CityFood Magazine - Victoria Artist Brings Mexico to Chicago

In the photo: details from two pieces in artist Bill Blair's Mexicana Collection. Left: "The Rooster That Thinks It is a Horse". Right: "The All-Powerful Chocolate".

British Columbia artist Bill Blair has been commissioned to create five pieces of hand-tinted Mexicana photomontages for the opening of Rick Bayless's new restaurant in Chicago, XOCO.

Blair lives and works in Victoria, BC. Over the past two decades he has exhibited his photo-based work in numerous group and solo shows regionally and internationally at such venues as the Galeria La Mano Magica in Oaxaca, Mexico. He and his wife (Victoria-based food writer Shelora Sheldan) travel frequently to Mexico, and their familiarity with the art and culture of that country provided the inspiration for Blair's Mexicana-themed collection. (A photomontage is the process of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs, with the composite picture then re-photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless print. It is similar to the digital method of "photoshopping" which is used today, only in this case, the medium is actual film.) Some charming examples of his work can be viewed here. Our favourite being "Doñas Con Donas", where the two womens' sombreros are actually upturned glazed doughnuts.

According to his blog, Chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless intends "XOCO" (ancient Aztec slang for “little sister”) to be just as folksy and uniquely crafted as Blair's hand-tinted gelatine prints. XOCO will be a quick-service cafe featuring big, bold, Mexican marketplace flavors -- one that offers a modern translation of popular street food snacks such as: hot-from-the-fryer churros; flaky empanadas; frothy Mexican hot chocolate (ground from Mexican cacao beans right in the cafe's front window; warm, crusty tortas (Mexican submarine sandwiches); and made-to-order caldos (meal-in-a-bowl soups) that feature everything from roasted vegetables to seafood to pork belly.

Says Bayless, "Part of Mexican street food’s allure is it’s rustic immediacy—experiencing the aromas, sights and sounds of each dish being crafted, interacting with the cooks, customizing your choices. That’s why your first step into XOCO is a step into our kitchen, where each torta is built, each baked good is fashioned, each hot chocolate is whipped to a froth as you watch. Just as street food stalls attract passersby with the rustic allure of wood fires and boldly aromatic offerings, the centerpiece of XOCO’s kitchen is its wood-burning oven where tortas get crisped and suckling pigs for cochinita pibil and lamb for barbacoa are braised overnight in banana leaves ... Everything is made from scratch, from the bean-to-bar chocolate to homemade ice creams and the rich broths for caldos. Torta buns are from Chicago’s best artisan bakery. Even the wine we’re offering is the just-released Topolovino, personally crafted by Frontera/Topolo’s sommelier Jill Gubesch. And perhaps best of all, XOCO will be awarded LEED Gold (at least) certification for it’s environmentally conscious build out and all-compostable to-go packaging."

Sounds exciting. We only wish we had a XOCO here. Blair and Sheldan hope to be in Chicago to attend the restaurant's opening this July.