International production company The Cortez Brothers recently wrapped up the second season of “Pati’s Mexican Table,” a public television series that brings authentic Mexican flavors into more than 100 million U.S. homes. The new season dishes up more cooking tips and new recipes from Host Patricia (Pati) Jinich, chef and mother of three. Exploring the culinary delights of her native land and culture, Pati shares personal family stories along with exciting new excursions to Mexico.
To view the sizzle reel, please visit: http://bit.ly/OqFq78
Led by Executive Producer and Head Writer Bernadette Rivero, The Cortez Brothers produced 13 new episodes, handling everything from script development and on-set production of cooking demonstrations, to location shoots in Mexico.
"Working with The Cortez Brothers has been a sheer pleasure,” remarks Jinich. “I’m thrilled to be in this together with them. Their amazing team never settles for cookie cutter approaches. They ‘get the Mexican and Latin IN America’ in such a deep and nuanced way that I know my content and message won’t be diluted or stereotyped."
Production began with choosing recipes as a tent-pole for each episode — many coming from Pati’s blog — that viewers could prepare at home, simply and practically; moreover, dishes that not only filmed well on camera, but also could be demonstrated within 30 minutes.
“Pati’s blog feeds the show, which in turn feeds the blog — so it’s very much an integrated, 365-degree process,” Rivero says. “We bat ideas back and forth, sometimes starting with general ideas like, ‘What would you serve at a kids’ birthday party in Mexico?’ and then we find a connective storytelling thread to add the other dishes.”
"From the first call with [Bernadette], our paths were intertwined, and it took less than a minute for me to realize that I couldn’t find a better match,” comments Jinich. “[VP of Development & Production] Pilar de Posadas is also a dream to work with. She strives for excellence in every part of the project, pouring her heart, energy and time into it 24/7 — that’s one heck of an amazing combination!"
“Pati’s Mexican Table” aims to thoroughly explain basic ingredients and techniques unique to Mexican cuisine, with trivia and stories sprinkled in to entertain everyday viewers and culinary experts alike. The season premiere, “Mexican Food Battles,” opens with Pati inside a Lucha Libre ring, and focuses on Mexican dishes that provoke food debates, such as “red vs. green enchilada sauce?” The episode results in three dishes that Pati crafted around these "battles.”
Location scouting informed another episode: Rivero had a vision to shoot the floating gardens of Xochimilco, so Jinich found a way to integrate floral ingredients and planned a meal with her famous Hibiscus and Pecan mole sauce and Squash Blossom Quesadillas.
Other Season Two episodes cover themes including "School Lunches” and “Tequila,” and feature special guest appearances from restaurateurs, mixologists, chefs and even Pati’s sister, Alisa Romano, pastry chef and owner of Alisa’s Painted Bistro in South Florida.
“Pati brings so many amazing recipes and personal stories to the table, that the process of writing and producing her show is really a matter of throwing a lasso around it all and taming it down into individual episodes,” remarks Rivero. “I try to balance practical production considerations while making sure that she can do what she does best — just authentically and lovingly share her love of Mexico with her audiences, and her vision of Mexican cuisine.”
Shooting in Mexico ran the course of nine days, with stops in Puebla, Xochimilco and Mexico City. The Cortez Brothers tapped their in-depth knowledge of production in South and Central America to make shoot adjustments seamlessly and on the fly.
“We originally planned to shoot primarily in Mexico City, but the Puebla tourism office was so welcoming and amazing that we shifted most of our production there,” recalls de Posadas. “The sheer warmth and flexibility of everyone in that colonial jewel of a city was a standout memory. The biggest challenges street-shooting in Puebla were coordinating interviews with locals and having to shoot everything in a few days given the traffic and pace of the countryside."
“Shooting in other countries, especially when you’re not in the capital, without having people you know both in the industry and outside of it, is a huge challenge,” explains Rivero. But we’re comfortable moving around and working in these locations as locals."
The Cortez Brothers Development Department has been enjoying great success in bringing Latin voices, including Pati’s, to the world of entertainment. Writer/directors Carlos Rincones and Aaron Burns were just named to Hollywood’s "2012 Young & Hungry List," a list of the top 100 writers on the verge in the industry, as voted on by agents, managers, executives and producers. Cortez worked with them hand-in-hand on their respective screenplays, Malaventura and Blacktino.
"The Cortez Brothers is able to create and (just as importantly) execute programming that allows brands to reach whole new audiences,” concludes Rivero. “Tapping the strengths of our storytelling and development departments, respectively, we can help target general market consumers in fresh, unique ways."
The Cortez Brothers is currently developing one-hour dramas, animated educational children’s programming and lifestyle shows. Handling all stages of film & television, the company’s development department provides bidding and funding assistance, physical production, post-production, distributor/network delivery and marketing, among many other services to major Hollywood studios and smaller independents alike.
About The Cortez Brothers
The Cortez Brothers, an internationally-focused production company based in Los Angeles, has become a lighting rod for the worlds of entertainment and global advertising, blending world-class content and production standards with mainstream American sensibilities.
Founded in 2006, it brings multilingual, international talent under one roof, combining the forces of directors, writers and producers who are equally at home speaking English, French, Swedish, German, Italian or Spanish. The Cortez Brothers produces a wide range of projects, from feature films and television series to webisodes and commercials.
Recent clients include AT&T, Chevy, Coca-Cola, Dodge, Ford, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon, Volkswagen and Allstate. The Cortez Brothers is one of the only woman- and minority-owned production companies in the entire U.S. www.cortezbrothers.com
