for years. We’re going to grow old together. The key to our success is not me; it’s the Barrio family. What’s the most popular item on the menu? My guacamole – it’s tableside and served with pomegranate seeds. It’s not mashed. It’s kept integral so you can actually taste the flavor of the avocado accompanied with the other ingredients versus mashed into the ingredients. My chips are the kind you get in Mexico. They’re called totopos – a solid chip where you get the flavor of the tortilla with the whole piece of avocado. What is your favorite thing to cook? Italian food. Or barbecue. I like ribs and brisket. I’ve been studying American barbecue since 2017. I took my RV and went across America to 17 states in the south and deep south to study the different woods and regional foods. I wanted to taste and look at it, the nuances of the area, the traditions. The best spot I found was in Marianna, Arkansas, two hours from Memphis. It’s the oldest known African- American restaurant in the country at 115 years of continued operation. They only serve one thing – pork barbecue by the sandwich. My mouth is watering! Actually it was this place that inspired me to add more smoked things to the menu. What are you doing when you’re not cooking? I’m a co-parent for my five-year-old grand-niece, so you’ll find me planning a skate party or a pool party. Oh, and writing! What is your book going to be about? I wrote a book 20 years ago, and the publisher wanted it to be a standard cookbook. I couldn’t do that to the women that I was going to tell stories about. It was a storybook about the Mexican women who gave me their love – I wanted to honor them. I had permission and their blessing to share their recipes so now I’m writing another one about those women. Who is the biggest inspiration in your life? Collectively, Mexican women who cook. My mother, my grandmother, all the women. Here, there are men line cooks and women cooks. A woman’s place is in the kitchen, right? That means a commercial kitchen, too. What’s next for Chef Silvana? I’m not going to open more restaurants. I have many books I’d like to work on. I’m also working on a brand corporation – I want to do it right, so that’ll be up and running in the next few years. I’m actively working on awareness for the un-housed. I’ve been collecting water bottles to hand out. I can’t do nothing – that doesn’t feel good to me. One of our first regulars, who used to come in every week, told me, “with great success comes great responsibility,” and I’ve used that as my talisman, my karma, my PR. You’ll have to put up with me for a lot longer [ she says with a smile ]. 2814 N. 16th St., Phoenix 2814 N. 16th St., Phoenix • barriocafe.com barriocafe.com

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