The glue that keeps the seven-generation De Leon family together is a green dish called chile verde.It’s been that way for more than half a century – since 1945, in fact – when Joe and Eloisa De Leon pulled up stakes in Texas and moved their growing family to Manteca. But the tradition actually goes way back when the couple got married in 1928.It was the family matriarch Eloisa, who is fondly referred to by every member of the clan as Grandma Loi, who set the high standard for cooking the Mexican dishes that brought everyone to grandma and grandpa’s home in Manteca. She is the undisputable best cook among them all especially when it comes to Mexican cuisine and the dish that her seven-generation clan has favored the most – the chile verde.It is that one dish which has become the edible glue that has been bringing scores of family members together every year during the summer when they hold a good-natured chile verde cook-off challenge, even after the beloved matriarch and patriarch have passed on.
CHILE VERDE COOK-OFF
Manteca family tradition since 1945