Bruce Auden

“It really was the wine that had the biggest impact for the restaurant scene because we could sell wines and use wines that were high quality. You don’t see change unless you were there when it was different. Jim Hightower was a totally different person from everybody we’ve had since him…I just took it for granted that what he was doing was not unique for Texas but then I found out that he was very unique.“

Bruce Auden came to Texas in the 1980’s and quickly established a reputation as a leading chef for Southwest cuisine. Back then, he recalls that Tex-Mex was put down or Southwest was elevated, but now, Tex-Mex, Mexican, and Southwest may use similar ingredients, but they all have very different outcomes. They’re all very respectable cuisines.