‘Queen’ of cochinita reunites with Rick Bayless at Chicago food fest

Chef Jorge Pinzón Peraza and Miriam Peraza Rivero bring a taste of Yucatán to a food festival in Chicago. Photo: Facebook/Manjar Blanco

One of Mérida’s most famous proponents of Yucatecan gastronomy took part in a Chicago food festival recently, reuniting her with TV Chef Rick Bayless.

Bayless filmed an entire season of his PBS program, “Mexico: One Plate at a Time,” starting with Miriam Peraza Rivero‘s restaurant, Manjar Blanco.

Rick Bayless takes a selfie with his crew at Manjar Blanco in 2015. Later, they visited Chef David Sterling of Los Dos. Photo: Facebook/Rick Bayless

“In Chicago they showed us how much they value the dishes that are made in the state,” said Peraza Rivero, who together with her son, chef Jorge Pinzón Peraza, represented Mexico at the Chicago Gourmet International Gastronomic Festival 2017.

{ Previous story: Miriam Peraza Rivero leads crews to break cochinita pibil record }

Rick Bayless’ first day of filming a new season of his program includes a meal at Manjar Blanco in Santa Ana, Mérida.

En route to the U.S., Peraza Rivero’s layover in Mexico City coincided with the massive earthquake there. She said she considered abandoning her travels to stay in the capital, but she pushed forward, to share the tastes of the Peninsula with foodies in Chicago.

“I decided to go to Chicago because I had a commitment to gastronomy, with Yucatán and with the country. I left although my heart stayed in Mexico,” Peraza Rivero said.

After taking his TV crew to Manjar Blanco, Chef Rick Bayless welcomes Yucatecan restaurateurs on his home turf of Chicago. Photo: Facebook/Manjar Blanco

After preparing 150 kilos of chicken in escabeche, 150 kilos of relleño negro and 250 kilos of cochinita pibil for almost 48 hours, her hard work paid off when she saw people lining up at her booth, she said.

Rick Bayless, on television, has called Peraza Rivero the “queen” of cochinita. Accordingly, the cochinita pibil and the relleño were reportedly the most requested dishes at Mexico’s table.

A native of Valladolid, Peraza Rivero started Santa Ana’s Manjar Blanco in 2011.

Source: Sipse, La Jornada Maya

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