Midweek Special - Chef Gabino Sotelino

Born in Vigo, Spain to a Basque mother and Galician father, Chef Gabino Sotelino’s path to the kitchen began early and unfolded across some of the world’s great hotel dining rooms before landing in Chicago in the 1970s. Over the decades that followed, he helped shape the city’s rise as a serious dining destination, opening and guiding restaurants that would become institutions and introducing generations of diners to Spanish and French bistro traditions.

To mark Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!’s 40th anniversary, Mark sits down with his father, Chef Gabino Sotelino, for a rare, informal conversation. It’s a special opportunity to hear directly from a foundational figure in Chicago’s restaurant world.

Recorded outside the studio on a phone, the audio is rough and the setting shifts as the conversation unfolds -- more cinéma vérité than polished interview. We’re sharing it as is for the chance to spend a little time with a true original.