PHOTOS BY ISMAEL MARTINEZ
Alfredo Garcia always wanted to create a cookbook, and he’s done it with Let’s Make It: A Mexican-American Culinary Adventure, slated for official release on April 22.
“It still feels surreal. I cry a little bit every time I think about it,” says Garcia, “that I actually wrote a book that is being published, and anyone will be able to buy it, read it and cook from it.”
Born in the Rio Grande Valley but raised in Chicago, Garcia gained a love of cooking as a youngster. Better known as Freddsters on Instagram, he’s been creating content full-time since 2021. Before, he was a private chef for multiple Major League Baseball players. His debut commercial product, Salsa Macha, is always sold out.
In this ERGV issue, we feature a recipe for Pollo Asado, which Garcia has been making for years.
LETTY: How did you get into cooking?
ALFREDO: Everyone in my family loves to cook, so growing up I was always around food. After school, I watched cooking shows on the Food Network religiously.
Most of my love of cooking came from my mom. Every day after school she would be in the kitchen making us dinner. On weekends, my family all would be in the kitchen watching TV while breakfast was being made.
I grew up with Mexican food 24/7; it’s all my mom would make for us. I learned about other foods from the Food Network, traveling and social media.
LETTY: How did the cookbook come about?
ALFREDO: A dream of mine was always to write a big hardcover cookbook that you could walk into a store and buy. Some opportunities came up to write a cookbook, but they weren’t what I wanted.
Out of the blue in 2023 I got an email from my now editor, Molly Ahuja. She asked if I was interested in writing a cookbook. I immediately replied, we had a couple meetings and the contract was officially signed towards the end of 2023.
LETTY: Tell us about the process.
ALFREDO: I spent two to three months coming up with the recipes. It was hard to limit them to 100. Then I got in the kitchen. Being a home cook, I don’t always use exact measurements, but for the book, even with recipes I have made many, many times, I had to re-make them, writing down every single measured ingredient and the entire process, step by step.
Every day I would cook three to five recipes and take notes on everything. For almost a month, I would send a big group text to family and friends, saying I had food available, first come, first served.
LETTY: How did you choose the recipes for the book?
ALFREDO: A handful of them were no brainers, like salsa verde, arroz rojo, frijoles, barbacoa, chilaquiles and tacos al pastor. Beyond these traditional recipes, I knew I had to distinguish my book from the traditional fully Mexican cooking cookbook.
I started experimenting, mixing traditional Mexican dishes with cuisines from all over the world. I came up with recipes like Mexican Chicken Parmesan, where instead of the traditional tomato-based sauce, I make it with either a creamy chipotle sauce or the vibrant green sauce from Espagueti Verde. I made a pico de gallo but added kimchi to it, a delicious spicy fermented cabbage. I made cheeseburger flautas. I added matcha to a traditional tres leches cake. They are all recipes that you may be familiar with, but with a little Mexican influence throughout.
LETTY: Do you have a favorite recipe in your cookbook?
ALFREDO: I think my favorites would have to be the Elote/Esquite recipes with different preparations.
LETTY: How does it feel to be a published author?
ALFREDO: I have been collecting cookbooks for about 10 years, and I have over 300. Now one of them will be MY cookbook. It truly is one of the greatest things I have ever been able to do, and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity. I am so ready to write a second one. I already have a list of recipes I am working on.
- Follow Garcia on Instagram @freddsters, and in his bio there, find links to where to preorder Let’s Make It!
