Adán Medrano
Selected Media, Bio
“Yes, there is difference between ‘Texas Mexican’ food and Tex-Mex”
“New documentary ‘Truly Texas Mexican’ traces the Indigenous food heritage of the borderlands”
“Houstonian Adán Medrano Doesn’t Want Your Greasy Tex-Mex”
“Ayala: San Antonio-born author/filmmaker traces indigenous roots to Texas Mexican cuisine in new film”
“Adán Medrano Rediscovers Texas’ First Food in
Truly Texas Mexican”
“Why Meatballs are ‘Texas Mexican’”
“Chef Adán Medrano Redefines Texas Mexican Cooking”
“The Forgotten Chefs Who Made Carne con Chile a Texas Mexican Standard”
“Adán Medrano ’10 —Celebrating the Indigenous Cuisine of Texas and the Americas”
Review of Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage In Recipes
“A Philosophy of Food and Culture: Adán Medrano’s ‘Truly Texas Mexican'”
“Texas Mexican food defined in tasty Adán Medrano documentary”
“Mouthwatering ‘Truly Texas Mexican’ Documentary Debuts Today”
‘Where The Magic Happens’: Following A Tasty Taco Trail In South Texas”
‘How Tex-Mex reduced Texas Mexican culture to tortillas and frijoles”
“Truly Texas Mexican Showcases the Food of the Texas Borderland”
Bio of Adán Medrano
Adán Medrano is a food author and chef, specializing in the indigenous foods of Texas and the Americas. His book, Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage In Recipes, published by Texas Tech University Press, received the “Finalist, Book Of The Year” award from Foreword Reviews. In his most recent history and cookbook, Don’t Count The Tortillas–The Art Of Texas Mexican Cooking, Medrano focuses on the aesthetic aspects of cooking that universally impact identity and community, with over 100 recipes that illustrate today’s cooking in Texas kitchens.
He spent 23 years working throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia, and during his travels came to recognize the cultural importance of food. He returned to the US in 2010 to focus his attention on the culinary traditions of the Mexican American, Native American communities of Texas and the indigenous cooking of the Americas. He is currently President of “The Texas Indigenous Food Project.”
His professional work in restaurant kitchens includes fine dining at “Restaurant Ten Bogaerde” in Belgium, and volunteering as the Chef of Houston’s Casa Juan Diego, a shelter for homeless families.
Medrano is also an award-winning filmmaker and holds a Master of Arts degree in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1976 he founded the San Antonio CineFestival, the first and now longest-running Latinx film festival in the USA. His most recent work is the documentary feature film, Truly Texas Mexican which won “Best Documentary” at the New York Idependent Cinema Awards.
He has lectured about food & culture at academic institutions, including the Harvard University Co-op, Northeastern University and last year was invited to Moscow by the US Ambassador to Russia, as the featured Chef for the July 4th US official celebration. He has showcased his recipes at the Museum Of Fine Arts, Houston; at the California, New York and Texas campuses of the Culinary Institute of America, as well as at The Briscoe Western Art Museum, the American Book Center in Amsterdam, and the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival in Great Britain.
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