The Migrant Chef

The Life and Times of Lalo García

By: Laura Tillman

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

A chef’s gripping quest to reconcile his childhood experiences as a migrant farmworker with the rarefied world of fine dining.

Born in rural Mexico, Eduardo “Lalo” García Guzmán and his family left for the United States when he was a child, picking fruits and vegetables on the migrant route from Florida to Michigan. He worked in Atlanta restaurants as a teenager before being convicted of a robbery, incarcerated, and eventually deported. Lalo landed in Mexico City as a new generation of chefs was questioning the hierarchies that had historically privileged European cuisine in elite spaces. At his acclaimed restaurant, Máximo Bistrot, he began to craft food that narrated his memories and hopes.

Mexico City–based journalist Laura Tillman spent five years immersively reporting on Lalo’s story: from Máximo’s kitchen to the onion fields of Vidalia, Georgia, to Dubai’s first high-end Mexican restaurant, to Lalo’s hometown of San José de las Pilas. What emerges is a moving portrait of Lalo’s struggle to find authenticity in an industry built on the very inequalities that drove his family to leave their home, and of the artistic process as Lalo calls on the experiences of his life to create transcendent cuisine. The Migrant Chef offers an unforgettable window into a family’s border-eclipsing dreams, Mexico’s culinary heritage, and the making of a chef.

©2023 Laura Tillman (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"For her compelling, well-written biography of the chef and restaurateur Eduardo García, known as Lalo, the author spent five years reporting, researching and traveling . . . Threaded through [Lalo's] story and that of his family is in-depth information that broadens the scope of the book: Ms. Tillman discusses the history of Mexican food, farmworker conditions in the United States, Mexican politics and earthquakes, and the inequities and challenges of the restaurant business." —Florence Fabricant, New York Times

"Ultimately, García’s story of persistence, hard work, failure, and success presents a more nuanced portrait of unauthorized Mexican workers seeking a better life. . . . In The Migrant Chef, Tillman makes visible the hidden labor of upscale restaurant workers through the thin swinging kitchen door that separates them from the elite clientele they serve. Whether or not you travel to Mexico City to sample García’s creations, reading his story brings humanity, empathy, and understanding to the issue of the U.S.-Mexico border and the people and ideas traversing it." —Kendra Nordin Beato, The Christian Science Monitor

"Rich and evocative . . . a very special [book]." —Mark Bittman, Food with Mark Bittman

Worthwhile Listen

Educated and engaged while listening to The Migrant Chef. The book reader had good cadence and excellent Spanish enunciation which helped me. I have been to Mexico City and ate at the the original Maximo's, so, was drawn to learning more about Lalo. His life story is fascinating and the author writes with passion and knowledge about her subject - much research had to be done to get it this good. I have a new appreciation for my local organic farmer's markets and the vendors that come in from their farms.

Nice gem for foodies & travelers

Enjoyed listening to pivotal markers in Lalo’s journey so far. I feel lucky to have visited & experienced the atmosphere & food at the restaurant in April 2023. I grew up in a border town and the bicultural lens is fascinating for many reasons.