Danny Trejo has played tough guys and villains in movies since accidentally falling into the business in the mid-1980s. With a tattooed face no one could forget, the “Machete” actor has always embraced food and hospitality, whether behind bars, at home, or in one of his many restaurants. Now, he has a new cookbook called “Trejo’s Cantina,” which has recipes for non-alcoholic drinks and “Fight Night Nachos,” plus stories about his time on the streets, in prison, and on sets.
Danny Trejo, who has been sober for over 50 years, made a point of including mocktail recipes in his cookbook to get rid of the “stigma” of sobriety. Reprinted with permission from Trejo’s Cantina by Danny Trejo with Hugh Garvey, copyright © 2023. Photograph by Larchmont Hospitality Group LLC. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
One notable story is about the massive picnic spreads he and fellow inmates put together for folks who didn’t have visitors at San Quentin. “If cons can make a concrete table in a maximum security penitentiary feel like a party, imagine what you can do in your kitchen if you treat every meal, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, like a celebration of life,” writes Trejo. That’s also the vision for “Trejo’s Cantina.”
He continues, “All us guys that had been in the penitentiary forever and had no family anymore, they have to make themselves feel good in a bad situation. You're thinking about your wife, your kids, your mom. So how do we do it? Everybody brings a little something. And we mix it up together, call it a spread. And so you learn you learn how to mix this with this and mix that with this. And we steal this out of the kitchen, and you have a good meal. And that's what food is. And for me, when people come into my restaurant, I want them to feel like they're in my living room.”
Trejo’s Tacos, Danny Trejo’s first foray into the restaurant business, began on set when a producer said “‘Why don't you open a restaurant?’’ He continues, ‘And jokingly I said, ‘Trejo’s Tacos.’ He brought a business plan…and I gave it to Gloria, my agent. And she said, ‘It's a no brainer.’” Reprinted with permission from Trejo’s Cantina by Danny Trejo with Hugh Garvey, copyright © 2023. Photograph by Larchmont Hospitality Group LLC. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Trejo hopes people will see beyond his tough guy persona and take in his book’s message of caring for others.
“Everything good that’s happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Everything.”
Trejo will discuss his new book with cultural historian Josh Kun at Live Talks LA on April 18, 23.