From beakers to braising

Meet my favorite (sort of) Spanish chef, Katie Button

As you all know, I came to America as a young cook and have spent my life trying to bring the food of Spain to my adopted country.  The small plates! The jamón! And of course gazpacho…though the recipe is not mine but my wife’s!

But I am no longer alone. There are now many chefs on a mission to share the great cuisine of Spain. One of my favorites is Katie Button. 

If the name Katie Button doesn’t sound Spanish, well, it isn’t.

Katie grew up in New Jersey and planned to become a scientist. But something changed in her. She started working in restaurants. First at my restaurant Café Atlantico, where she met her Spanish husband, Felix, then later The Bazaar in Los Angeles and elBulli, the very famous restaurant in Spain where I got my start.

Today, Katie and Felix have an incredible tapas restaurant, Cúrate, in Asheville, North Carolina. And Katie is a TV host of the terrific show, From The Source, which explores the origins and stories behind different delicious ingredients, including seafood, cheese, honey and more.

Katie and Felix and their two children

This is what is so amazing about food. Katie is an American woman who fell in love with Spain and the Appalachian mountains. On today’s podcast, we talk about how Katie and Felix fell in love, how she finds a place for classic Appalachian ingredients, like mountain trout, in Spanish dishes like esqueixada, and all the amazing places you need to eat in Asheville.

Buen provecho!