As a Latino, it’s embarrassing to say that I don’t have the faintest idea what it means to be Latino. I was born in a place where, if you were dropped down suddenly from the sky, you would believe you’ve landed in Mexico. There are parts of my hometown of McAllen, Tx where every business is Spanish-speaking only. I can recall my English teacher beginning to teach the class in Spanish randomly one day my senior year.
For clarification, I grew up in Mid-Michigan in a non-Spanish-speaking Black community. I transferred back home with two months left in high school. I don’t know Spanish and, according to my sister, have a Michigan-Texas, Spanish accent. Often, I roll my r’s with an occasional deep southern drawl but with a Midwest accent, usually for no reason whatsoever. Personally, I don’t hear it, but admittedly, I’m the furthest from Mexican as a Mexican can get. I’m a proud Michigander through and through.
My only true experience with my culture comes from the occasional family cookouts, which stopped sometime when I was in middle school. There were the summer trips back home to McAllen to visit my great-grandmother. Despite spending my summers in Texas, I managed to become a “no sabos” kid.
Now in my thirties, I’ve slowly begun reconnecting with my culture. I’ve learned some Spanish. I occasionally listen to Spanish music from my childhood. I’ve started watching shows highlighting Mexican cuisine. Last year, I made tamales at home for the first time, instead of at work. I learned different moles and learned to make a salsa that was dynamite.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to continue celebrating Latin culture by sharing Latino/Latina chefs who have made an impact in the U.S. Whether it be cooking traditional Mexican food or giving it a modern spin, these chefs have put Mexican food to the forefront of the many cuisines that make the U.S. so great. They’re true pioneers of the cooking world.
Enrique Olvera
Enrique Olvera is the kind of chef I could only hope to live up to one day. His two-Michelin-starred flagship restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, which held in spot in the annual The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for many years, took classic Mexican dishes. It added a modern elegant twist that wasn’t initially received well. However, once the locals began to see his vision, Pujol turned into a Mexico City staple. But his influence doesn’t end there.
With his highly acclaimed restaurant Cosme, the breakfast and dinner spot Atla, and his taqueria Esse Taco, all located in New York City, Olvera has managed to help bring Mexican cuisine to greater heights. Despite not reaching the same level as Pujol, the high-end Cosme has still enjoyed much success. There is no doubt in saying that Olvera has, in many ways, changed modern Mexican cuisine here in the States.
Aaron Sanchez
A Mexican-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality host, there is no denying Aarón Sánchez has helped bring attention to Mexican cuisine in the U.S. More importantly, his work helping Latino youth through food with his nonprofit program, the Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund, has had the biggest impact.
With easy-to-make recipes, his true to self Mexican cuisine, and drive to impact Latino youth, Chef Sánchez is someone that every cook or lover of food should take the time to know.
Christina Martinez
Chef Cristina Martinez story is one that truly defines the American dream. A Philadelphia based chef, her traditional Mexican cuisine has led to awards and worldwide acclaim thanks to a Chef’s Table documentary.
Despite not being featured on TV like personalities like Sánchez, Martinez has managed to make a name for herself. What’s even more impressive is knowing what she had to go through before reaching national, maybe even worldwide acclaim.
Martinez is the kind of chef that as a fellow Mexican cook could only hope to become. A true lover of food, a dreamer, a hustler and someone that sticks to her roots, Martinez belongs on this list.
Daniela Soto-Innes
Perhaps more under the radar compared to other acclaimed chefs is Chef Daniela Soto-Innes. She is a chef who many who follow the World’s 50 best listing know all too well. Chef Soto-Innes, the youngest ever to be named World’s Best Female Chef by the World’s 50 Best, helped open Cosme with Chef Olvera and served as their Chef de Cuisine. In partnership with Chef Olvera, she also opened Atla in 2017.
What makes chef Soto-Innes is how she leads. If you’ve ever seen her interviews or footage of her working a service, you can see how much love and care she puts into her food and her staff. I myself dreamt of working at Cosme simply to work along side her.
Now at her restaurant Rubra in Punta de Mita in Mexico led by an all-female team, she was described by Forbes as a Multifaceted Culinary Masterpiece.
Looking at the impact these chefs have had, and my personal struggles with identity, it reminds me that food is one of the strongest ways to reconnect with one’s heritage. Possibly enough to celebrate identity. And maybe, little by little, that’s enough.
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