Brian West founded the Fiesta event Taste of the Republic in 2017. Credit: Taste of the Republic

Name:  Brian West

Job:  Founder of Taste of the Republic, restaurant consultant

Age: 51

Birthplace: Alamo, Texas

Experience: West has worked in the food industry for 34 years, including stints as a restaurant owner, chef and culinary instructor.

There’s no job in the restaurant industry that chef Brian West hasn’t held, from busing tables to owning restaurants. Along the way, he’s served as a chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America and even worked behind the scenes on chef Robert Irvine’s reality show Restaurant: Impossible. These days, West is an evangelist for authentic Texas cuisine by way of Fiesta event Taste of the Republic, which he founded in 2017. On April 20, Taste of the Republic will take place at the Alamo for the first time.

The origins of Taste of the Republic event began when you were an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. Tell me a bit about that.

As a chef-instructor, I noticed there was a void in the American cuisine programs with Texas culture. Later investigating this with the dean, it came to my knowledge that there was little research done on the cuisines of Texas. During my tenure, I made it my mission to define Texas cuisine as we know it today.

The Taste of the Republic Fiesta event reminds me of a Disney theme park in that one can experience multiple cultures in a central location. Was that always your intention? How has the event evolved since 2017?

In my research to better understand Texas cuisine, I found that because of the number of cultural influences, the overall idea of this cuisine was far too extensive to focus on. This problem eventually led me to the solution and idea of creating six geographical points of Texas cuisine. As a child, I was always a fan of Disney and the joy it brought to so many people, so I made the connection early on about how a place is able to bring joy to people simply through the experience of introducing them to a new culture. In the beginning of this event, there were simply wine pairings with food, but as we have now grown exponentially, the relationship between food and beverage has changed. We now have incorporated spirits into the event and have further [explored] the endless possibilities of culinary mixtures pertaining to the six food regions.

You’ve said that your “Manifesto of Texas Cuisine” was intended to stoke revolution for Texas food. Your event now takes place at the Alamo, one of the state’s most iconic locations. How does that feel?

I feel truly amazed about it, and in my heart, I have always felt that this would happen naturally with no resistance. I feel extremely fortunate for the opportunity.

How has your perspective on Fiesta changed now that you and your concept are such a fixture for the event?

I have always felt that Fiesta is one of the pillars of our city, but thanks to the creation of Taste of the Republic I feel more connected than ever. I take personal ownership of the integrity and future of Fiesta now.

I know all these regions of cuisine are equally meaningful to you. However, if you could only eat from one of the regions for the rest of your days, which would it be and why?

Every single one of these regional cuisines has a meaning to me, but being from South Texas, I would have to say I would more than likely choose the Tex-Mex region.

San Antonio is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. What does that mean to you and the mission of the Taste of The Republic?

I feel that anytime San Antonio is appreciated to be a diverse, cultural center we can all come together to achieve excellence in the culinary field. This guides me in my mission to further expand the knowledge people have on Texas cuisine and to truly highlight the components that went into it to lead the cuisine where it is today. I would be extremely interested in working with the UNESCO Foundation to truly understand the cuisine of Texas.

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This article appears in Apr 19 – May 2, 2023.