2023 Lifetime Achievement Award: Eddie Hernandez

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Eddie Hernandez is the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award winner. 

As the founding chef of the Atlanta-based chain Taqueria del Sol, Hernandez juxtaposes the food traditions of his native Monterey, Mexico, alongside the culinary traditions of the American South, laying the groundwork for Sur-Mex cuisine. 

Eddie learned to cook from his grandmother in her restaurant kitchens in Mexico. He moved to America to pursue a music career and found himself in Atlanta, Georgia, where he found work at El Azteca, a Mexican restaurant south of the city, and connected with owner Mike Klank. The two partnered on numerous ventures over the years before opening the first Taqueria del Sol on Atlanta’s Westside in 2000, creating a menu inspired by Hernandez’s native Mexico and Klank’s experiences in the American Southwest. Today, Eddie’s spicy turnip greens, Memphis pork barbecue tacos, and blue plate special of the day draw crowds stretching to the sidewalks at five locations in Georgia and one in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2018, he released the cookbook Turnip Greens & Tortillas, highlighting the synergy between Southern and Mexican food. 

Each year since 1999, when SFA first honored Edna Lewis, the SFA presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual whom all thinking eaters should know, the sort of person who has made an indelible mark upon our cuisine and culture, who has set regional standards and catalyzed national dialogues. 

In recognition of that life of work, SFA produces a film to share the story of the honoree. The 2023 film, directed by SFA Pihakis Foodways Filmmaker Zaire Love, premiered at the 2023  Southern Foodways Symposium.

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Eddie Hernandez

Taqueria del Sol’s founding chef, Eddie Hernandez, juxtaposes the food traditions of his native Monterey, Mexico, alongside the culinary traditions of the American South. Read More

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