CultureMap Disses Dean Fearing, Robert DelGrande, and Other Leaders in The New Southwestern Cuisine

Tortilla Soup, by Dean Fearing. The dish includes smoked chicken, jalapeño, cilantro cream, grated white sharp cheddar, cabbage, radish, avocado, and tortilla chips. 

by Andrew Chalk

According to CultureMap, the father of the New Southwestern Cuisine is Stephan Pyles. I would be the first to praise Stephan’s leading role, but I don’t think even he would claim to be its “father”. CultureMap writer Celestina Blok should have checked her facts, as even a cursory Google search would have informed her that Dean Fearing and Robert Del Grande would have an equal claim, with Donna Nordin, Michael Cordúa, and Monica Pope other major contributors.

If anything, we need a revival of that 1980s revolution in Southwestern culinary heritage rather than the creative details being forgotten.