Twenty years ago, one of Frontera Grill’s first customers walked in, perused the menu, slammed it shut, walked up to Rick Bayless, told him “This isn’t Mexican food. You’re never gonna make it.” Nonetheless, with his mother and his mother-in-law’s retirement money on the line, Bayless adhered to his vision of authentic regional Mexican and the good fight against the Chimichanga began. In a city where a restaurant lasting three years is a feat, Frontera charged through the awkward teenage years, and on March 18th, the restaurant celebrates it’s 20th anniversary. In this month’s podcast, you’ll get a chance to hear about those early days, what Chef Bayless thinks about the Nuevo Latino trend, as well as his thoughts on why Latino chefs don’t always make it out front and center in the restaurant world.

If you have Adobe Flash installed, you can play the file right on this site, below, by pressing the play button. If not, download the file and play it on your PC or on an MP3 player here: Rick Bayless Interview