A bit about me and why I needed to master the tortilla, both corn and flour.

The deciding marker of a good Mexican cook. If you ask any matriarch in México. Well, it's at least, one of the markers. Recipes included.

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If you are wondering where “Hello From the Other Side” comes from, it’s not from Adele. I do however, love a cheeky sense of humor and I wanted to reference a phrase that I have used my entire life and have heard within borderlands people my entire life. “¿Vamos al otro lado?, ¿Fuistes al otro lado?” (let’s go to the other side, did you go to the other side?), the “other side” referring to the U.S. side of the Mexico border. Going to the “other side” felt like a speed bump as a kid, it wasn’t until I met people who immediately ask how crazy or dangerous it was that I realized how special borderlands people are. Now I want to share that perspective with you all. Let’s go 2024! - Clau

2019 in my restaurant garden (now closed). Talking to my corn and beans, they grew twice as big than the first year. photo credit: my daughter

Maíz and my Jalisco roots-

Sometimes the path we walk now began with bricks being laid more than 100 years ago. My paternal abuelo, was an orphan and passed away when my dad was 9. I would later learn that to help save money for his dreams of entrepreneurship, he headed north to help build the railroads in Texas. What was his dream business? corn, or rather, maíz. His savings were enough to start a small molino in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit. From there, many followed and expanded to Tepic and surrounding pueblos. These were seeds planted well before me.

After my paternal grandmother widowed, she sold all my grandfathers molinos (corn mills) and moved the family to Guadalajara in the 50’s. Even though the Zepeda-Camacho family started in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit, we were decidedly, Tapatio’s (not just a hot sauce, a nickname for people from Jalisco, which I am 100% Tapatia on my mom’s side). Some of my favorite maíz varieties are grown in Nayarit and Jalisco. When my father left Jalisco after university he wanted to immigrate to Los Angeles in the 60’s and make a name for himself. He ate his way through flavors and experiences that he would later share with me.

What does this all have to do with Tortillas? you ask, let’s keep going-