Local chef Silvana Salcido Esparza discusses new memoir

Local, award-winning celebrity chef Silvana Salcido Esparza has written a memoir about her path to becoming a chef titled, “La Hija de la Chingada: Chronicles from a Mexican Chef in the U.S.A.”

In Esparza’s deeply personal memoir, she pulls back the curtain on her journey not only as a chef, but as a Mexican, a woman, a lesbian and an immigrant’s daughter, navigating a culinary industry and a society often hostile to her very existence.

Despite working in her family’s bakery from a young age, Esparza was drawn to the kitchen. She observed how women in her family broke barriers to succeed in a traditionally male-dominated field.

Esparza found joy and creativity in the kitchen and eventually chose to pursue a career in culinary arts.

“I knew it was a man’s world, but with the woman’s hand, it’s so much better,” Esparza said.

Esparza is best known for her groundbreaking restaurant, Barrio Café. Barrio Café became a symbol of her creativity and dedication to reimagining Mexican cuisine. Esparza said, “I take that privilege as the daughter of many ancestors, I mix it together, and I do what I call cocina,” blending tradition with innovation to redefine what Mexican food could be.

In 2024, she closed it and moved to Mexico with her wife. She still spends time in Phoenix, continuing to mentor others and advocate for underrepresented voices in the culinary world.

You can purchase “La Hija de la Chingada: Chronicles from a Mexican Chef in the U.S.A.” by visiting Esparza’s website.