Chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres are transporting the best of Michelin-starred Mixtli to New York City Thursday night for an elegant dinner hosted by the James Beard Foundation.
Touted as “A Tasting of Contemporary Mexican Dishes by James Beard-Nominated Mixtli,” Galicia and Torres will serve three-plated appetizers, followed by a four-course meal for 60 guests at Pier 57 on the Hudson River.
The exclusive event unfolds one week after Mixtli was named a James Beard finalist for the “Outstanding Hospitality” category.
“It’s super exciting,” Galicia said. “And even more so, because we’re in the James Beard national category and New York has this awesome energy.”
The evening presents both an opportunity and a test. Galicia and Torres will be cooking in a renowned kitchen for a larger-than-usual guest list. Forty patrons represents a full house at Mixtli. Without a support staff, Galicia and Torres will be preparing a menu for an additional 20 diners.
“Traveling so far with this very delicate food is challenging,” Torres said. “And executing it with limited hands is also challenging. But we’ve been doing this for a while, whether at a festival in Austin or a dinner in New York or the time we did a master class in Africa. It’s all about the preparation.”
Galicia and Torres cooked for the James Beard Foundation on two previous occasions when the foundation was located in Greenwich village.
“We’re super pumped to go back,” said Galicia, who, with Torres, was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Southwest in 2018.
From Mixtli’s kitchen, Galicia and Torres will be serving assorted hors d’oeuvres: foie gras with pickled cherries, salsa macha and brioche; oyster with strawberry mignonette and saline foam; and salmon tartar with lavash chipotle aïoli. The appetizers will be paired with Philippe Foreau Vouvray Brut Cuvee 2019, a high-end sparkling wine.
Dinner includes pickled carrot with crab aguachili, root vegetables with acorn mole and quail with sauce Américaine and potato, all paired with the wine, Donnachadh Estate Gamay. Dessert is baba au rhum with clotted cream and peaches.
“What I’m most looking forward to is connecting with people from New York City,” Galicia said. “People ask questions. It’s cool to talk to them and have them eat our food. New York has a special energy. Chaos. Hustle and bustle. We can’t wait to get there.”
When Galicia and Torres return, they’ll begin preparations for another big event. On May 19, the Mixtli chefs will host a curated tasting menu to benefit the Jacques Pépin Foundation. The foundation is launching a nationwide campaign to honor the career of Pépin, a legendary chef, cookbook author and culinary educator, who will turn 90 in December.
“He is someone I admired when I was little when I did not realize I was going to spend the rest of my life in the kitchen,” Torres said. “I used to watch him on PBS. We have a very special dinner in the works. It will be on a Monday night when we are usually closed.”
Torres is staying busy. On April 29, he will return to his native El Paso with Mixtli chef de cuisine Alex Cabrera to cook lunch for a Texas Cultural Trust event. The trust manages Texas Women for the Arts (TWA), a program that awards more than $200,000 to arts organizations across the state each year.
Torres and Cabrera will be serving at TWA’s annual meeting.
“We’ll be cooking for about 70 members,” Torres said. “We’ll be telling stories about the restaurant and the menu to bring more attention to their own mission.”
