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"Top Chef was great; I have no complaints at all. It was a phenomenal experience to be able to meet 15 people that shared the same passion that I did. It was really cool to be able to be put into a house with all these amazing talents and being able to be judged by some of the top leaders of the industry on a day-to-day basis.

I went on the show because I wanted that kind of experience. It had been a long time since I'd packed up my bags and gone off to a remote location. When I lived in Mexico I essentially moved there with a duffel bag full of clothes, my knives and didn't know anybody. When I moved to New York City it was a suitcase in a similar situation. On the cooking side, working with all these young guys was really interesting to see all the new technologies and advancements that are being done now.

Cinco de Mayo to me is two things: tequila and beer and however you want to combine those. There is really nothing better than an ice cold Mexican beer. Some of my favorites are Indio, Dos Exquis-with a Mexican beer you can't go wrong. Also, tequila in any way, shape or form. As far as food, I like to celebrate the state of Puebla being that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the Batalla de Puebla. I think that something that speaks that would definitively be one of their classic dishes which is Pollo en Tinga. A nice bowl of Pollo en Tinga, with a nice spicy chipotle sauce, or a whole bunch of chips to eat that with or even served in a tostada. [Then] you're good to go!"

Below is Chef Trevino's recipe for one of his favorite sauces for Cinco de Mayo.

Tinga Sauce
Ingredients: 1 can peeled Italian tomatoes; 1 can chipotles in Adobo; 1 onion, fire-roasted; 4 garlic cloves, dry roasted in the peel; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 pinch dried marjoram; 1/2 stick Mexican cinnamon; 1/2 cup of cider vinegar; 1/4 cup of piloncillo (or dark brown sugar); 1 scant pinch ground allspice; 1 teaspoons black pepper; Kosher salt to taste; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 cup canola oil

"Combine in a medium size saucepan tomatoes, chipotles-depending on desired spice level add more to taste, I would start with 3 and build up as needed. Dice the roasted onion. Slip the skins off of the roasted garlic and roughly chop. Add onions and garlic to tomatoes and set to simmer over medium heat; season with remaining ingredients except for the canola oil. Simmer for 25 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Transfer into a non-reactive bowl and puree with a hand blender. Add oil to saucepan and heat over medium heat. Once oil is hot, carefully pour the sauce from bowl back into the pan to sear the sauce. Cook the sauce for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste for seasoning and add more chipotle if a spicier sauce is desired.

Serve the sauce with chicken that has simply been simmered in salted water with half an onion and a head of garlic. Simmer sauce with chicken an additional 10 minutes. And, serve over Mexican rice. You can also try it with roasted turkey or sautéed zucchini."