Chef Pati Jinich has been busy lately. Aside from working on a new cookbook, her PBS show “Pati’s Mexican Table” is going into its 13th season. Now, she has been named as the culinary spokesperson for Avocados From Mexico®, the number one selling avocado brand in the United States.
With Jinich as the first-ever avocado culinary ambassador, the brand will encourage innovation with avocados for home cooks and culinary professionals. She will be sharing tips and recipes that reimagine the possibilities of the avocado, in addition to developing educational content for the brand, starting with her first curated collection of recipes.
Jinich has been working closely with the brand for at least a decade, as they have been one of the sponsors for her PBS series almost since the beginning.
“I feel like the recognition and the audience that we have is because of the support of partners like Avocados from Mexico that believe in this content, and so we’re going to continue to go to different regions of Mexico, share the classic recipes but also new ways of using avocados,” she says.
Ginger Pistachio Guacamole is one of the new recipes developed by Pati Jinich for Avocados From … [+]
“I feel like the avocado really represents how Mexican cuisine is kind of borderless, and it benefits every country that it touches. That if you put avocado on pizza, it makes your pizza better. Avocado for baking is also super fun. I make these incredible oatmeal avocado and banana pancakes. I like avocado for chocolate mousse, too. It makes it so the consistency is buttery and moist, but at the same time it’s good for you.”
Born and raised in Mexico City, Jinich is based in Washington D.C. and continuously travels across Mexico, researching recipes and working on her TV series. But she not only presents recipes for her audience to cook at home; she also goes deeper to explore the culture, traditions and current affairs of the communities she visits.
Her efforts paid off when the James Beard Foundation recognized her with the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Docuseries for the second season of “La Frontera with Pati Jinich,” which explores the people and cuisine of the U.S.- Mexico border.
“I thought it was the longest shot,” she says of the award. “I wasn’t even able to go to the awards because it was my youngest son’s graduation. But I went to the Borderlands specifically to talk to people about what their life is like. There’s 31 million people that are enriching not only like their liminal space, but also two countries at the same time, and I feel like we need more content about our common ground, like how we enrich each other’s table.”
On the set of La Frontera with Pati Jinich, the PBS docuseries that won the 2024 James Beard Award.
Despite the troubles and difficulties the borderlands face, Jinich chooses to focus on the positive while shining a spotlight on the issues through a hopeful lens.
“Because people are seeing the Borderlands and the roles that Mexicans play in a different light, we’re getting a seat at the international table,” she says. “And my role as avocado culinary ambassador is so important because it’s like, look how much we’re adding to your table. It’s not only an ingredient that makes everything better, but it’s also helping the economy of not only one country, but two countries. It creates jobs on both sides of the border, and I think all around it’s such a beautiful thing.”
Jinich believes that a big part of what makes Mexican cuisine such a modern cuisine is that it continues to evolve. “When I first started with Pati’s Mexican Table and writing cookbooks, I really stuck to the traditional. This is how we do it in Mexico City. This is from Puebla. This is how my mother did it. But now, I think that you bring with you the techniques, the recipes, the knowledge that has been passed on through generations, but you have the freedom to play a little.”
Enchiladas de Suelo topped with fresh avocado, a recipe from Pati Jinich’s collaboration with … [+]
“Mexican food is for everyone, and our ingredients are for everyone. And the more the merrier!” she says. “You learn new ways [of cooking] and being that open and not afraid of innovation allows us to play. I think that avocados really shine a light on so many things that we Mexicans are proud of – our resiliency, our creativity, our capacity for innovation no matter the hurdles.”
Another reason her PBS programs are so popular is her personality. It’s practically impossible not to be captivated by Jinich, her positive outlook, quick wit and charming smile. As a bilingual and bi-cultural icon, she seamlessly surfs through the languages and traditions of both countries while gaining fans in both.
Having lived in D.C. for decades, she has fully embraced Thanksgiving as her favorite holiday because it’s the time when everyone brings a favorite dish and sits at the table together.
Avocado Coconut Ice Cream is another great recipe developed by Pati Jinich.
“Thanksgiving is the time people are so eager to try something new and different, because it’s like you have the classic dishes, right? You have the Thanksgiving turkey, you have the sweet potatoes, you have the green beans,” she says. “Whenever I bring something, I’ll bring like an avocado and pomegranate and charred sweet potato salad, and everybody is like, ‘wait, what?’ But people are very open for these new things.”
“And it’s not only that. It’s what we bring to the table along with our food and our ingredients. Not only are we bringing our ingredients, like guacamole and avocado, but our traditions for the sobremesa (after dinner conversations) and for repurposing the food,” she says.
“So, you make turkey today, and tomorrow you turn your turkey into tinga and make tostadas with avocado on top, right? And I think our food helps us share how much we enrich this country. We bring our hard work, we bring our sense of humor, we bring our amazing food.”
Pati’s Mexican Table Season 13, premiered on September 13, 2024. The next episode will air on Oct. 8