Kitchens of Hope: The recipes and stories that immigrants bring to Minnesota
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Food has the power to comfort us, connect us to our roots and preserve our culture.
When coming to a new country, immigrants leave much behind. But one thing many people carry with them to start life in a new place are their family’s recipes.
MPR News guest host Kelly Gordon talks with a cookbook author and a chef from Mexico about the dishes and stories that tie us to the people — and places — we’re from.
Guests:
Lee Svitak Dean was the longtime food editor at The Minnesota Star Tribune. She's co-author of “Kitchens of Hope: Immigrants Share Stories of Resilience and Recipes from Home.” She is also author of “Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining with Seasonal Menus” and co-author of “The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book.”
Gustavo Romero is co-owner with his wife Kate of Nixta, a tortilleria in northeast Minneapolis where they make tortillas using traditional methods and heirloom corn. They expanded next door to open the restaurant, Oro by Nixta, which was a finalist for a James Beard award and named one of the 20 Best New Restaurants of 2024 by Bon Appetit.
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Photos reprinted from “Kitchens of Hope: Immigrants Share Stories of Resilience and Recipes from Home” by Linda S. Svitak and Christin Jaye Eaton, with Lee Svitak Dean; photography by Tom Wallace. Published by the University of Minnesota Press. Copyright 2025 by Linda S. Svitak, Christin Jaye Eaton, and Lee Svitak Dean. Photographs copyright 2025 by Tom Wallace. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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