Nacho's Nachos

The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack 

Lee & Low Books

(pub. 8.11.2020) 

32 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Sandra Nickel
       and illustrator:  Oliver Dominguez

 
C haracter:  Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya

O verview:

       

    "Nachos- so crunchy, so cheesy, so spicy - so delicious! Where did they come from?

    Meet Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya. As a boy, he loved to eat and cook. When he grew up, he worked in restaurants, including the Victory Club, a popular eatery near the Mexico-United States border.

    Late one afternoon in 1940, a regular customer stopped by  with some friends. She wanted a snack - something new, something different. Nacho rushed to the kitchen and improvised with the ingredients on hand. In those inspired moments, Nacho made food history!"

T antalizing taste: 

     "As soon as Nacho arrived at work the next day, waiters crowded around him. They wanted to know what Nacho's Special was. Customers had been asking for it since the night before.

     Nacho headed straight into the kitchen and started cooking."

And something more:  The author of Nacho's Nachos, Sandra Nickel, kindly shared with me that "a lot of people ask me if I was surprised by anything I discovered when making the book. I loved learning that Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio and that the original nachos were individually hand made, not piled high with toppings. I also loved discovering that this year is the 80th anniversary of the invention and that Piedras Negras has a three-day Nacho Fest every year, where they make the World's Biggest Nacho. But my all-time favorite surprise was finding the archived newspaper articles for which Ignacio Anaya was interviewed. Nothing beats having Nacho's very own version of the story to pass on to kids!" 

I agree, Sandra!