Kathleen Hill: The difference between taco trucks and food trucks...

‘Taco Trucks on every corner'?

Donald Trump met with Latino leaders in Trump Tower, flew to Mexico for a couple of hours where he and the president of Mexico did or did not discuss Trump's wall, and then Trump delivered a fiery speech restating that he would build a wall and Mexico would pay for it.

Then Marco Gutierrez, founder and leader of the group Latinos for Trump, said on television that, “My culture is a very dominant culture, and it's causing problems. If you don't do something about it, you're going to have taco trucks on every corner.”

Was this a threat or a promise? It seemed as if Gutierrez might be stereotyping his own people.

Facebook responses were generally “Bring it on!” Many people love taco trucks. There are taco trucks and there are food trucks. In Sonoma La Bamba and El Coyote are taco trucks. The Fig Rig and Tips Tri-Tips Trolley are food trucks, just to clarify.

Sonoma Raceway goes to Oakland

Sonoma Raceway organized a fabulous cooking lesson last week at Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland to entertain IndyCar driver and 2016 points leader Simon Pagenaud, a native of France.

Pagenaud is a “food and wine connoisseur,” according to raceway officials, and was in town ahead of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma series finale Friday, Saturday and Sunday Sept. 16 through 18.

Chef Victor Scargle, who does special events occasionally for Sonoma Raceway and is the new executive chef at the CIA's new version of Copia in Napa, got together with Brown Sugar Kitchen owner Tanya Holland and Olympic swimmer Dana Vollmer to cook some special food for IndyCar leader Pagenaud.

Vollmer is the first American mother to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, this time in the 4 x 100 meter Medley Relay with a silver in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay and a bronze in the 100 butterfly in Rio de Janeiro.

Pagenaud made an updated version of one of his grandmother's recipes, beef tenderloin wrapped in pork belly with green beans and charred tomatoes. Vollmer, who sticks to a gluten- and egg-free diet, made corn tortillas for lamb tacos and a red quinoa salad with figs and apples.

Holland, Brown Sugar Kitchen owner/chef and sister member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, sent me the whole menu and said, “We had a blast! I made my shrimp and grits with Simon and then some crêpes to remind him of home. He prefers his crepes with lemon and sugar. I'm Nutella all the way!”

Restarting her athletic career after having her first child, Vollmer strives “to eat healthy and clean… and now with my son it's even more important because he eats what I eat.”

Several locals saw Holland as one of the featured chefs at the recent Sunset opening at Cornerstone.

Seed Saving at Garden Park

Check out the Seed Saving Workshop and Amaranth Dinner Festival today, Sept. 9 featuring Mayans from Rabinal, Guatemala at Sonoma Garden Park. Learn how to grow highly nutritious foods in your backyard as they do, saving and selling their seeds from year to year.

All proceeds from this fundraiser go to the Qachuu Aloom Farmers Association. Workshop cost $5, and workshop with dinner is $25. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com.

Food Swap at Readers' Books Sunday

On Sunday, Sept. 11 Readers' Books will hold a Food Swap where you can package your items attractively with labels listing ingredients (for allergies) and how to store them. Everyone gets a card where people can make offers for your wares and you get to decide to swap or not. Readers' has books in stock called “Food Swap” by Emily Paster that has lots of recipes and ideas for swap items and how to package and label your foodstuffs. 2 p.m. Free. 130 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Email jude@readersbooks.com if you want to get on the list.

New chef at the girl & the fig

Girl & the fig proprietor Sondra Bernstein has appointed Matt Spector as “chef de cuisine” at the restaurant. He is former owner/chef of JoLe, a onetime small plates restaurant in Calistoga's historic Mount View Hotel.

Figalicious Executive Chef John Toulze and Spector met in 2009 when they were both honored as Rising Star Chefs by Star Chef magazine. Spector helped launch Matyson Restaurant in Philadelphia and Trust restaurant.

Spector has added some of his own specialties to “the fig” menu, as well, including local chicken thighs, wild King salmon, a grilled vegetable panini, bouillabaisse and grass-fed steak tartare. Can't wait to try the bouillabaisse.

Buena Vista classical music tasting

You can now listen to classical music either performed in person ($125) or recorded ($75) by Steel and Ivory, meaning pianist Dr. Kristie Janczyk and violinist Matthew Vincent, on the last weekend of every month. Four guests are required per reservation with a maximum of eight for each 1 p.m. performance, accompanied by four or five Buena Vista wines. Reserve at buenavista.com.

Sweet rejection

Mondelez, a Kraft food company that makes Nutter Butters, Premium crackers, Cadbury sweets, Wheat Thins and Planters peanut products, gave up its attempt to buy Hershey Co. after being rejected by Hershey's board of trustees. Hershey now owns Krave Jerky, and will open a tasting room in the Index-Tribune building on West Napa Street.

Olive Press wins Harvest Fair's Best of Show

The Olive Press just won the Sonoma County Harvest Fair's top award in the 2016 Professional Food & Wine Competition for its Sevillano, a California-grown olive oil. It received a double gold medal in the California Grown “Delicate” category and was named Best of Show.

The Olive Press also received gold medals in the California Grown category for its Arbosana and Mission, and for its Clementine in the California Grown Flavored “Citrus” category. In the California Medium, Olive Press won double golds for its Arbequina, and for its Picual.

B.R. Cohn Olive Oil also won a gold medal along with seven other Sonoma County producers. Taste them all at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Friday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 2 at Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.

More info at harvestfair.org or 545-4203.