On March 23rd, National Tamale Day was celebrated in restaurants, tamale shops, and homes all across the country. It’s a day that was founded in 2015 by Richard Lambert,
a Santa Barbara tamale chef, who received his culinary training in Mexico City.
Lambert says, “I was surprised when I found out there was no National Tamale Day and we set about to change that. The tradition of tamales goes back more than ninety centuries, and in many Latin American cultures tamales are the original comfort food.”
According to Lambert, over the years breakfast has become known as “tamale time” in Mexico. “When I lived in Mexico City, thousands of tamale vendors would set up shop every morning on street corners throughout the city. Folks on their way to work stop to eat one in the same way we might grab a donut or bagel.”

In recognition of its morning popularity in Mexico, Lambert introduced a breakfast tamale to coincide with National Tamale Day this year. “A lot of Santa Barbarans already enjoy tamales now and then for breakfast, so this new flavor will also be a nod to them.”
Wanting to create a tamale with popular “breakfast” flavors, some kitchen taste-testing led to a recipe featuring bacon, breakfast sausage, caramelized onion, diced potato, red
and green bell pepper, salsa verde, and sharp cheddar cheese. Here is the recipe tinyurl.com/breakfasttamale

Lambert says his breakfast tamale goes especially well with fried eggs. “At least that’s the way I like to serve it, maybe with some pico de gallo. It’s not disappointing, however, to simply eat the tamales as they are.”  When asked about next year, Lambert says he’s been thinking about a sweet tamale. “Maybe I’ll create an apple pie tamale for next year’s celebration. Whatever is decided, we know it’s part of a long tradition that stretches back more than seven thousand years.”