RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Members of this Chamber are pleased to congratulate renowned restaurateur Rick Bayless on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of his award-winning restaurant, Frontera Grill; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bayless was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and
WHEREAS, From an early age, Mr. Bayless had a taste for the restaurant business. His parents owned and operated a barbecue restaurant in Oklahoma City called the Hickory House; and
WHEREAS, His parents instilled in their children a desire for excellence. Mr. Bayless enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, where he studied Spanish, and Latin American Culture. Following graduation, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he did doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics. Mr. Bayless' brother, Skip Bayless, graduated from Vanderbilt University and went on to become a well-known sports journalist and television personality; and
WHEREAS, Following his educational endeavors, Mr. Bayless hosted a 26-part PBS television series called "Cooking Mexican" in 1978 and 1979; and
WHEREAS, Later, Mr. Bayless, along with his wife, Deann, moved to Mexico, where he wrote his first book, "Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico"; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bayless continued his professional relationship with PBS with his award-winning program: "Mexico: One Plate at a Time"; and
WHEREAS, On August 19, 2009, Mr. Bayless was crowned champion of the first season of Top Chef Masters on the Bravo network, beating out a number of noted chefs. For his victory, Mr. Bayless took home the top prize of $110,000; and
WHEREAS, In May of 2010, Mr. Bayless was honored to be the guest chef at the White House State Dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Bayless is also an accomplished author, having written numerous books in the culinary arts; and
WHEREAS, In 2012 he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lifestyle/Culinary Host for s...
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