Chefs in Action
Tia and Abuela - Home Chefs
In a family home just outside Oaxaca, Mexico, the tía and abuela use traditional methods to prepare mole coloradito, a special meal for the Día de los Muertos holiday. Between tearing chiles by hand, toasting the ingredients over a wood-burning fire, grinding everything in a nearby molina, and simmering the mixture again over the fire, the process takes around 10 hours. Though home chefs are often denied the same recognition as restaurant chefs, they are vitally important to feeding their families, preserving and perpetuating culinary traditions, and inspiring an early love of cooking in those who experience their food.
Chef Miguel Álvarez - Quinta Brava Restaurant & Cooking Classes
In Oaxaca, Mexico, Chef Miguel shows students how to prepare a meal using traditional ingredients and pre-Hispanic contact cooking methods. After spending years cooking all over the world, the classically trained chef has returned to his family’s land in Oaxaca, Mexico to reconnect with his roots. There, he operates a small farm and shares his heritage through his restaurant and cooking classes.
Chefs Eric Freshly, Kristopher Jacques, Fabian Garcia, and Sarah Martinez -
Straight Out The Fire
A team of chefs meet up weekly at Mission Bay to cook whole animals and innovative side dishes, creating themed meals in which every ingredient is touched by the fire.
Chef Nat - The Pad Thai Stand
On a Thursday evening at the North Park Farmers’ Market, Nat cooks pad thai while talking with customers about the differences between regional variations of the dish.
Chef Vincent Viale - Et Voilà French Bistro
Vincent Viale, chef and co-owner of a small restaurant in San Diego, works with his team of cooks to prepare for the evening dinner service during the height of the COVID pandemic.
