Rick Bayless is a 7-time James Beard award winning chef and the foremost expert on authentic Mexican cuisine in America. His portfolio of award-winning, critically acclaimed restaurants include Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, XOCO, Leña Brava, and Cruz Blanca. He is winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, has received multiple Emmy nominations for his highly rated Public Television series, Mexico – One Plate at a Time, and has authored 9 best-selling cookbooks. The Government of Mexico has bestowed on Rick the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle–the highest decoration bestowed on foreigners whose work has benefitted Mexico and its people. He has also earned the Julia Child Foundation Award, a prestigious honor given to “an individual who has made a profound and significant impact on the way America cooks, eats and drinks.