.png)
March 13 Dinner at Local Leaf Farm Features Chef Ernesto Rodriguez
- Bob Benenson
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
His El Molcajete Mexican sauces have gained a following in Chicago area
Microgreens are gaining traction among local food lovers, and Local Leaf Farm in the north Chicago suburb of Highland Park is among the growers riding that wave.
Now, Local Leaf is providing an opportunity, on Friday, March 13, for diners to learn more about microgreens — while enjoying a Mexican dinner prepared by rising star chef Ernesto Rodriguez, founder and proprietor of Evanston-based El Molcajete Sauces.
The event, titled Harvest Under the Glass, will begin at 6 p.m. at Local Leaf's indoor farm at 1849 Green Bay Rd. in Highland Park. There will be a curated six-course dinner, wine pairings, handcrafted mezcal margaritas — plus a farm tour and microgreens tasting with chef demos.
Capacity is limited, so click the button below to reserve your place now.
I met Ernesto at his El Molcajete stand at Evanston Farmers Market in 2024, and we quickly became friends. I also was immediately impressed with his handmade products, centered on mole sauces that are central to cooking in Ernesto's native Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Ernesto emigrated to San Francisco 15 years ago, and it was there that he started El Molcajete. His wife is from the Chicago area, and they moved to Evanston because they felt it would be a better environment to raise their daughter.
“I’m not selling mole. I’m showing people our culture, my roots,” Ernesto told me during my first visit with him. Describing a traditional communal Sunday dinner back home, he said, “It is a party in Mexico, it’s a celebration. It’s something that we have to show, we cook for everybody and then you cook for the people that you love.”
Ernesto noted that he and his family produce out of a commercial kitchen in Evanston. Projecting a Good Food approach, he said, “Everything is cooked in very small batches. It’s made the traditional way that we made it in Oaxaca, one at a time. There are no preservatives, it’s 100 percent natural. They’re gluten free, vegan, plant based.”
He said that there are seven main varieties of mole in Oaxaca and he creates and jars five of them: Mole Negro (Black Mole), Mole Verde (Green Mole), an expression simply called Mole Sauce; Estafado Sauce, which he describes as a version of traditional Mole Amarillo, or Yellow Mole; and Mole Blanco (White Mole).
Along with the moles, Ernesto produces a tomatillo sauce, a chili oil and irresistibly crunchy tortilla chips fried in coconut oil.
His presence at farmers markets comes to him naturally. “For me, it’s very important to know where our food comes from,” Ernesto said. “We buy our veggies at the farmers market, all local farmers, it keeps our small businesses moving. It’s very important for everything to be very fresh and know where it came from."
With his delicious, authentic preparations and his local sourcing ethos, Ernesto Rodriguez is someone that Local Food Forum readers should get to know.