Street Food of Mexico with Chef Hugo Ortega

Please join us as we welcome Chef Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s and Backstreet Cafe to the Sur La Table Kitchens. In this special demonstration-style class, Chef Hugo will share several of his favorite recipes from his new book Hugo Ortega’s Street Food of Mexico.

Hugo Ortega was born in Mexico City and his love of cooking goes back to childhood: cooking with his mother and his grandmother, and helping his aunt who was the village baker. At age 17, Ortega left Mexico for Houston and began work as a dishwasher and busboy to learn the fundamentals of the restaurant business. A friend took Ortega to Backstreet Cafe, where he found employment as a dishwasher/busboy, and it was there that the great opportunity of his life came. Tracy Vaught, owner of Backstreet Cafe and Prego, was impressed with Ortega’s positive attitude and willingness to learn and offered him a position on the kitchen line. He worked diligently and was soon promoted to the kitchen at Prego, where he worked side-by-side with the chef. Vaught offered to enroll Ortega in the Culinary Arts Program at Houston Community College, from which he graduated in 1992. He eventually became chef of Backstreet Cafe, and executive chef in 1995. Vaught and Ortega opened Hugo’s restaurant in 2002, serving authentic regional Mexican cuisine to celebrate the food of his homeland.

National accolades for Hugo’s include being named "Top Table” by Bon Appetit, "Where to Eat Now in 30 American Cities" and "Restaurants We Love" by Gourmet, and consecutive awards of excellence by The Wine Spectator,. In 2011, Ortega was named “Chef of the Year” at the prestigious Houston Culinary Awards. His brother, Ruben Ortega, featured in the book, is the executive pastry chef at Hugo’s and Backstreet Cafe and creates the restaurants’ notable desserts. Hugo was a finalist for Best Chef: Southwest in the 2012 James Beard Awards. To learn more about Chef Hugo, please visit his website: www.chefhugoortega.com.