Chicanos do things differently.
My grandfather was a big part of the Chicano movement back in the '60s.
We eat differently.
We don't have barbecues.
We have carne-asadas.
The way that I cook, that's at the front of my mind, every time I make a decision.
I started as a dishwasher six, seven years ago.
I started cooking professionally.
My very first mentor as a cook was Alvin Cailan of Eggslut.
When I first met Ted, like, he still had that twinkle in his eye that, "I want this more
than anything and you can't say no."
From there, I've worked with James Beard nominated chefs.
I was nominated for Zagat's 30 Under 30.
I've worked hard to build my way up to opening my own restaurant very soon.
Ted's food is, "I'm going to punch you in the face and you're going to love it."
His turkey posole, everyone talks about it.
It's like, Yo, man, this is made by a Mexican-American dude, and it's unapologetic.
It's super good.
I was around 15, almost 16 years old, I was living with my mother and my stepfather and
around the same time, both their businesses that they worked at were closing.
To myself I said, "I should probably start working," and there was a restaurant close
to my house.
They had this "Help Wanted" sign out and so I popped in and dropped off an application.
Finally, I was like, it's been three weeks.
I walked by after school one day and I just took his sign out of the grass.
And I walked in and he was like shocked, and I handed it to him and I said, "Listen, man.
You don't need this sign anymore.
I told you, I'll help you," and he hired me on the spot.
I tried to go to culinary school when I was younger, but it was really expensive.
A mentorship is what takes people like me, who started as a dishwasher, and brings us
to a place where being able to be creative and we're developing our own philosophies
and styles of cooking.
I met Cailan...when I met him, actually, I went to eat at his truck.
He was out on my side of town, which is, like, south, south, southeast L.A.
What are you guys doing over here?
He said, "Well, I'm from this neighborhood."
I was like, "So am I, dude.
That's crazy."
He's not only a product of, like, the 562, which is where we're from.
He's also like a hustler.
He's a G and that's how I've always been.
He taught me how to crack an egg.
He taught me how to cook an egg.
He taught me how to setup my station.
We spent time at Asian markets.
I learned new ingredients and he'd show me how to cook and how to make it in this industry
that's very cutthroat.
It was hard for him in the beginning, some
of the dishes that he came up with were...
horrendous, to say the least,
but he has just come so far and I'm just so excited to be here with him.
Chicanos, the one thing that we do have is community.
My grandmother, very hospitable.
If the neighbor was sick, we'd take them food.
I grew up in that culture.
So I consider myself a servant of people.
I just want to replicate that.
As a chef, I'm known for the dishes of my youth, a huge pot of posole, tamales.
I like to take those items and pair them with the trend that are going now.
My style is all about soul and really comes back to the grandma's kitchen.
The biggest sacrifice I've made to be able to continue to cook is really time.
I don't see my family often.
It's okay if a little cheese comes off because then when it melts it'll get, like, crispy
and it'll taste delicious.
Usually when I wake up and leave for work, they're asleep.
Then when I get home late at night, they're asleep.
I'm very blessed to have a family that's understanding and they understand that what I'm doing is
building something and it's not going to be like this forever.
My goal, personally, is to make sure my family's taken care of.
I feel like I put myself in a position at a young age, I didn't, like, show up to class
all the time.
I don't want my kids to have to cook.
If they want to cook, great, let's cook.
Let's open a place together.
Let's be together.
It feels really good to know that I'm actually on the path to pursue my dream and I'm finally,
for the first time in my life, at a point where I can say pretty strongly,
we're going to get there.
We're gonna get there, I feel it.
My family, we're going to get there.
They always say it's the journey, right?
It's the pursuit and I agree with that.