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We love reading and reporting about up-and-coming chefs in the Mexican/Latin restaurant space. So, we were excited to see that StarChefs’ recent list of Austin-San Antonio Rising Stars included four professionals who focus on Mexican/Latin cuisine.
The most recent class of award winners includes professionals who “are recognized not only for their exceptional food and drinks, but also for their ability to lead, inspire, and support the local Central Texas community,” StarChefs explained, noting that the judges “…saw an even greater push from chefs' to reflect their own cultures on the plate” than in past Texas competitions.
el Restaurante congratulates these Rising Stars and looks forward to featuring them in upcoming issues:
Rising Star Chef Emil Oliva, Leche de Tigre Cebicheria Peruana, San Antonio. Oliva’s love of Peruvian cuisine began at age 12 when his family moved from Texas to his dad’s home country of Peru. He worked in the hospitality industry in Peru, and later at Costa Pacifica restaurant after moving to San Antonio in 2012. Eventually, Oliva started doing pop-ups and dinner parties under the name Noche en Lima, and in early 2023, opened Leche de Tigre Cebicheria with his cousins and his brothers, Axel and Alec. According to StarChefs, “Together, the family celebrates their heritage and time spent in Peru, serving modern takes on classic ceviches alongside a solid pisco program for what Oliva hopes can be ‘like a little Peruvian embassy’ in San Antonio.”
Rising Star Community Chef Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin. A product of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, Rico’s pre-Nixta experience includes a stint staging at Mexico City’s acclaimed Pujol before moving to Austin in 2016. There, he met his future wife and together they launched Nixta Taqueria in 2019. What earned Rico the StarChefs’ award? “While Nixta’s food is celebrated, it’s Rico and his team’s community efforts that stand out. Not only is the restaurant’s large outdoor space designed to be used as a pop-up and performance space for the staff and community members, but Nixta also serves as the pilot location for the ATX Free Fridge Project,” StarChefs’ said. “Rico has built partnerships with local businesses, grocery stores, and his neighbors to go above and beyond to serve the needs of the community.”
Rising Star Pastry Chef Derrick Flynn, Este and Suerte, Austin. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Flynn’s landed at La Condesa in Austin, a stop that proved instrumental in his career. There, he was mentored by pastry chef Laura Sawicki and developed a friendship with Chef Fermín Nuñez, then La Condesa’s sous chef, who eventually hired Flynn to run the pastry program when he opened Este and Suerte. As StarChefs’ bio of Flynn explains, the chef “…sees a lot of flavor crossover between the Filipino flavors he grew up with and the restaurants’ contemporary Mexican lens.”
Rising Star Pastry Chef Casandra Perez-Martinez, Comedor, Austin. This talented chef graduated from the second-to-last class of Austin’s Le Cordon Bleu and returned to her hometown of Elgin, Texas, where she worked on the pastry team at Rising Stars alum Philip Speer’s Bonhomie. She landed at Comedor in October 2022, “where she quickly felt a strong sense of connection with the flavors, textures, and techniques, conceptualizing desserts like her pavlova with tepache sorbet, coconut espuma, raspberry-pasilla gel, and mint oil,” StarChefs’ said.
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