A friend texted me earlier this month telling me how amazed he was about the lack of Trump signs along Wisconsin’s highways as he drove toward Green Bay. We were nearing the end, he believed, on the “back nine” of his nightmare.
I held my breath while reading, a brief break as I continued my work on this heartbreaking story about a Chicago chef and his wife, whose lives were forever changed when they were detained at Newark Airport after traveling east to see Argentina play in the FIFA World Cup Final — an event that promised a form of celebratory monoculture, which feels a lot like the melting pot so many of us in America have been sold since the flawed metaphor’s inception.
Writing this story wasn’t easy. Empathy, trust, and credibility are a journalist’s best friends, and they aren’t earned overnight. These values are not only part of Ravenous’s DNA, but were ingrained in our founder-owners long before the publication’s inception. My sources trust me. That doesn’t mean I’m best friends with them or need a friendly rapport with everyone in Chicago’s restaurant community. It would be gross if I did.
ICE has transferred chef Carlos Cantatore across the country, moving him from detention centers in New Jersey, to Louisiana, to Arizona. He and his wife, Gabi Guidara, have volunteered to depart, leaving their lives in America behind. It took some time before Cantatore and I connected over WhatsApp (everyone in the immigrant community is on WhatsApp; you should see the family drama that ensues). Cantatore isn’t a flashy chef and didn’t want to call attention to himself, but he was resigned to the fact that he had no other choice but to return to Argentina. What he told me was heartbreaking:
“Nobody really cares about what you’ve done and the work. Everything is erased immediately and your life is completely changed.”
I connected with Mariana Guidara, chef Carlos’s sister in law. She was ready to do anything to bring attention to her sister and husband’s story. Anything to help raise money via GoFundMe (Cantatore and Guidara go by different names professionally). She held it together toward the end before breaking down in tears.
Border Patrol campaigns in Chicago, the Twin Cities, and LA (among other locales) sent shockwaves through the country in late 2025. The restaurant and bar industry took notice, yelling “Fuck ICE” at the James Beard Awards, shutting down for the planned general strike on January 30, 2026, and supporting immigrant advocacy groups. Subsequently, ICE's presence has sometimes seemed quieter, and some of us have been privileged enough to find a false sense of security.
Stories like this often get caught under the onslaught of press releases touting new openings and the inherent instinct to ignore the laborers who make your food. We're all so, so tired right now, and it's easier to regurgitate content, whether it's an uninspired "best-of list" or a meandering hot take designed to stir up controversy. Whether it's AI-generated or not, it's still slop.
As the November mid-terms rapidly approach, there will be no avoiding the political football and the sensational headlines, which will no doubt include stories of increased ICE activity around the country. Marcos Carbajal of Carnitas Uruapan, the legendary Chicago Mexican restaurant, tells me the simplest thing people can do to support the immigration community is to patronize their restaurants. You don’t need to wait for a General Strike or a formalized campaign. That’s a luxury many of us have. And it’s not one that we should take for granted.
We're working hard on making Ravenous bigger and better every day. If you like what you've been reading, give us a tip!
New on Ravenous This Week
Ashok Selvam
Jaya Saxena
Courtney E. Smith
🐦⬛ Bird Droppings
- Dallas restaurants have officially named the "Taylor Sheridan effect." ICYMI, read Courtney's piece on Taylor Sheridan building a new Hollywood in Fort Worth, and what it's doing to the dining scene.
- Your moment of zen: Miss Universe Thailand contestants dressing up as famous foods from the country.
- Read about how a humble New York bar was reunited with its prized bedazzled penis statue.
Raven Nickname of the Week: Corvid Cordon Bleu/AlexEVOCrow
This weeks double nickname comes from Alex and Colin, who elaborate on their choices:
Corvid Cordon Bleu (Colin), for the obvious riff on Chicken Cordon Bleu, and for the association with Le Cordon Bleu, where Julia Child went to culinary school. (And as we know, so much of modern American food media was influenced by Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The French Chef) but also for the implication that Ravenous' project promises to become a blue ribbon source for food journalism.
AlexEVOCrow (Alex), a reference to the now almost memetic ingredient name (popularized by Rachael Ray) tied up in so many aspects of modern food: the idea of "healthy foods," the modern focus on provenance as a marker of quality, branding and luxury and fraud and authenticity...and of course olive trees and their connection to land and heritage... EVOO really has it all.
We love having such thoughtful readers!
Want to give our raven a silly little name? You have to become a Regular. Do you want to know the raven's real name? Only Big Spenders have learned the secret.
