Hi, I’m Mark, owner and tortillero at Tortillas del Chico Blanco. I spent the bulk of my career as an expedition leader and educator for NOLS. I first went to Baja in 1994 to proctor a NOLS semester program backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing along the Gulf of California. It was there, on the Sea of Cortez, that I experienced tortillas like nothing I’d ever had growing up in Indiana. Upon returning to the states, I searched but could never find a satisfactory substitute. So I spent the next several years working for NOLS in Baja in a variety of capacities and lived for the tortillas.
When I wasn’t in Baja, I often found myself working on the borderlands of Texas and Mexico as a canoe instructor on the Rio Grande River. In 2016, while doing service work for a family in Redford, TX, I was shown some of the secrets of the tortilla craft from historian and educator Enrique Madrid. I dedicated myself during the next four years to practicing for friends and family before I finally felt like I had found the tortilla I was after.
In October of 2020, I hand rolled dozens upon dozens of flour tortillas and made a showing at the Lander Valley Farmer’s Market. I sold out in under an hour. It seemed like Lander was ready for a tortilleria!
I don’t claim to replace your abuela or her tortillas, but we’ve got fans out there that think they’re pretty darn good for a white guy! Chief among them my wife, Sarah, and daughter, Maggie. So give these white boy tortillas a try. They’ll take your tastebuds on a trip south and your family will love them. I promise.
Thank you!