Embutidos Ibéricos

I love “Embutidos Ibéricos” - Spanish sausages - although I don’t eat them anymore.
One of my childhood strongest memories is watching the slaughter of a pig and the making of hundreds of different sausages using all the parts of the animal.

​Embutidos Ibéricos. Monotypes (2013)

Roast Christmas Pig A Lo Cubano

The classic magic trick of the disappearing woman served as inspiration for these illustrations for Food Republic about the curious history of the Caja China, or Magic Box, a Cuban invention for perfectly cooking suckling pig, the Caribbean Christmas centerpiece.

Read this story here.

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Thai Town LA

When we moved to Los Angeles, I wanted to live near Thai Town, the center of the biggest Thai community outside of Thailand. I have traveled in Thailand, and the cuisine is one of my favorites. Here in L.A., I have journeyed through Thai Town to eat noodles, barbecue, Southern Thai home cooking, Thai street food…trying new dishes and drawing in my notebook every time I go t a new place.

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Beyond paella

The typical image of paella in Spanish restaurants is a bad close-up photo  on a menu discolored by the sun. While that cultural iconography may have its own kitsch appeal, it has nothing to do with the immediate visual effect of a real paella. This story on Food Republic went "Beyond Paella" to chronicle some of the other classic Spanish dishes among my favorites in my own style.


Click here to read this story.

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All You Need To Know About Maple Syrup

We eat a lot of syrup at my house.
My brother-in-law has been a maple syrup farmer for more than 25 years. My wife, Judy Cantor-Navas, had the idea of doing a story for Food Republic about the various grades of syrup, something that people tend to have passionate opinions about. As seen here, I riffed on the Pantone Color Chart to represent the different shades of maple syrup.

Click here for the original story.

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Afro-Cuban Jazz Meets An Afro-Cuban Menu In Harlem

I made this illustration for a story for Food Republic about a Cuban-themed dinner by chef Marcus Samuelsson at Ginny's Supper Club in Harlem. He created an Afro-Cuban menu for a night of Latin Jazz music by pianist Arturo O’Farrill and his orchestra. The similarities of jazz improvisation and cooking inspired this image.

Click here to read the original.

Arturo O'Farrill brings his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra to Ginny's in Harlem Tuesday, with a themed dinner by Marcus Samuelsson.

Arturo O'Farrill brings his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra to Ginny's in Harlem Tuesday, with a themed dinner by Marcus Samuelsson.

Lamb Tagine: Salaam

In 2007 my wife, Judy Cantor-Navas, and I were invited to the Festival of Sacred Music in Fez. We also took a cooking class with chef Lahcen Beqqi. With Lahcen, we shopped at the souk and prepared a three-course meal in the kitchen of a Riad. Our trip to Morroco inspired a book, called Salaam, with texts by Judy and my illustrations and photographs. This is the illustration for the lamb tagine recipe.

Oil on cardboard (2007)

Oil on cardboard (2007)