Josefina Howard

Josefina Howard was a Cuban-born Spanish chef and restaurateur who helped popularise regional Mexican cuisine in New York. She founded a chain of restaurants called Rosa Mexicano, which was described in 1993 as "one of the few luxury Mexican restaurants in New York", and Howard was credited with bringing the "real elegance of Mexican food - its refined international flavour" to New York.[1]

Howard was born in Cuba to Spanish parents and grew up in Asturias, Spain.[2] Both of her parents were killed during the Spanish Civil War.[3]

She later moved to Mexico, where she lived for over twenty years, then moved to the United States.[4][5] There, Howard's eatery La Fogata caught the attention of Jerry Stein, and she later closed it to open a New York City-based joint venture, the Cinco de Mayo restaurant, with Stein in January 1983.[6] She founded the first Rosa Mexicano restaurant in 1984 in New York City.[7] In 1996, she and Placido Domingo opened La Cava de Domingo, also in New York.[8] By May 1997, La Cava de Domingo had closed.[9] The next year, Howard suffered a stroke,[10] but remained involved in opening new Rosa Mexicano franchises.[11] Though Rosa Mexicano has often been described as serving authentic and regional Mexican food,[12][13] Howard stated in 1986 that success of such dishes were "...never 100 percent, but it's as good as it can be outside Mexico."[14] As a chef, Howard was best known for serving huitlacoche.[15][16][17]

Howard was also a photographer, who had an exhibition of her work at the Mexican Cultural Institute in New York in 1996.[3]

In January 1998, Howard taped an appearance on Martha Stewart Living.[18] Later that year a book she wrote: "ROSA MEXICANO: A Culinary Autobiography", was published by Viking Press.[19] Howard died in 2005.[20][21]

References
  1. Webb, Marilyn (August 9, 1993). "Classes of: Adult Ed Course from Mandarin Chinese to Erotic Lit". New York Magazine. p. 54. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  2. Cole, Dorothy (December 14, 1998). "Memoirs of a Chef". Weekly Wire. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  3. Kummer, Corby (September 9, 1996). "Some Like It Hot". New York Magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. Miller, Bryan (September 21, 1983). "Al over town, the culinary heat is on". New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  5. Hamlin, Suzanne (October 6, 1985). "Hungry New Yorkers Learn Chilies by Degrees". New York Daily News. Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Cinco de Mayo". New York Magazine. 16 (30): 23. August 1, 1983. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  7. "Authentic guacamole recipe for Cinco de Mayo from NYC restaurant comes from Dash magazine". Booth Newspapers. May 3, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  8. Hevrdejs, Judy; Conklin, Mike (October 31, 1995). "Eat beat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  9. Fabricant, Florence (May 14, 1997). "Domingo, in Role of the Restaurateur, Takes a Deep Breath". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  10. Young, Daniel (August 4, 2000). "It's a second grand Rosa". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  11. Fabricant, Florence (August 4, 1999). "Off the menu". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  12. Forgang, Isabel (September 21, 2003). "It's Jewish fiesta time". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  13. Santiba, Roberto (2007). Rosa's New Mexican Table. Artisan Books. p. VIII. ISBN 9781579653248.
  14. Jenkins, Nancy Harmon (April 23, 1986). "It's called Mexican, but is it genuine?". New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  15. "Fungus Feast". New York Magazine. 22 (38): 44. September 25, 1989. ISSN 0028-7369.
  16. Blonder, Carol (July 15, 2010). "Huitlacoche: Mexican Truffles". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  17. Fabricant, Florence (September 5, 1990). "A Mexican Delicacy". New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  18. Pogrebin, Robin (February 8, 1998). "Master Of Her Own Destiny". New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  19. Fabricant, Florence (November 29, 1998). "BY THE BOOK; Memories of Mexico, Seasoned by Time". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 1998. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  20. Head, Thomas (October 17, 2006). "Rosa Mexicano". Washingtonian Magazine. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  21. Wilson, Melba (2016). Melba's American Comfort: 100 Recipes from My Heart to Your Kitchen. Simon and Schuster. p. XVI. ISBN 9781476795287.

Further reading
  • ROSA MEXICANO: A Culinary Autobiography (Viking Press 1998) ISBN 9780670879427
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