Flavor Advice from a Pro

Chef Rick Bayless – cookbook author, television host, world traveler and longtime successful restaurateur – knows a thing or two about flavor. And he’s talking about it.

Bayless, who owns Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, has teamed up with Plymouth, Wis.-based Sargento Cheese and released his thoughts on top flavor and food trends for 2013, hoping to educate and inspire home cooks looking to have fun with flavor.

One of his forecasts related to cuisine is the emergence of sub-ethnic flavors, such as Peruvian flavors. Bayless recommends combining quinoa and cheese with fresh herbs like mint and cilantro for a Peruvian flair.

Meanwhile, to add flavor during preparation, he suggests using a slow cooker to braise chicken or pork for a richer, heartier taste or barbecuing meats like pork to fill tacos, along with some authentic Mexican shredded cheese. People can get emboldened with vegetables, too, he says, by adding spicy ingredients like pepper jack cheese or habanero chilies and visiting farmer’s markets to try out new things like dandelion greens and sorrel.

In their work to share food trends with home cooks, Bayless and Sargento are working with six influential food bloggers, who will report on such trends throughout the year and document their experiences on their own social media channels and Sargento’s Facebook Page. For more information, visit www.sargento.com.