Pili Restrepo, Chef Sebastián Vargas and Josh Hackler
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By Kathleen Furore
When Josh Hackler, Pili Restrepo and Chef Sebastián Vargas, co-founders of Grassfed Culture Hospitality in Miami, Florida, decided to debut a Mexican restaurant next to the company’s flagship Krus Kitchen in Coconut Grove, the mission was clear and simply stated: to pay homage to indigenous heritage.
Los Félix has accomplished that mission and more since it first brightened Florida’s culinary scene in September of 2021. The restaurant — which, as the website says, gives a “nod to the grandmothers who carried the fire of ancestral wisdom, the mothers who preserved ceremony, and the female trailblazers who embodied the fierce and the tender, by way of iconic muse Maria Felix” — was awarded a Green Michelin Star during an awards ceremony in Tampa in April.
“We are the only restaurants in Miami to have a Michelin Green Star and two of three in Florida,” Vargas says, noting that Los Felix is one of 12 restaurants in the U.S. to have both a red star and green star.
The red star stands for “high-quality cooking” that’s “worth a stop!”; the green star “highlights restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices,” the Guide explains.
“For Los Félix, being awarded the Michelin Green Star is not just an honor; it’s a reflection of our core values and our commitment to sustainable gastronomy. It stands testament to the effort we’ve put into building a restaurant that doesn’t just serve food but nurtures the community and the environment,” Restrepo explains. “This recognition matters because it underscores our dedication to sourcing locally, reducing our carbon footprint, and fostering relationships with farmers who share our ethos. It validates our belief that fine dining can be both extraordinary and environmentally conscious.”
Editor Kathleen Furore asked Hackler to explain why sustainability has been at the forefront for Los Felix and how he and his team have embraced it so successfully throughout every aspect of the business.
1 When and how did you decide to make the commitment to sustainable gastronomy?
We view our sustainability through the lens of community well-being. How can we better enrich the communities we feed through our restaurants? This involves the local businesses we work with, the well-being of our staff and certainly how we think about the food and beverages we serve our guests every day. This has been our commitment from day 1. The proteins we started working with have always been intentional — grassfed/finished, organic, heritage, wild caught locally sourced seafood, etc. Composting and recyling our waste was also something we adopted as soon as it became available, even when it didn't make financial sense. Raising money to support Miami mothers working in the hospitality industry impacted by COVID before opening our restaurant was a huge conviction for us, as well. And lastly, developing farmer and supplier relationships before opening was something critical as well. Removing seed oils was a huge initiative that we had been working on for years and were finally able to make the transition moving into 2024.
Grassfed Culture’s mission is to restore and nourish the communities in which we operate by focusing on our tenets of passion for gastronomy, our drive for warm hospitality, the space for diversity and our constant quest for growth… while having fun along the way!
2 I read that the way you honor indigenous heritage is by supporting Milpa farming. Can you explain what that means?
Milpa is an ancestral tradition of cultivating the soil with awareness of the sacred connection between self and land. The idea of Milpa centers around the harmony of vegetables flourishing the bionutrients of the farm and produce being grown. The concept is a sociocultural construct rather than simply a system of agriculture. It involves complex interactions and relationships between farmers, as well as distinct personal relationships with both the crops and land. Through Milpa, we shine a spotlight on fresh, time-honored native ingredients like heirloom corn, cacao, chiles, and squash. Our homage continues with an in-house molino where we cook and grind maiz daily to make tortillas from scratch, all in the living wisdom of Milpa to mesa, or farm to table.
For example, we are proud to have partnered with Tamoa since day 1, bringing over one ton of maiz [from Mexico] in the last three years!
We also are creating a Milpa through our partnership with Tiny Farm in Miami to provide fruit and produce sustainably year-round, and we’re working with Paradise Farms to create a new channel of fresh dairy supply into Miami, which includes fresh butters, ghee, raw creams, raw milk, raw yogurts, etc.
Our wine selection showcases wines from the Americas, and will only be sourced from small, family-owned farms that honor the land by using natural and biodynamic methods. We also offer craft beers highlighting the best from both local and imported breweries.
3 Is your commitment to these issues something that adds to food costs and other operational costs?
Ulimately, it's more expensive, but there is no compromise. For example, we work locally with Compost for Life to further their and our composting mission. There's no tax credit or city support for us to compost. For a restaurant of our size, it's a monthly expense of $150.
We try to price for it, but in certain situations there's only so far we can take it. Ultimately people need to vote with their dollars by choosing the places that are impacting the community in which they operate for the better.
4 Is this something you make sure your customers are aware of? And do they appreciate it in ways that have helped your business?
We try to make it clear to the guests dining in our restaurants the intention behind how we source. At Los Félix we are proud and honored to carry the big responsibility of educating our guests and our teams about the importance of the decisions made daily for the environment, our communities and most importantly, our health. It is something we do not take lightly. It is our filosofía de vida.
Some customers are life-changed and others don't appreciate it as much! But this is the world we live in. Focusing on the long game every day and remaining consistent is what drives us. We can't get distracted.
5 Any advice for Mexican/Latin restaurants — small independents in particular — who want to be more sustainable enterprises?
Start with the basics. What proteins are you using? What oils are you using? How are you handling your waste? What small steps can I take knowing that I'm doing one of the most important jobs in the world, which is feeding people?
Watch Los Felix staff explain what the Michelin Green Star means to them: www.instagram.com/p/C_Ql7OOOFY0/
Sidebar: About the Michelin Green Star
First revealed in 2020, the MICHELIN Green Star — introduced into several of the 2021 editions of the MICHELIN Guide — is awarded to restaurants that hold themselves accountable for both their ethical and environmental standards. It acknowledges those who prioritize the environment and adopt practices that have a positive impact on nature and local communities. This includes working with sustainable producers and suppliers to avoid waste and reduce or even remove plastic and other non-recyclable materials from their supply chain. They consider things such as: the provenance of the ingredients; the use of seasonal produce; the restaurant’s environmental footprint; food waste systems; general waste disposal and recycling; resource management; and the communication between the team and the guests about the restaurant’s sustainable approach.
Any restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide is eligible. There is no specific formula for awarding a MICHELIN Green Star, as every restaurant and its surrounding region has a unique set of conditions. The Inspectors are simply looking for those at the top of their game when it comes to their sustainable practices.
Source: The MICHELIN Guide